"The crisis of the progressive movement in the United States today is so evident that nothing less than a fundamental rethinking of its basic assumptions is required. Today's progressives now work for professional organizations more comfortable with the inside game in Washington, where they are outmatched and outspent by special interests. Labor unions now focus on the narrowest possible understanding of the interests of their members, and membership continues to decline in lockstep with the narrowing of their goals. Meanwhile, promising movements like Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter have not accomplished meaningful change. Why do progressives in the United States keep losing on so many issues? In No Shortcuts, Jane McAlevey argues that progressives can win, but lack the organized power to enact significant change, to outlast their bosses in labor fights, and to hold elected leaders accountable. Drawing upon her experience as a scholar and longtime organizer …
"The crisis of the progressive movement in the United States today is so evident that nothing less than a fundamental rethinking of its basic assumptions is required. Today's progressives now work for professional organizations more comfortable with the inside game in Washington, where they are outmatched and outspent by special interests. Labor unions now focus on the narrowest possible understanding of the interests of their members, and membership continues to decline in lockstep with the narrowing of their goals. Meanwhile, promising movements like Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter have not accomplished meaningful change. Why do progressives in the United States keep losing on so many issues? In No Shortcuts, Jane McAlevey argues that progressives can win, but lack the organized power to enact significant change, to outlast their bosses in labor fights, and to hold elected leaders accountable. Drawing upon her experience as a scholar and longtime organizer in the student, environmental, and labor movements, McAlevey examines the case studies of recent social movements to pinpoint the factors that helped them succeed - or fail - to accomplish their intended goals. McAlevey makes a compelling case that the great social movements of previous eras gained their power from mass organizing, a strategy today's progressive have mostly abandoned in favor of mobilization or advocacy. She ultimately concludes that, in order to win, progressive movements must adopt bottom-up organizing strategies that place the power for change in the hands of workers and activists at the community level. Beyond the concrete examples in this book, McAlevey's arguments have direct implications for anyone involved in organizing for social change. Much more than just a cogent analysis, No Shortcuts explains exactly how progressives can go about rebuilding powerful movements at work, in our communities, and at the ballot box."--
"An examination of strategies for effective organizing"--
Lots of incredibly important, foundational ideas in here for anyone interested in collectivist organizing. The central thesis is that leftist social movements and labor organization via unions each miss important aspects of how power is built and maintained without incorporating the approaches of the other. There's some very useful theory (ideas like the distinction between advocacy, mobilizing, and organizing) and some powerful case studies of specific organizations. I have some minor nitpicks with McAlevey's conclusions, especially her criticisms of high-touch participatory democracy, but overall this is a great read for anyone new to unions and collective organizing.
A dense, but thorough introduction to real, effective organizing with case examples to drive the points home. McAlevey presents a number of crucial ideas that all workers should acquaint themselves with, and labor should draw from to recruit organic leaders who will generate high participation audiences to leverage high-impact collective action. Case examples are effective and helpful in understanding the struggle of workers nationwide, especially in a terse time as the present.
