DC Public Library System

A new working class, the legacies of public-sector employment in the Civil Rights Movement, Jane Berger

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

index present

non fiction

A new working class

bibliography

1237632667

Jane Berger

Politics and culture in modern America

the legacies of public-sector employment in the Civil Rights Movement

"This book traces efforts by Black public-sector workers and their unions to combat racial and economic injustice in Baltimore. For decades, civil rights activists had been fighting against employment discrimination and for a greater role for African Americans in municipal decision-making. In the 1960s, activists seized the opportunity of the Great Society-and the government jobs it created on the local level-to advance their goals. They met with considerable success. The public sector became a critical job niche for Black workers, especially women, a largely unheralded achievement of the civil rights movement. A vocal contingent of Black public-sector workers pursued the activists' goals from their government posts and sought to increase and improve public-service delivery. They also fought for their rights as workers and won union representation. During an era often associated with deindustrialization and union decline, Black government workers and their unions were just getting started"--, Provided by publisher

Introduction : Public-sector workers and the battle over cities -- "Boom times" in Baltimore? -- "A new mood" is spreading : the Great Society as job creation -- "We had to fight to get this" : antipoverty workers take on city hall -- "Better wages and job conditions with dignity" : unionizing the public sector -- "A posture of advocacy for the poor" : fighting poverty in an era of austerity -- "The hell-raising period is over" : new federalism in Baltimore -- "Polishing the apple while the core rots" : Carter and the cities -- "A tourist town at the expense of the poor" : the making of two Baltimores -- "A revolving door for impoverished people" : Reaganomics and American cities -- "There's tragedy on both sides of the layoffs" : privatization and the urban crisis