Justice at Work: The Rise of Economic and Racial Justice Coalitions in Cities

Justice at Work is a groundbreaking book that explores how progressive policy change for economic justice has swept U.S. cities in the 2010s. It demonstrates how economic and racial justice organizing and policy entrepreneurship work together to build power and support for policy changes. The book suggests that successful progressive organizing efforts are likely to endure, but success depends on skillful organizing and policy work inside City Hall.

Format: Hardback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 01 September 2022
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

In the 2010s, cities and counties across the United States experienced a transformative shift as they became more actively engaged in addressing social, economic, and racial justice issues. After decades of urban economic restructuring that deepened class divides and perpetuated institutional and systemic racism, numerous local governments challenged the prevailing notion that cities were incapable of addressing inequality. They implemented progressive labor market policies, such as $15 minimum wages and paid sick leave, in response.

Justice at Work: Building Power and Support for Policy Changes explores the interconnected roles of economic and racial justice organizing and policy entrepreneurship in fostering power and garnering support for policy reforms. By bridging urban social movement and urban politics studies, the book demonstrates how economic and racial justice coalitions are collectively the vital institution driving progressive change. It also showcases how "urban policy entrepreneurs" utilize public spaces and the intangible resources of cities to create "agenda windows" for progressive policy proposals incubated through national networks.

Through case studies of organizing and policy change efforts in cities like Chicago, Seattle, and New Orleans centered around minimum wages, targeted hiring, paid time off, fair scheduling, and anti-austerity, Marc Doussard and Greg Schrock illustrate that the contemporary wave of successful progressive organizing efforts is likely to endure. However, they emphasize that success hinges on skillful organizing that builds and sustains power at the grassroots and effective policy work within city halls. By promoting justice at work and expanding its scope beyond the workplace, these movements possess the potential to unlock a new era of social and economic progress.

Dimension: 216 x 140 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781517913045