Coalitions Across the Class Divide: Lessons from the Labor, Peace, and Environmental Movements

Too often struggles for jobs and economic justice have been divided from social goals such as peace or protecting the environment. How do we create an economy where both the process and product of work serve life-sustaining goals? Coalitions across the Class Divide argues that the seeds of this new society are being sown by those who learn to bridge working and middle-class movements and cultures. A new generation of activists is seizing a historic opportunity to organize coalitions across the labor, peace, environmental, and other movements that have previously worked in isolation or at odds. Fred Rose brings the challenges and potential of coalition organizing to life through an in-depth look at cases of conflict and cooperation. From the timber wars in the Pacific Northwest to military conversion coalitions emerging with the end of the Cold War, these cases teach practical lessons about the processes and pitfalls of organizing across movements and classes.

About the Author :
Fred Rose is a research professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy at Tufts University and Lead Organizer with the Pioneer Valley Project, a religious and labor coalition in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Review :
Combining theories of class politics with case studies, Rose surveys the problems and possibilities of forging working- and middle-class coalitions around peace, environmental protection, and economic security. Opening with an excellent discussion of cross-class interactions, he then presents case studies based on interviews with loggers, environmentalists, peace advocates, and defense workers about the history of cross-class political alliances.... Well researched and cogently argued, this is worth reading. (Library Journal) Rose brings practical experience and research knowledge to this examination of coalition-building among social movements. He notes that modern labor and modern peace movements are marked by intermovement conflict that hinders genuine democratic social change.... Useful for activists, organizers and students of social movements. (Choice Magazine) Rose makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of coalitions through in-depth case studies of several coalition building efforts.... This book fills many of the gaps left by existing coalition research Rose's political analysis is full of important insights.... In many ways, Coalitions across the Class Divide represents an admirable fusion of serious scholarship with an engaged activist sensibility. - Brian K. Obach, SUNY—New Paltz (Mobilization)