The way we build : restoring dignity to construction work / Mark Erlich.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Erlich, Mark, 1949- author.

Series:

Working class in American history.

Illinois scholarship online.

The working class in American history

Illinois scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Construction industry--United States.

Construction industry.

Labor unions--United States.

Labor unions.

Building trades--United States.

Building trades.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (182 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2023]

Summary:

The construction trades once provided unionized craftsmen a route to the middle class and a sense of pride and dignity often denied other blue-collar workers. Today, union members still earn wages and benefits that compare favorably to those of college graduates. But as union strength has declined over the last fifty years, a growing non-union sector offers lower compensation and more hazardous conditions, undermining the earlier tradition of upward mobility. Revitalization of the industry depends on unions shedding past racial and gender discriminatory practices, embracing organizing, diversity, and the new immigrant workforce, and preparing for technological changes. Mark Erlich blends long-view history with his personal experience inside the building trades to explain one of our economy's least understood sectors.

Contents:

Intro

Cover Page

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Acknowledgments

1 A Tale of Two Cities

2 Snapshot of an Industry

3 The Heavy Hand of the Business Roundtable

4 Misclassification as a Business Model

5 Immigration, Payroll Fraud, and the Underground Economy

6 Technology and the Future of Construction Work

7 Building Under a Roof

8 Many Rivers to Cross: Organizing and Diversity

9 Regulators and the Challenge of Enforcement

10 Restoring a Pathway to the Middle Class

11 Building a High Road Future

Notes

Index

Notes:

Also issued in print: 2023.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (viewed on January 10, 2024).

Other Format:

Print version: Erlich, Mark The Way We Build

ISBN:

9780252054570

0252054571

OCLC:

1390921611