A New New Deal - (Century Foundation Book) by Amy B Dean & David B Reynolds (Paperback)

About the Book

A New New Deal offers a bold new plan to revitalize American labor activism and build a sense of common purpose between labor and community organizations though alliances organized at the regional level.

Book Synopsis

In A New New Deal, the labor movement leaders Amy B. Dean and David B. Reynolds offer a bold new plan to revitalize American labor activism and build a sense of common purpose between labor and community organizations. Dean and Reynolds demonstrate how alliances organized at the regional level are the most effective tool to build a voice for working people in the workplace, community, and halls of government.

The authors draw on their own successes to offer in-depth, contemporary case studies of effective labor-community coalitions. They also outline a concrete strategy for building power at the regional level. This pioneering model presents the regional building blocks for national change. A diverse audience--both within the labor movement and among its allies--will welcome this clear, detailed, and inspiring presentation of regional power-building tactics, which include deep coalition-building, leadership development, policy research, and aggressive political action.

A New New Deal explores successful coalitions forged in Los Angeles, Boston, Denver, San Jose, New Haven, and Atlanta toward goals such as universal health insurance for children and sensible redevelopment efforts that benefit workers as well as businesses. The authors view partnerships between labor and grassroots organizations as a mutually beneficial strategy based on shared goals, resulting in a broadened membership base and increased organizational capacity. They make the innovative argument that the labor movement can steward both industry and community and make manifest the ways in which workplace battles are not the parochial concerns of isolated workers, but a fundamental struggle for America's future.

Drawing on historical parallels, the authors illustrate how long-term collaborations between labor and community organizations are sowing the seeds of a new New Deal.

Review Quotes

"A New New Deal is a step-by-step guide to creating progressive change in your own backyard. Labor movement insiders Amy B. Dean and David Reynolds understand the importance of the economic empowerment of women and people of color. The authors draw on their real-world experience as activists in this contemporary look at grassroots organizing."--Sara K. Gould, President and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women

"Amy B. Dean and David B. Reynolds offer a compelling vision of a new kind of labor movement. At a time when America desperately needs stronger unions, A New New Deal sends a clear message that nostalgia for organized labor's past is no strategy for our future."--Richard L. Trumka, President, AFL-CIO

"Amy B. Dean and David B. Reynolds understand that union workers don't check their other identities at the shop floor door; they are people of color, women, immigrants. A New New Deal helps union organizers make the most of the multiple identities of workers in the fight against the overlapping injustices they face."--Dorian T. Warren, Columbia University

"Using case studies of successful partnerships, Amy B. Dean and David B. Reynolds paint a compelling picture of regional movements for a just and sustainable society. A New New Deal reinspires social activism and offers a modern road map to the labor movement."--Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

"It is practical to ask how the relationship of workers to their employers and to one another may change. If there is constructive development as a result of the current turmoil, it seems likely that one blueprint for a revived unionism will be that described and proposed in the pages of this book. It is a model that is simply too good to ignore."--Richard Leone, President, The Century Foundation

"This book is a must-read for new progressive leaders and those interested in the evolution of the labor movement in America."--Mike Honda, Congressman, 15th District, California

About the Author

Amy B. Dean served from 1993 to 2003 as the youngest elected leader of the AFL-CIO in Silicon Valley. She is founder of two national nonprofits, Working Partnerships USA and Building Partnerships. Dean served on the California Community College's Board of Governors and the California Secretary of Commerce's Economic Strategy Panel and has received awards from the American Leadership Forum, the Labor Education Research Association, and the Ms. Foundation. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and The Economist, among other publications. David B. Reynolds is Labor Extension Coordinator at the Labor Studies Center of Wayne State University and a field organizer for Building Partnerships USA. He is the author of Taking the High Road, Partnering for Change, and Living Wage Campaigns: An Activist's Guide to Building the Movement for Economic Justice. Harold Meyerson is Editor at Large of The American Prospect, a columnist for the Washington Post, and a member of the editorial board of Dissent.