User:JRK History MA
| Linked Labor Histories: New England, Colombia, And The Making Of A Global Working Class | |
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| Author(s) | Aviva Chomsky |
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| Publisher | Duke University Press |
| Publication date | 2008-04-01 |
| Pages | 416 |
| ISBN | 9780822341901 |
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Linked Labor Histories
Book Summary
Aviva Chomsky’s book is a study into the impact of Globalization on two regions of the world, New England and Colombia, in the 20th century. The overall theme of her work is the linkage between the laborers in each region and how, despite their seemingly disparate interests, they became pawns in a complicated process that over time reduced each side to a single, global working class. Chomsky weaves a pattern of coordination among industry, US government domestic and foreign policy, finance and immigration; This pattern rewarded multinational corporations, allied governments and US consumers. Chomsky provides a convincing tale regarding the long and predictable ‘race to the bottom’ which characterized the 20th century relationship for the working class in these two regions. She reaches significant conclusions regarding the causes of the de-industrialization of the United States, the United States support for military and para-military units in Colombia, the coal extraction bonanza for Exxon and the supplying of major defense provider contracts. She caps her study with the question of whether labor should accommodate or fight.
Chomsky approaches her subject from two paradigms; the first connects the themes of migration, labor-management collaboration and global economic restructuring, while the second applies case studies to detail events reflecting these themes. She begins her work by closely examining the textile industry in New England in the early to middle 20th century, through the ramp up and subsequent de-industrialization stories of the Draper and Naumkeag Steam Cotton Companies.
The Draper Company’s products were looms for turning cotton and other fibers into fabrics and materials for clothing and industrial applications, and the introduction of the Northrop Loom after 1910 led to significant productivity increases for the textile industry, and sales increases for Draper.
