Forces of Labor

Recasting labor studies in a long-term and global framework, this 2003 book draws on a major database on world labor unrest to show how local labor movements have been related to world-scale political, economic and social processes since the late-nineteenth century. Through an in-depth empirical analysis of select global industries it demonstrates how the main locations of labor unrest have shifted from country to country together with shifts in the geographical location of production. It shows how the main sites of labor unrest have shifted over time together with the rise/decline of new leading sectors of capitalist development, and demonstrates that labor movements have been deeply embedded (as both cause and effect) in world political dynamics. The book concludes by exploring the likely forms that emergent labor movements will take in the twenty-first century.

‘… a thought-provoking and valuable work …’

Source: New Left Review

'Beverly Silver has written an important, accessible and I think excellent book that contributes significantly to our understanding of workers' bargaining power under global capitalism. … Forces of Labor is valuable as a resource on the classroom and in discussions about the relationship between globalisation and labour. However, it is potentially even more valuable for trade union members as a tool for conceptualising and understanding sources of their bargaining power with managers.'

Source: International Socialism