"It's Union Time, people!" — the rallying cry of workers at the Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina. Since its opening in 1993, employees of the plant have endured various abuses such as intimidation tactics, low pay, and dangerous working conditions which resulted in bodily injury and, on one occasion, death. Often treated as expendable, the workers came together and engaged in a 16-year-long struggle for the right to unionize and receive safe, fair working conditions — and won.
Below are a few books from the NVC Library. You can search for more books from the One Search box on the library homepage (link below). Just enter your keyword or topic, hit search and then limit to books or eBooks using the check boxes on the left.
Suggested keywords include (but are not limited to): "labor union", labor, history, discrimination, workplace
City of Workers, City of Struggle by
City of Workers, City of Struggle brings together essays by leading historians of New York and a wealth of illustrations, offering rich descriptions of work, life, and political struggle. It recounts how workers have built formal and informal groups not only to advance their own interests but also to pursue a vision of what the city should be.
A Collective Bargain by
From longtime labor organizer Jane McAlevey, a vital call-to-arms in favor of unions, a key force capable of defending our democracy For decades, racism, corporate greed, and a skewed political system have been eating away at the social and political fabric of the United States. Yet as McAlevey reminds us, there is one weapon whose effectiveness has been proven repeatedly throughout U.S. history: unions. In A Collective Bargain, longtime labor organizer, environmental activist, and political campaigner Jane McAlevey makes the case that unions are a key institution capable of taking effective action against today's super-rich corporate class. Since the 1930s, when unions flourished under New Deal protections, corporations have waged a stealthy and ruthless war against the labor movement. And they've been winning. Until today. Because, as McAlevey shows, unions are making a comeback. Want to reverse the nation's mounting wealth gap Put an end to sexual harassment in the workplace End racial disparities on the job Negotiate climate justice Bring back unions. As McAlevey travels from Pennsylvania hospitals, where nurses are building a new kind of patient-centered unionism, to Silicon Valley, where tech workers have turned to old-fashioned collective action, to the battle being waged by America's teachers, readers have a ringside seat at the struggles that will shape our country--and our future.
The End of Bias: a Beginning by
FINALIST FOR THE NYPL HELEN BERNSTEIN AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM, THE LUKAS BOOK PRIZE, AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2022 NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD SILVER MEDAL * AMERICAN SOCIETY OF JOURNALISTS AND AUTHORS HONORABLE MENTION IN GENERAL NONFICTION NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, AARP, GREATER GOOD, AND INC. The End of Bias is a transformative, groundbreaking exploration into how we can eradicate unintentional bias and discrimination, the great challenge of our age. Unconscious bias: persistent, unintentional prejudiced behavior that clashes with our consciously held beliefs. We know that it exists, to corrosive and even lethal effect. We see it in medicine, the workplace, education, policing, and beyond. But when it comes to uprooting our prejudices, we still have far to go. With nuance, compassion, and ten years' immersion in the topic, Jessica Nordell weaves gripping stories with scientific research to reveal how minds, hearts, and behaviors change. She scrutinizes diversity training, deployed across the land as a corrective but with inconsistent results. She explores what works and why: the diagnostic checklist used by doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital that eliminated disparate treatment of men and women; the preschool in Sweden where teachers found ingenious ways to uproot gender stereotyping; the police unit in Oregon where the practice of mindfulness and specialized training has coincided with a startling drop in the use of force. Captivating, direct, and transformative, The End of Bias: A Beginning brings good news. Biased behavior can change; the approaches outlined here show how we can begin to remake ourselves and our world. Includes illustrated charts
Invisible Women by
#1 International Bestseller "A rallying cry to fight back." --Sunday Times (London) Winner, 2019 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award Winner, 2019 Royal Society Science Book Prize Data is fundamental to the modern world. From economic development, to healthcare, to education and public policy, we rely on numbers to allocate resources and make crucial decisions. But because so much data fails to take into account gender, because it treats men as the default and women as atypical, bias and discrimination are baked into our systems. And women pay tremendous costs for this bias in time, money, and sometimes with their lives. Celebrated feminist advocate Caroline Criado Perez investigates the shocking root cause of gender inequality and research in Invisible Women, diving into women's lives at home, the workplace, the public square, the doctor's office, and more. Chapters here include: Can Snow-Clearing Be Sexist The Myth of Meritocracy The Henry Higgins Effect One-Size-Fits-Men Yentl Syndrome From Purse to Wallet Women's Rights Are Human Rights Perez writes in her preface, "It's when women are able to step out from the shadows with their voices and their bodies that things start to shift. The gaps close. And so, at heart, Invisible Women is also a call for change. For too long we have positioned women as a deviation from standard humanity and this is why they have been allowed to become invisible. It's time for a change in perspective. It's time for women to be seen." Built on hundreds of studies in the US, the UK, and around the world, and written with energy, wit, and sparkling intelligence, this is a groundbreaking, unforgettable exposé that will change the way you look at the world.
The Leader's Guide to Unconscious Bias by
A timely, must-have guide to understanding and overcoming bias in the workplace, from the experts at FranklinCovey. Unconscious bias affects everyone. It can look like the disappointment of an HR professional when a candidate for a new position asks about maternity leave. It can look like preferring the application of an Ivy League graduate over one from a state school. It can look like assuming a man is more entitled to speak in a meeting than his female junior colleague. Ideal for every manager who wants to understand and move past their own preconceived ideas, The Leader's Guide to Unconscious Bias explains that bias is the result of mental shortcuts, our likes and dislikes, and is a natural part of the human condition. And what we assume about each other and how we interact with one another has vast effects on our organizational success--especially in the workplace. Teaching you how to overcome unconscious bias, this book provides more than thirty unique tools, such as a prep worksheet and a list of ways to reframe your unconscious thoughts. According to the experts at FranklinCovey, your workplace can achieve its highest performance rate once you start to overcome your biases and allow your employees to be whole people. By recognizing bias, emphasizing empathy and curiosity, and making true understanding a priority in the workplace, we can unlock the potential of every person we encounter.
Re-union : how bold labor reforms can repair, revitalize, and reunite the United States by
"The central argument of this book is that stronger unions operating under a new type of labor system could help address America's underlying economic and political challenges. The new system would be built around two central ideas: active policy support for unions and broad-based collective bargaining"-- Provided by publisher
