Running the rails : capital and labor in the Philadelphia transit industry James Wolfinger

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wolfinger, James, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Local transit--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia--History.

Local transit.

Industrial relations--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia--History.

Industrial relations.

Physical Description:

x, 292 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2016.

Summary:

"Public service workers and their unions come under frequent attack for being a "special interest" or a hindrance to the smooth functioning of society. This book offers readers a different, historically grounded way of thinking about the people who keep their cities running. Working in public transit is a difficult job now, as it was a century ago. The benefits and decent wages Philadelphia public transit workers secured--advances that were hard-won and well deserved--came as a result of fighting for decades against their exploitation. Given capital's great power in American society and management's enduring quest to control its workforce, it is remarkable to see how much Philadelphia's transit workers achieved"--Jacket.

Contents:

Capital and the shifting nature of social control

Beginnings

Working on the line

Time of troubles

The age of Thomas Mitten

Hard times and a hate strike

Labor relations and public relations

National city lines and the imperatives of postwar capitalism

Advances hard won and well-deserved.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-282) and index.

ISBN:

9781501702402

1501702408

OCLC:

927381815