The Betrayal of Local 14

Rating:
Summary: While accurate, the book only told one side of the story.
Review: Mr. Getman does a good of telling the local union's side of the strike at Internatioal Paper's Jay, Maine mill, however his lack of balance causes him to miss the point. I worked as a consultant at the Jay mill for a year prior to the strike and know all the main characters Mr. Getman describes. He has omitted some key relationships. For example the deep personal dislike between the mill manager and the local president was an important element in the strike. But more important Mr. Getman missed the point he was trying to make. While he concludes that International Paper, the international union, and the law betrayed Local 14, the fact is the real betrayers of Local 14 were the idealists who turned a local labor disput into a crusade. He is correct in that the strike bitterly divided the town of Jay and it is divided to this day. I hope every union official reads this book before they ask their members for a strike vote.

Rating:
Summary: Workers on the Paper Plantation Fight Back
Review: This is an insightful and readable account of an important strike. The local leadership did not go looking for this strike, International Paper did. What they did not count on was the innovative tactics of the workers, and their leadership and advisors, who inflicted a lot of pain on the company. When I lived in Maine, the paper companies got everything just they way they wanted it. When they said jump, everyone from the Governor to the media said how high? And if the paper companies wanted fewer restrictions from environmental laws, even the unions went along with it. But in 1987-8, workers in Jay stood up. And a lot of Mainers stood by them. The strike shook things up in the state. This book is a useful reminder that workers can stand up for what they believe in. They can fight and make a difference. By the way. In other countries, like France, it is illegal to bring in permanent replacement scabs. It should be here.