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BOOKS  | Class Counts: Education, Inequality, and the Shrinking Middle Class
Allan Ornstein, a professor of education at St. John’s University, encourages readers to “vote for their pocketbook” in this book, which links class differences, the income gap, the shredding of the middle class and receding educational opportunities. Although education long has been the great equalizer, Ornstein reminds us, only 3 percent of students at today’s top colleges and universities come from families in the bottom economic 25 percent. Meanwhile, tuition rates are skyrocketing while workers’ wages are plummeting and a new struggling class has emerged. How do we make U.S. society more democratic, fair and just? Ornstein outlines social and governmental reforms in lively, accessible prose that should make readers think—and act. Available from . |
 | The Sex of Class: Women Transforming American Labor “A revolution has occurred,” Dorothy Sue Cobble writes. “Women have moved from the margins to the center of the working class,” with the majority of working Americans now women. Cobble, a highly respected professor at Rutgers University, assembled this collection of essays on women and sexual minorities in the union movement, a book that offers fresh ideas on how government can reduce class and gender inequalities. The Sex of Class also describes successful struggles for social justice often won against huge odds—from the clerical worker protests of the 1970s to the emergence of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender worker rights on the auto shop floor and campaigns for paid family leave. Available at The Union Shop Online.™ |
 | The United States Since 1980
A history of America since 1980 can be honest or soothing, but not both. Dean Baker chooses to be honest in this chilling story of America’s turn away from progressive, pro-working family policies since the election of Ronald Reagan. Co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Baker is a nationally known economist. His book ably discusses changes in foreign and environmental policy, ethnic and age demographics, health care, the status of women and religious practices. Yet its great strength is Baker's account of economic change. As he carefully documents: "The years following 1980 saw changes in a whole set of economic policies" on trade, immigration, labor-management relations, macroeconomic policy, deregulation, the minimum wage and more. Baker concludes, “The cumulative effect of the new policies was a massive upward redistribution of income.” In other words, the rich got richer, the poor got poorer and the nation's commitment to equality was betrayed over and over again. Available from . |
MUSIC
 | Justice Has No Borders
Baldemar Velasquez, president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) and a talented singer-songwriter, recorded his second CD to benefit FLOC’s organizing campaign for farm workers in the south. Velasquez and accordionist Jesse Ponce perform traditional Mexican songs and a few original pieces in this collection, which ranges from festive to mournful in vocalists' depictions of farm workers’ lives. The upbeat, traditional song, “Los Manados,” describes border crossings from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, while “Urbano’s Song,” written by Velasquez, tells the story of the death of a field worker in North Carolina with subtle and sad harmonies. The CD includes liner notes with photos of workers marching and performing, as well as notes on the origins and meanings of the songs. Available from the Labor Heritage Foundation. |
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