AFSCME's Philadelphia Story: Municipal Workers and Urban Power in the Twentieth Century by Francis Ryan

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Kenneth C Wolensky

Abstract

In the early twentieth century Philadelphia had a strong reputation as being antilabor. Irish, Italian, and black municipal laborers were at the mercy of city politics and ward bosses where they found it very difficult to advance into positions other than street cleaners, trash haulers, and other less desirable jobs. Jobs were awarded based on personal relationships and favoritism. Corruption was rampant. It is against this historical backdrop that Fran Ryan details the trials of Philadelphia's public sector workers throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. It is a remarkable story that here, for the first time, is told in a comprehensive and engaging manner. Indeed, Ryan's study is likely to be the most far-reaching study of municipal workers and their union to be completed to date and he deserves much credit for this important contribution.

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Book Reviews