Are contemporary US labor unions irrelevant, or in fact a changing force to be reckoned with as they grow into a new economy in a globalized America? This is a survey of the status of trade unions past, present, and future, nationally as well as through the labour situation in Ohio.

Are contemporary US labor unions irrelevant, or in fact a changing force to be reckoned with as they grow into a new economy in a globalized America? Is the current political power exercised by US labour unions more akin to the social movements of the 60s or the interest politics of the 90s? After winning the presidency of the AFL-CIO in 1995, John Sweeney and his colleagues have taken strides to make labour more important in the US economically and politically, despite reduced membership. Here, four authors come together to survey the status of trade unions past, present, and future, nationally as well as through the microcosm of the labour situation in Ohio, one of the largest, most representative, and most electorally significant states in the country.