Synopses & Reviews
and#147;John Laslettand#8217;s
Sunshine Was Never Enough is an extraordinary work of historical synthesis and interpretation, which brings to more than a century of labor history in Los Angeles the insights of a new generation of social, labor, and political historians. Laslett is highly sensitive to questions of race, gender, immigration, conservative politics, left-wing movements, and political economy, all essential in any contemporary effort to chart the history of the working class, past or present.and#8221;
and#151;Nelson Lichtenstein, MacArthur Foundation Chair in History, University of California, Santa Barbara
and#147;John Laslettand#8217;s comprehensive overview of the labor history of Los Angeles is a long-awaited contribution. The narrative of Sunshine Was Never Enough begins in the late nineteenth century, when the city was in its infancy, and tracks developments over an arc ending in the early twenty-first century, by which time Los Angeles had become the nationand#8217;s second largest metropolis and a rare beacon of hope for the U.S. labor movement. For too long, southern California was seen as a remote backwater. With this engaging volume, L.A. labor and the scholarship on it that has burgeoned in recent years finally has the careful treatment it deserves.and#8221; and#151;Ruth Milkman, author of L.A. Story: Immigrant Workers and the Future of the U.S. Labor Movement
and#147;John Laslettand#8217;s latest book represents a significant contribution to the field of labor studies and labor history. The Los Angeles labor movement has emerged as a dynamic focal point of the new American labor movement, and Laslettand#8217;s comprehensive and thoughtful analysis provides a much needed historic foundation. This is an invaluable resource for labor scholars and labor leaders alike.and#8221;
and#151;Kent Wong, Director, UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education
Synopsis
Delving beneath Southern Californiaand#8217;s popular image as a sunny frontier of leisure and ease, this book tells the dynamic story of the life and labor of Los Angelesand#8217;s large working class. In a sweeping narrative that takes into account more than a century of labor history, John H. M. Laslett acknowledges the advantages Southern Californiaand#8217;s climate, open spaces, and bucolic character offered to generations of newcomers. At the same time, he demonstrates thatand#151;in terms of wages, hours, and conditions of workand#151;L.A. differed very little from Americaand#8217;s other industrial cities. Both fast-paced and sophisticated,
Sunshine Was Never Enough shows how labor in all its guisesand#151;blue and white collar, industrial, agricultural, and high techand#151;shaped the neighborhoods, economic policies, racial attitudes, and class perceptions of the City of Angels.
Laslett explains how, until the 1930s, many of L.A.and#8217;s workers were under the thumb of the Merchants and Manufacturers Association. This conservative organization kept wages low, suppressed trade unions, and made L.A. into the open shop capital of America. By contrast now, at a time when the AFL-CIO is at its lowest ebband#151;a young generation of Mexican and African American organizers has infused the L.A. movement with renewed strength. These stories of the men and women who pumped oil, loaded ships in San Pedro harbor, built movie sets, assembled aircraft, and in more recent times cleaned hotels and washed cars is a little-known but vital part of Los Angeles history.
Synopsis
"John Laslett's comprehensive overview of the labor history of Los Angeles is a long-awaited contribution. The narrative of
Sunshine Was Never Enough begins in the late nineteenth century, when the city was in its infancy, and tracks developments over an arc ending in the early twenty-first century, by which time Los Angeles had become the nation's second largest metropolis and a rare beacon of hope for the U.S. labor movement. For too long, southern California was seen as a remote backwater. With this engaging volume, L.A. labor and the scholarship on it that has burgeoned in recent years finally has the careful treatment it deserves." --Ruth Milkman, author of
L.A. Story: Immigrant Workers and the Future of the U.S. Labor Movement About the Author
John Laslett is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author or co-author of many books including Labor and the Left, Failure of a Dream?, Colliers Across the Sea, and History of the ILGWU in Los Angeles.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction: Scope and Purpose
PART ONE: UNDER THE THUMB OF THE OPEN SHOP
1. Myth versus Reality in the Making of the Southern California Working Class, 1880and#150;1903
2. and#147;Itand#8217;s Class War, without a Doubtand#8221;: The Open Shop Battle Intensifies, 1904and#150;1916
3. Grassroots Insurgencies and the Impact of World War I, 1905and#150;1924
4. Moving to the and#147;Industrial Suburbsand#8221;: From Hollywood to South Gate, and from Signal Hill to the Citrus Belt, 1919and#150;1929
PART TWO: ORGANIZED LABOR COMES INTO ITS OWN
5. Unemployment, Upton Sinclairand#8217;s EPIC Campaign, and the Search for a New Deal Political Coalition, 1929and#150;1941
6. Raising Consciousness at the Workplace: Anglos, Mexicans, and the Founding of the Los Angeles CIO, 1933and#150;1938
7. Battle Royal: AFL versus CIO, and the Decline of the Open Shop, 1936and#150;1941
8. and#147;Two Steps Forward, One Step Backand#8221;? L.A. Workers in World War II, 1941and#150;1945
PART THREE: CULTURAL CHANGE AND THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW INDUSTRIAL ORDER
9. and#147;Caught between Consumption and the Cold Warand#8221;: Rebuilding Working-Class Politics, 1945and#150;1968
10. Employment, Housing, and the Struggle for Equality in the Era of Civil Rights, 1965and#150;1980
11. Globalization, Laborand#8217;s Decline, and the Coming of a Service and High-Tech Economy, 1970and#150;1994
12. False Dawn? L.A.and#8217;s Labor-Latino Alliance Takes Center Stage, 1990and#150;2010
Conclusion: Comparative Reflections
Notes
Primary Sources
Index