Summary Of Beverly Silver's Forces Of Labor

Beverly Silver’s Forces of Labor provides a candid explanation of historical labor strife movements that characterized the US and UK. She uses a database of the London Times and New York Times newspapers to profile the labor unrest in the two countries. By profiling every mention of labor unrest in the two papers, Silver gives a candid analysis of the dynamics of labor and capital in the twentieth century. In the first three chapters, Silver demonstrates the relationship between capital and labor; in that capital determines the profitability strategies that an entity will embrace, which when implemented results to resistance. Actions by employers to counter resistance consequently yield other forms of resistance. Resistance by workers follows two strategies; “Marxian” and “Polanyian.” Under the Marxian strategy, workers fight to earn a share of the company’s profit and also ensure that their workplaces are productive. On the other
The books illustrated the spatial fix strategy using the labor unrest experienced in the American Auto-industry. At the time of the struggle, the car manufacturers were based in the Mid-Western areas whose workers’ unions were extremely weak. The auto industry manufacturers had an upper hand over their workers given the fact that resisting employees were easily displaced by unskilled and semiskilled workers who were eager to fill their positions. However, the use of semiskilled and unskilled workers in production resulted to a major weakness. The reliance on a single capital intensive machine to drive the assembly line implied that any stoppage that arose was bound to affect profits negatively. The American auto industry had no choice but to accept the conditions demanded by the militant minority of workers. The employers agreed to acknowledge unions and their role in highlighting the plight of