The CIO, 1935-1955

The CIO, 1935-1955

From Library JournalZiegler (history, Univ. of Florida) has written a comprehensive history of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) from its founding in 1935 as a break-away from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) until the merging of the two federations in 1955. He analyzes the stormy relations between the rival labor groups, the CIO's complex dealing with governmental authorities, and its successes and failures in organizing workers and negotiating labor contracts. Vivid warts-and-all portraits are painted of the CIO's leaders, notably founding father John L. Lewis and Walter Reuther, who dominated the CIO in its later years. Characterizing the CIO as a "fragile juggernaut," Ziegler deals with its internal problems of structure and finances and the debilitating effects of its battles with Communist elements in its ranks. Highly recommended for labor collections of academic libraries.Harry Frumerman, formerly with Hunter Coll., New YorkCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) encompassed the largest sustained surge of worker organization in American history. Robert Zieger charts the rise of this industrial union movement, from the founding of the CIO by John L. Lewis in 1935 to its merger under Walter Reuther with the American Federation of Labor in 1955. Exploring themes of race and gender, Zieger combines the institutional history of the CIO with vivid depictions of working-class life in this critical period. Zieger details the ideological conflicts that racked the CIO even as its leaders strove to establish a labor presence at the heart of the U.S. economic system. Stressing the efforts of industrial unionists such as Sidney Hillman and Philip Murray to forge potent instruments of political action, he assesses the CIO's vital role in shaping the postwar political and international order. Zieger's analysis also contributes to current debates over labor law reform, the collective bargaining system, and the role of organized labor in a changing economy.ReviewSets a new standard for the study of the mid-twentieth-century labor movement . . . . Manages to strike that most elusive of balances between history from above and below. . . . A major accomplishment.--Reviews in American HistoryAbout the AuthorRobert H. Zieger, professor of history at the University of Florida, is author of Rebuilding the Pulp and Paper Workers' Union and American Workers, American Unions