IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ilrrev/v52y1999i4p528-538.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Southern Organizing in the Post-Civil Rights Era: The Case of S. Lichtenberg

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Bussel

Abstract

This case study examines the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union's successful 3-1/2-year effort (1988–91) to organize workers at S. Lichtenberg, a Georgia-based curtain manufacturer. The author uses archival research and extensive interviews with rank-and-file activists to determine why the union was able to triumph after earlier (1966 and 1971) failed attempts to organize. He finds that political changes in the post-civil rights South, the solidarity provided by race, gender, and religious identification, and the union's creative tactics coalesced in a winning strategy. The findings have significant implications not only for Southern organizing but also for the labor movement's renewed emphasis on attracting new members.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Bussel, 1999. "Southern Organizing in the Post-Civil Rights Era: The Case of S. Lichtenberg," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 52(4), pages 528-538, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:52:y:1999:i:4:p:528-538
    DOI: 10.1177/001979399905200402
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001979399905200402
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/001979399905200402?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marion Crain, 1994. "Gender and Union Organizing," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 47(2), pages 227-248, January.
    2. William N. Cooke, 1983. "Determinants of the Outcomes of Union Certification Elections," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 36(3), pages 402-414, April.
    3. Kate Bronfenbrenner, 1997. "The Role of Union Strategies in NLRB Certification Elections," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(2), pages 195-212, January.
    4. Lisa A. Schur & Douglas L. Kruse, 1992. "Der Differences in Attitudes toward Unions," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 46(1), pages 89-102, October.
    5. Richard W. Hurd & Adrienne McElwain, 1988. "Organizing Clerical Workers: Determinants of Success," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 41(3), pages 360-373, April.
    6. Thomas F. Reed, 1989. "Do Union Organizers Matter? Individual Differences, Campaign Practices, and Representation Election Outcomes," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 43(1), pages 103-119, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rachel Aleks, 2019. "What Professionals Want: Union and Employer Tactics in Representation Elections of Professional Workers," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(3), pages 693-717, May.
    2. Kate Bronfenbrenner, 1997. "The Role of Union Strategies in NLRB Certification Elections," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(2), pages 195-212, January.
    3. Melanie Simms, 2015. "Accounting for Greenfield Union Organizing Outcomes," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 397-422, September.
    4. Henry S. Farber & Bruce Western, 2000. "Round Up The Usual Suspects: The Decline of Unions in The Private Sector, 1973-1998," Working Papers 816, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    5. Casey Ichniowski, 1988. "Public Sector Union Growth and Bargaining Laws: A Proportional Hazards Approach with Time-Varying Treatments," NBER Chapters, in: When Public Sector Workers Unionize, pages 19-40, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Eunice S. Han, 2023. "What did unions do for union workers during the COVID‐19 pandemic?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 623-652, September.
    7. Cécile Guillaume, 2018. "Women's Participation in a Radical Trade Union Movement That Claims to be Feminist," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(3), pages 556-578, September.
    8. Ian Thomas MacDonald, 2014. "Towards Neoliberal Trade Unionism: Decline, Renewal and Transformation in North American Labour Movements," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 52(4), pages 725-752, December.
    9. Roland Zullo, 2021. "Does the open shop harm union collective action?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 183-197, March.
    10. Eunice S. Han, 2023. "The effect of changes in public sector bargaining laws on teacher union membership," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 133-158, March.
    11. Ann C. Frost, 2000. "Explaining Variation in Workplace Restructuring: The Role of Local Union Capabilities," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 53(4), pages 559-578, July.
    12. Alexander J.S. Colvin, 2003. "Institutional Pressures, Human Resource Strategies, and the Rise of Nonunion Dispute Resolution Procedures," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(3), pages 375-392, April.
    13. Rachel Aleks & Tina Saksida & Aaron S. Wolf, 2021. "Hero or Villain? A Cohort and Generational Analysis of How Youth Attitudes Towards Unions Have Changed over Time," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 532-567, June.
    14. Eunice S. Han, 2020. "The Effects of Teachers’ Unions on the Gender Pay Gap among U.S. Public School Teachers," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 563-603, October.
    15. Robert Hickey & Sarosh Kuruvilla & Tashlin Lakhani, 2010. "No Panacea for Success: Member Activism, Organizing and Union Renewal," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(1), pages 53-83, March.
    16. Gregor Gall & Jack Fiorito, 2012. "Union Commitment and Activism in Britain and the United States: Searching for Synthesis and Synergy for Renewal," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(2), pages 189-213, June.
    17. Eunice S. Han, 2024. "How did the COVID‐19 pandemic affect men's and women's returns to unionization?," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 172-204, April.
    18. Robert Armstrong & Michael Floren & Jason Imbrogno & Keith Malone, 2024. "Impacts of racial diversity and firm size on union voting behavior in Alabama," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 20-32, January.
    19. John DiNardo & Kevin Hallock & Jorn-Steffen Pischke, 1997. "Unions and Managerial Pay," NBER Working Papers 6318, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Gordon Cleveland & Morley Gunderson & Douglas Hyatt, 2003. "Union Effects in Low-Wage Services: Evidence from Canadian Childcare," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(2), pages 295-305, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:52:y:1999:i:4:p:528-538. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.