Banded together : economic democratization in the Brass Valley / / Jeremy Brecher

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910973903103321
• Autore: Brecher Jeremy
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Urbana, : University of Illinois Press, c2011
• ISBN: 9786613070142; 9781283070140; 1283070146; 9780252093111; 0252093119
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (281 p.)
• Collana: The working class in American history
• Disciplina: 330.9746/1
• Soggetti: Social action - Connecticut - Naugatuck River Valley; Deindustrialization - Connecticut - Naugatuck River Valley - History; Naugatuck River Valley (Conn.) Social conditions; Naugatuck River Valley (Conn.) Economic conditions
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Roots of powerlessness in the Brass Valley -- Banded together -- Buyout -- Organizing -- Century brass -- The life and death of Seymour Specialty Wire -- Founding ValleyCare Cooperative -- Taking care of business -- The demise of ValleyCare -- Brookside Housing Cooperative -- Economic democratization from below -- Afterstories.
• Sommario/riassunto: Providing incisive commentary on the historical and contemporary American working class experience, Banded Together: Economic Democratization in the Brass Valley documents a community's efforts to rebuild and revitalize itself in the aftermath of deindustrialization. Through powerful oral histories and other primary sources, Jeremy Brecher tells the story of a group of average Americans--factory workers, housewives, parishioners, and organizers--who tried to create a democratic alternative to the economic powerlessness caused by the closing of factories in the Connecticut Naugatuck Valley region during the 1970s and 1980s. This volume focuses on grassroots organization, democratically controlled enterprises, and supportive public policies, ; providing examples from the Naugatuck Valley Project community-alliance that remain relevant to the economic problems of today and tomorrow. Drawing on more than a hundred interviews with Project leaders, staff, and other knowledgeable members of the local community, Brecher illustrates how the Naugatuck Valley Project served as a vehicle for community members to establish greater control over their economic lives.