Hardback
January 14, 2010
9780801893575
English
304
125800
24
9.00 Inches (US)
6.00 Inches (US)
0.99 Inches (US)
1.2 Pounds (US)
$62.00 USD, £51.50 GBP
v2.1 Reference
Electronic book text
January 14, 2010
9780801898655
9780801893575
English
304
125800
24
9.00 Inches (US)
6.00 Inches (US)
$62.00 USD, £51.50 GBP
v2.1 Reference

Vegas at Odds

Labor Conflict in a Leisure Economy, 1960–1985

The stories of the shadowy networks and wealthy people who bankrolled and sustained Las Vegas's continuous reinvention are well documented in works of scholarship, journalism, and popular culture. Yet no one has studied closely and over a long period of time the dynamics of the workforce—the casino and hotel workers and their relations with the companies they work for and occasionally strike against. James P. Kraft here explores the rise and changing fortunes of organized and unorganized labor as Las Vegas evolved from a small, somewhat seedy desert oasis into the glitzy tourist destination that it is today.

Drawing on scores of interviews, personal and published accounts, and public records, Kraft brings to life the largely behind-the-scenes battles over control of Sin City workplaces between 1960 and 1985. He examines successful and failed organizing drives, struggles over pay and equal rights, and worker grievances and arbitration to show how the resort industry’s evolution affected hotel and casino workers. From changes in the political and economic climate to large-scale strikes, backroom negotiations, and individual worker-supervisor confrontations, Kraft explains how Vegas's overwhelmingly service-oriented economy works—and doesn't work—for the people and companies who cater to the city's pleasure-seeking visitors.

American historians and anyone interested in the history of labor or Las Vegas will find this account highly original, insightful, and even-handed.

About the Author

James P. Kraft is professor of history at the University of Hawai'i at Mânoa. He is also the author of Stage to Studio: Musicians and the Sound Revolution, 1890–1950 and Havoc and Reform: Workplace Disasters in Modern America, both published by Johns Hopkins.    

Reviews

"In this fast-paced combination of labor and business history (which also includes a mysterious murder), Kraft argues that organized labor in Las Vegas became more, not less, forceful after the mid-1960s, even as union power in other areas was declining."

- Rosanne Curraino - Journal of American History

"While other books have delved into the experiences of Las Vegas workers, this is the first exclusively to explore their relationship with management over an extended period of time."

- Alicia Berber - American Historical Review

"Vegas at Odds is a story specific to Las Vegas but relevant to the broader discussions of economic transitions and labor-management relations."

- Joanne L. Goodwin - Pacific Historical Review

"Putting us right in the thick of the labour movement, Kraft's Vegas at Odds expertly summarizes the changes in Vegas over the past 30 years. In the book, Kraft charts the rise of the everyday 'worker', but more specifically the role of the powerful unions, in Sin City from 1960 to 1985."

- Sam Marsden - Jackpot.co.uk

"This work is a welcome addition to the field of labor relations and labor history... Highly recommended."

"This book would appeal to anyone interested in the history of Las Vegas, labor relations, organized labor, or knowing more about the worker struggles that took place behind the neon lights."

- Amy Butler - Monthly Labor Review
Johns Hopkins University Press
Studies in Industry and Society
From 17

9780801893575 : vegas-at-odds-kraft
Hardback
304 Pages
$62.00 USD
9780801898655 : vegas-at-odds-kraft
Electronic book text
304 Pages
$62.00 USD

Other Titles by James P. Kraft

Havoc and Reform

James P. Kraft
Mar 2021 - Johns Hopkins University Press
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Stage to Studio

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Imagining Consumers

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Advertising Progress

Pamela Walker Laird
Jan 2020 - Johns Hopkins University Press
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