The Way We Build

Restoring Dignity to Construction Work

Mark Erlich

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Paperback

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English

University of Illinois Press
18 July 2023

History of the Americas; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Industrial relations & safety

Series: Working Class in American History

The construction trades once provided unionized craftsmen a route to the middle class and a sense of pride and dignity often denied other blue-collar workers. Today, union members still earn wages and benefits that compare favorably to those of college graduates. But as union strength has declined over the last fifty years, a growing non-union sector offers lower compensation and more hazardous conditions, undermining the earlier tradition of upward mobility. Revitalization of the industry depends on unions shedding past racial and gender discriminatory practices, embracing organizing, diversity, and the new immigrant workforce, and preparing for technological changes.

Mark Erlich blends long-view history with his personal experience inside the building trades to explain one of our economy’s least understood sectors. Erlich’s multifaceted account includes the dynamics of the industry, the backdrop of union policies, and powerful stories of everyday life inside the trades. He offers a much-needed overview of construction’s past and present while exploring roads to the future.

By: Mark Erlich
Imprint: University of Illinois Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 286g
ISBN: 9780252087332
ISBN 10: 025208733X
Series: Working Class in American History
Pages: 144
Publication Date: 18 July 2023
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Mark Erlich is the Wertheim Fellow at the Harvard Labor and Worklife Program and the retired Executive Secretary Treasurer of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. His books include Labor at the Ballot Box.

Reviews for The Way We Build: Restoring Dignity to Construction Work

Having been a carpenter, dynamic union leader, and observer and writer of labor history, Mark Erlich's experience provides unique and incisive perspective on the challenges facing workers, management and government in the construction industry. This book is required reading for anyone who cares about the future of construction and the wider community dependent on it. --David Weil, Professor, Heller School, Brandeis University and former Administrator, US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division in the Obama administration A fascinating and incisive analysis of construction. The author's extensive experience as a carpenter, superintendent, and union leader gives him an intimate knowledge of the industry. He shows how unions transform tough construction jobs into rewarding middle class careers. A must-read for industry practitioners, trade unionists, and 'future of work' enthusiasts. --Jeff Grabelsky, The Worker Institute at Cornell ILR School