three Questions with AL DAVIDOFF author of Unionizing the Ivory Tower

1. What inspired you to write this book?

I was inspired by the Cornell workers I spent fifteen years fighting alongside and helping lead. The courage, spunk, creativity, and tenacity of those with the least privilege at Cornell fueled my activism, changed my life, and provide a fascinating, “David vs. Goliath” story. The story of building an activist local union from scratch also has important value and lessons for other unions and social justice organizations.

3. In what ways will your book resonate with readers?

Low wage workers are mobilizing from Starbucks to Amazon, from grad students to fast food and retail workers. This is a story of union building creativity and success that goes beyond winning an election to building an effective organization.

At a time when the white working class is written off by some as politically lost to Trumpism, this story challenges those assumptions with concrete example of building a progressive, socially conscious union with a rural, largely white working class demographic. Racism was explicitly confronted in the building of the union.

2. How will your book make a difference to the field?

There are few, if any, books that describe the specific stages of creating a healthy, dynamic local union. Most writing in this field comes from a more macroeconomic or national perspective. The book challenges some of the more conservative and complacent norms of effective trade unionism without being pedantic. The book provides creative approaches to organizing, bargaining, striking, grievance handling, leadership development, coalition building, and community engagement.