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This book presents a vision for farreaching economic change in America connected to practical grassroots steps. It points to an economic system in which corporate success merges with the long-term welfare of the workers and the general population. The author examines the continued reality of social democracy in Europe and what lessons can be learned for the U.S. He demonstrates how progressive economic change is already being fought for by labor and community groups throughout America in such efforts as the Living Wage Movement and the emerging battle against sprawl. And he provides a wealth of concrete examples, tools, and ideas that everyone can use to organize for economic and social justice in their own communities.

Utopias - whether philosophical, literary, or actual experiments - are attempts to solve all social problems. In the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center, unfolding corporate scandals, and other devastating shocks, it is natural to search for practical lessons in utopian literature. In this collection noted sociologists renew the call to develop an altruistic social order. They address a wide variety of topics as they look for viable utopian ideas that can be applied to today's society. Written in an engaging, jargon-free style, and directed to introductory sociology students as well as anyone concerned with social problems, the book provides both visionary ideals and insights for pragmatic decision-making as we venture into an uncertain future.

In the past decade unions and community groups have come together around a wide range of campaigns for economic justice -- from fighting for living wages, to electing progressive champions, to questioning market-oriented economic development, to promoting anti-sprawl/smart growth efforts. Partnering for Change brings together activists and intellectuals on the forefront of these organizing efforts. They discuss general patterns of labor-community coalitions in terms of alliances between unions and such community players as environmentalists, religious groups, low-income organizations, and local employers. The contributors also offer a wealth of case studies such as the successful campaign for corporate subsidy accountability in Minnesota, Vermont's Liveable Wage Camapign, The Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership, and the model regional power building projects of the South Bay AFL-CIO. The volume's editor, David Reynolds, combines a broad overview of labor- community coalitions, practical examples applicable to diverse communities, and an appreciation of the challenges as well as the opportunities for building the movement for economic change.

Provides information on ways the working class of the United States can build power through regional labor movements.

This revised edition of a well-known and widely used text in community organizing and development fully examines the broad and changing political and social settings that influence actions; while portraying the infra-structure of social change -- the knowledge, personnel, and organizations -- that enable such work to be successfully accomplished. The text brings together the practicalities of organizing and development -- fund raising, working out news releases, running an organization, orchestrating political actions, academic knowledge -- and explains why various approaches work; as well as the values and ideologies that guide what is to be done. It provides the foundations of organizing and development work and then describes how activists -- through following either a social confrontation model or an economic and social production approach -- can respond to economic and social problems.

Introducing the role of urban social context in the field of labor revitalization, this book features global case studies in which strong coalitions have enabled new union influence as well as those in which such coalition building has been thwarted.

With the election of a community organizer as president of the United States, the time is right to evaluate the current state of community organizing and the effectiveness of ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). Since 2002, ACORN has been dramatically expanding and raising its national profile; it has also been weathering controversy over its voter registration campaigns and an internal financial scandal. The twelve chapters in this volume present the perspectives of insiders like founder Wade Rathke and leading outside practitioners and academics. The result is a thorough detailing of ACORN's founding and its changing strategies, including vivid accounts and analyses of its campaigns on the living wage, voter turnout, predatory lending, redlining, school reform, and community redevelopment, as well as a critical perspective on ACORN's place in the community organizing landscape.

This multi-disciplinary collection blends broad overviews and case studies as well as different theoretical perspectives in a critique of the relationship between United States philanthropic foundations and movements for social change. Scholars and practitioners examine how these foundations support and/or thwart popular social movements and address how philanthropic institutions can be more accountable and democratic in a sophisticated, provocative, and accessible manner.

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