Labor leaders and activists who share the desire to see the us labor movement regain its power should read working class new york life and labor since world war ii by queens college associate professor of history joshua freeman unlike many labor history books which often leave the reader with little insight into how to help shape the present freemans new book succeeds in laying the groundwork for strategic thinking about the future of the labor movement providing more than a just a . Joshua b freemans working class new york is a welcome and successful addition to a growing body of historical literature on twentieth century new york city as the books title suggests the focus is on labor and the working class in the postwar metropolis it documents the shift from a proletarian to a service based global city within the last five or six decades it is a highly readable work of interpretative synthesis based on the consultation of an impressive array of primary sources . A lucid detailed and imaginative analysis the nation of the model city that working class new yorkers created after world war ii and its tragic demise more than any other city in america. Working class new york life and labor since world war ii by arguing that organized labor built a social democratic polity in new york city during the post war era. Working class new york life and labor since world war ii freeman joshua b new york the new press 409 pp publication date may 2000