Forging a Union of Steel

Paul F. Clark is Head and Professor in the Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Penn State University. He is the author, editor, or coeditor of several books, including Building More Effective Unions and Collective Bargaining in the Private Sector, both from Cornell.

• Prefaceby Paul F. Clark, Peter Gottlieb, and Donald Kennedy1. The History of Missing, Almost: Philip Murray, the Steelworkers, and the Historiansby Ronald L. Filippelli2. The Origins of Modern Steel Unionism: The SWOC Eraby David Brody3. Labor's Odd Couple: Philip Murray and John L. Lewisby Melvyn Dubofsky4. Consolidating Industrial Citizenship: The USWA at War and Peace, 1939–46by Mark McColloch5. Battling over Government's Roleby Ronald W. SchatzCommentsby I. W. Abel, Walter Burke, Abe Raskin, John Hoerr, and Harold J. RuttenbergBibliographyMajor Events in the History of the SteelworkersContributorsEditorsIndex

A useful primer for researchers wishing to explore the rich interpretative and narrative possibilities of Philip Murray's leadership and the development of steel unionism between 1935 and 1952. The essays complement one another and suggest fresh questions and approaches to this important facet of labor history.(Business History Review) This book fills an obvious void and succeeds in its efforts at directing scholars into fertile territory for the future. It is a 'must' acquisition for all labor studies collections. It would be a good supplemental text in an upper division labor studies course devoted to the history and development of the CIO. The book might even be used on the history of the Steelworkers in those areas of the country where Big Steel and the Steelworkers continue to maintain a strong presence.(Labor Studies Journal) This useful anthology is a collection of papers and comments presented in a 1986 conference at Penn State by labor historians, trade unionists, and other commentators on the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC), the United Steel Workers of America (USWA), and the union's leader, Philip Murray.(Industrial and Labor Relations Review)