Labor

Labor is the source of all wealth. Without workers, the world's natural resources cannot be transformed into finished goods and services cannot be delivered. Labor, though, is a uniquely important resource because, unlike others, it is capable of altering its own conditions of existence and of challenging how it is used. In this book, Andrew Herod offers an original and wide-ranging analysis of labor as a multifaceted and truly global resource. Opening with a rich overview of the migration streams and demographic trends that have shaped the planetary distribution of labor, he goes on to explore how globalization and the growth of precarious work are impacting working people's lives in both "Old Economy" and "New Economy" employment sectors. He concludes by surveying some of the ways in which working people are taking action to improve their lives, including forming trade unions and other labor organizations, occupying factories in places like Argentina and Greece, and establishing anti-sweatshop campaigns. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the state of labor in today's global economy.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgement Introduction Chapter 1 – A Resource Unlike Any Other Labor as Object Labor as Subject Summary Chapter 2 – Labor in Global Context Moving On Rural to urban migration Intra-continental migration Inter-continental migration Growing in Place Summary Chapter 3 – Globalization and Labor FDI’s Implications for Labor GPNs and Labor as Object and Subject Waste, Global Destruction Networks, and Labor Summary Chapter 4 – Neoliberalism and Working Precariously Neoliberalism and Precarious Work Forms of Precarity and Their Present Dynamics Summary Chapter 5 – From Drudge Work to Emancipated Workers? Laboring in the Old Economy On the Swing to the Cancer in the Bush  Iron Ore Mining in Western Australia Sweet Work? – Cocoa Plantation Workers in West Africa Fishy Business – Forced Labor in the Seafood Industry Summary Chapter 6 – Meet the New Economy – Same as the Old Economy? Laboring in the New Economy Chips off the Old (Economy) Block? Call Centers – Dark Satanic Mills of the New Economy? Ghost Workers of the New Economy Summary Chapter 7 – Workers Fight Back Workers Coming Together Organizing in the Age of Precarity Summary Chapter 8 – Concluding Thoughts Bibliography

About the Author :
Andrew Herod is Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Georgia.

Review :
"Superbly explicated and assisted by well-chosen case studies, Andrew Herod's analysis of the uniqueness of labor as a resource is both captivating and convincing. Wonderful work!" —Jon Agnone, University of Washington "In this bold and pithy text Herod reminds us that labor is a vital resource with a mind of its own. This book is an excellent introduction to the fast-changing world of work and why it matters so much." —Jane Wills, Queen Mary, University of London "... an accessible text for undergraduates, and while clearly driven by a geographic imagination, it should be read by all labor studies students." —Economic Geography "In his new book, geographer Andrew Herod brings the labor question back into the heart of understanding the global economic processes shaping the world we live in." —Antipode "Herod's Labor is an excellent book. It succeeds brilliantly as an introductory text, but also presents important arguments and evidence deserving a wider readership." —Journal of Industrial Relations "... fresh and compelling." —Rick Halpern, University of Toronto