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In this thorough collection of inspiring and informed essays, Kim Moody, one of the world's most authoritative and recognized labor writers, analyzes the past, present, and future of unions in the United States. With a sharp understanding of Marxist theory and labor history, Moody charts a well-reasoned course for the future of rank-and-file struggle.Kim Moody was a founder of Labor Notes and is a member of the National Union of Journalists and a senior research fellow at the Work and Employment Unit of the University of Hertfordshire.

Introduction -- the neoliberal transformation of New York City -- The crisis in context -- From crisis regime to mayoral-business coalition : the rise of Koch -- Globalization and the underdevelopment of New York : the 1990s -- Politics in the 1990s : soft cop, hard cop -- The Bloomberg phenomenon -- Behind the skyline : New York's elite remakes the city and itself -- Beneath the skyline -- Conclusion : neoliberal triumph

Abstract
In Marx's analysis of capitalism, time and motion are central to the dynamics of the system. In the twenty-first century, capital deployed new forms of technology and logistical planning to increase profits and reduce the circulation phase of the turnover time of capital. The introduction of fibre optic cable, data centres, the transformation of the warehouse into a site of movement, the rise of third-party logistics (3PL) firms, and improvements in infrastructure all promoted 'the annihilation of space by time' in the effort to increase profitability. As increased velocity of value became central to capital, the system in turn became more vulnerable to disruption by labour.

The massive loss of manufacturing jobs in the United States even as manufacturing output continued to increase has been a source of debate between those who see this primarily as a result of globalization and trade, on one hand, and those for whom the dynamics of capitalism with its economic turbulence, job-displacing technology and productivity increases is the major cause, on the other. It is a debate with political implications. In the United States, those who see trade imbalances as the major cause of job loss compose a broad spectrum including many liberal economists, trade union leaders, related think tanks and the Trump Administration who place the blame on a foreign 'other' rather than multinational capital. Supporting this analysis are a series of recent academic articles that largely ignore economic crises and reject productivity, in particular, as reasons for declining manufacturing employment. This article will critically analyse their arguments and propose a different explanation rooted in the turbulence, competition and class conflict inherent in capitalism as these have unfolded in the United States during the neoliberal era.

AbstractFor decades futurists, academics and business experts have argued that automation, robots and other new technology would eliminate millions of jobs. Yet the workforce in the US has continued to grow, even if more slowly, to new heights. Work has changed, but the predicted 'end of work' failed to materialise even as technology has advanced, albeit unevenly. This article will argue that the answer to this apparent riddle is not to be found in analysing the technology itself, but in Marxist political economy. The progress of robots and related technology will be examined, but the argument is that the limits on technical progress in the actual production of goods and services lie in the turbulence of capitalism since the 1970s with its uneven profit rates.