Taking Back the Workers' Law - by Ellen Dannin (Paperback)

About the Book

Prolabor critics often question the effectiveness of the National Labor Relations Board. Some go so far as to call the Board labor's enemy number one. In a daring book that is sure to be controversial, Ellen Dannin argues that the blame actually lies...

Book Synopsis

Prolabor critics often question the effectiveness of the National Labor Relations Board. Some go so far as to call the Board labor's enemy number one. In a daring book that is sure to be controversial, Ellen Dannin argues that the blame actually lies with judicial decisions that have radically "rewritten" the National Labor Relations Act. But rather than simply bemoan this problem, Dannin offers concrete solutions for change. Dannin calls for labor to borrow from the strategy mapped out by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in the early 1930s to eradicate legalized racial discrimination. This book lays out a long-term litigation strategy designed to overturn the cases that have undermined the NLRA and frustrated its policies. As with the NAACP, this strategy must take place in a context of activism to promote the NLRA policies of social and industrial democracy, solidarity, justice, and worker empowerment. Dannin contends that only by promoting these core purposes of the NLRA can unions survive--and even thrive.

Review Quotes

Explores the recent trends that have caused America to move away from the formation of unions, including employer resistance and a shift from the manufacturing sector to the largely nonunion service sector, and describes how to reestablish the significance of workers' rights in American democracy. Discusses why judges rewrite labor law; developing a strategy to take back the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA); NLRA values, American values; the challenges in litigating the NLRA values; litigation themes; NLRA rights within other laws; trying cases--the rules; and using the National Labor Relations Board as a resource.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I hope its message reaches those more possessed than I of legal acumen and energy.

The central theme of this thought-provoking book is taking back the NLRA--the workers' law in the book's title--to restore its original purpose and promise of promoting freedom of association, worker solidarity, and collective bargaining. It should be emphasized that while this is a book about law, it is not a law book. It is written more for union activists (and their attorneys) than legal scholars. And Dannin is very successful in this regard as her engaging style makes this a very accessible call to action for non-lawyers. There is also an important message for social scientists. Part of the litigation strategy for taking back the workers' law is getting judges to see how violations undermine the NLRA's policy goals. This requires social science research to document what happens when the NLRA is violated. There are many books on the decline and potential rejuvenation of the American labor movement. Ellen Dannin's Taking Back the Workers' Law is a unique contribution that will be valuable to both activists and scholars.

About the Author

Ellen Dannin is Professor of Law at the Dickinson School of Law, Penn State University. She is also the author of Working Free: The Origins and Impact of New Zealand's Employment Contracts Act. Former congressman David E. Bonior is currently Chair of American Rights at Work.