Sam Donaldson, Correspondent, ABC News states :

“Why has organized labor suffered such a precipitous decline in recent years? Does it matter? And if it matters, what can be done to swing the pendulum back? Phil Dine provides answers to those questions and makes a compelling case — to borrow a sentiment expressed fifty years ago about General Motors — that ‘What's good for organized labor is good for the country!’”

FROM:

• Philip Dine's State of the Unions (McGraw-Hill, September 2007)

Philip Dine, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-nominated labor reporter offers insight to what happened to organized labor in America and what can be done to restore it to its role as defender of middle-class values and economic wellbeing.
New York, NY, September 14, 2007 --(PR.com)-- “Phil Dine tells a compelling tale (and he writes beautifully) of the decline, fall and potential rebirth of a powerful labor movement in the U.S.”
– Mike Wallace, CBS news

From steel workers, Teamsters, and coal miners to teachers, actors and civil servants, union members once accounted for more than one-third of the American workforce. At a mere twelve-percent, union membership today is a shadow of what is once was. In State of the Unions, Philip Dine, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-nominated labor reporter who has covered the beat for twenty years, offers insight to what happened to organized labor in America and what can be done to restore it to its role as the defender of middle-class values and economic wellbeing.

From Richard Gephardt’s foreword: “An America with fewer unions and union members will result in a lower standard of living for all…American labor must adapt and reform itself to move the American standard of living back up… Dine’s book makes us understand that the American economy – built strong on the back of a stable middle class – still depends on having strong unions.”

State of the Unions details the systematic dismantling of American unions and the monumental impact that has had on our economy, politics, health, and way of life. Dine brings the reader inside the lives of the people at the heart of the struggle to revive the labor movement and offers inspiring in-depth accounts of recent grass-roots victories, such as the women of Delta Pride – a major player in the multi-billion-dollar catfish industry – who went up against generations of racial and economic prejudice; and the politically active Firefighters for John Kerry in Iowa who flexed their muscle to score a major political victory in the 2004 caucus. He commingles those tales of struggle and challenge with colorful personal encounters involving union leaders from Jim Hoffa, Jr. of the Teamsters to Al Shanker of the Teachers.

Through it all, Dine provides both a political and cultural context for America’s unions. He connects the dots between the state of today’s unions and the state of our politics and economy. His experience as a reporter covering labor through several decades of union wins and losses provides an informed perspective of recent labor history.

Dine writes: “A powerful labor movement that once moved workers into the middle class is now powerless to prevent people from falling out of it.” He explains why and how labor must adapt to the new world order if it hopes to survive and offers valuable pointers on what it can do to better communicate its message and shape the political agenda.

About the Author
Philip M. Dine has covered the labor beat for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for two decades. Twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for his labor reporting, he was also recognized for best Washington correspondence by the National Press Club and named top foreign correspondent by the Overseas Press Club. His op-ed or commentary pieces have been published in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, and Newsday. This past June, Dine won two additional awards for his reporting – the 2007 National Press Club Edwin Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence and the 2007 Society of Professional Journalists Dateline Award for Investigative Reporting.

• FROM:

Overview

From steel workers, Teamsters, and coal miners to teachers, actors, and civil servants, union members once accounted for more than one third of the American workforce. At a mere 12 percent, union membership today is a shadow of what it once was. What happened to organized labor in America and what can be done to restore it to its role of the defender of middle-class values and economic well-being?

Award-winning investigative reporter Philip M. Dine takes us on a riveting journey through America's cities and back roads, its factories and union halls, to answer those questions. From the health care crisis to massive job flight overseas, from rampant home foreclosures to illegal immigration, he clearly shows how virtually every major economic, political, and social trend impacting our way of life is tied to the state of America's unions.

Combining a compelling narrative with expert analysis, Dine offers firsthand accounts of the union members striving to make their voices heard in a political landscape increasingly shaped by corporate interests, including how:

• The women of Delta Pride-a major player in the multi-billion dollar catfish industry-went up against generations of racial and economic prejudice
• Iowa's firefighters union flexed its collective muscle to score a major political victory in the 2004 caucus
• The American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO played a key role in bringing down the Iron Curtain
• The Teamsters enlisted community support to temporarily stop a move by Mr. Coffee to relocate to Mexico and saved nearly 400 manufacturing jobs in the Cleveland area

A reporter who has covered labor for two decades, Dine not only details where labor has gone wrong, but he also offers sage advice on how it can adapt to a global economy to recover the ground it lost over the last quarter century.

Biographical note

Philip M. Dine has covered the labor beat for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for two decades. Twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for his labor reporting, he was also recognized for best Washington correspondence by the National Press Club and named top foreign correspondent by the Overseas Press Club. His op-ed and commentary pieces have been published in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, and Newsday.

Back cover copy

PRAISE FOR STATE OF THE UNIONS

“Phil Dine tells a compelling tale-and he writes beautifully-of the decline, fall, and potential rebirth of a powerful labor movement in the U.S.”-Mike Wallace, CBS News

“State of the Unions is an excellent, inspiring, and very readable analysis of the current struggles and past triumphs of the American labor movement. Longtime respected labor reporter Phil Dine makes a compelling case that a much stronger labor movement in the years ahead is indispensable for restoring fairness for working families and reducing the widening income gap that is threatening the American dream for so many millions of our families.”-Senator Edward M. Kennedy

“State of the Unions provides a penetrating look at what's happened to American workers-and how labor unions have failed them. It's an important book on a subject that gets far too little attention.”-Michael Isikoff, author of Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War

“Phil Dine presents a compelling case for the critical role unions play in preserving the dignity of workers and the American way of life. State of the Unions is a must read for anyone concerned about the future of our country.”-John J. Flynn, President, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers

“State of the Unions-with its keen observations and thoughtful conclusions-could be a primer for labor leaders and labor reporters. Except it's so well-written and entertaining that it beckons anyone who works for a living to bring it to the beach.”-Linda Foley, President, Newspaper Guild-CWA, Vice President, Communications Workers of America

“The facts are uncontestable. The conclusions often controversial. The challenges historic. Phil Dine offers a compelling and provocative look at labor's role in the political, social and economic marketplace.”-The Honorable Tom Ridge

“The author enters areas few media professionals have ever even visited...in this astonishing new book.”-Bernard DeLury, Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service under President George H.W. Bush

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More pre-publication reactions can be found here