BOOK TALK: “Rust Belt Union Blues” authors Lainey Newman & Theda Skocpol
First Unitarian Church of Pittsbrgh 605 Morewood Avenue, PittsburghJOIN THE Battle of Homestead Foundation for an in-person program "BOOK TALK: Rust Belt Union Blues" featuring authors LAINEY NEWMAN and THEDA SKOCPOL. DATE: Sunday, Mar. 10, 2024 from 2:00-4:00 pm PLACE: First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, 605 Morewood Ave., Pittsburgh PA 15213 ADMISSION: Free but Eventbrite reservation required – REGISTER HERE * Rust Belt Union Blues is published by Columbia University Press – get your copy here! _______________________________________________ LAINEY NEWMAN and THEDA SKOCPOL provide timely insight into the relationship between the decline of unions and the shift of working-class voters away from Democrats. Drawing on interviews, union newsletters and ethnographic analysis, they pinpoint the significance of eroding local community ties and identities. Using western Pennsylvania as a case study, Newman and Skocpol argue that union members’ loyalty to Democratic candidates was as much a product of the group identity that unions fostered as it was a response to the Democratic Party’s economic policies. As the social world around organized labor dissipated, conservative institutions like gun clubs, megachurches and other Republican-leaning groups took its place. _______________________________________________ LAINEY NEWMAN is a J.D. candidate at Harvard Law School. She is a graduate of Harvard College and a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. THEDA SKOCPOL […]
