Labor Reporter's Book Shows Why Unions are More Important Than Ever

In a highly touted book packed with colorful anecdotes and careful research, a veteran labor reporter examines what's happened to organized labor in the United States and what workers and unions can do to rebuild their movement and America's middle class.

"It is no overstatement to say that labor has contributed mightily to what has made America work – and what has made it unique," writes Philip Dine in his recently published book "State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy and Regain Political Influence."

Dine, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated labor reporter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and member of The Newspaper Guild-CWA Local 36047, looks at the corporate, political and economic forces that have resulted in a nationwide drop in union membership and what labor needs to do to reverse that trend. Among the positive examples he cites is CWA's Stewards' Army.

 "In a time of increasing disenfranchisement of average people, of growing gulfs between the haves and have-nots, labor's most important role may be to serve as a vehicle for the voices of people who are being drowned out," Dine writes.

The book's many fans include Mike Wallace of CBS News who said, "Phil Dine tells a compelling tale (and he writes beautifully) of the decline, fall and potential rebirth of a powerful labor movement in the U.S."

TNG-CWA President Linda Foley said Dine "has produced a must-read for both union members and members of the press. 'State of the Unions' – with its keen observations and thoughtful conclusions – could be a primer for labor leaders and labor reporters."

The book is avaliable at most book stores.