Running the rails
Subtitle: capital and labor in the Philadelphia transit industry
By: James Wolfinger
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 2016
Place of publication: Ithaca
Language: eng
Number of pages: 282
ISBN-13: 9781501702402
Subjects: Industrial relations; Local transit; History
Description: "Public service workers and their unions come under frequent attack for being a "special interest" or a hindrance to the smooth functioning of society. This book offers readers a different, historically grounded way of thinking about the people who keep their cities running. Working in public transit is a difficult job now, as it was a century ago. The benefits and decent wages Philadelphia public transit workers secured--advances that were hard-won and well deserved--came as a result of fighting for decades against their exploitation. Given capital's great power in American society and management's enduring quest to control its workforce, it is remarkable to see how much Philadelphia's transit workers achieved"--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-282) and index.
Table of contents: title: Capital and the shifting nature of social control; title: Beginnings; title: Working on the line; title: Time of troubles; title: The age of Thomas Mitten; title: Hard times and a hate strike; title: Labor relations and public relations; title: National city lines and the imperatives of postwar capitalism; title: Advances hard won and well-deserved.