Working Together

Estlunds book, then, provides an additional- and powerful- justification for many of the legal changes sought by scholars of labor and employment law...And, drawing on a wide range of convincing empirical data and democratic theory, she makes a good case.-Regional Labor ReviewIt is not easy piecing together statistical evidence, social science research, and political theory. Professor Estlund gracefully accomplishes this task.... Working Together is a thought-provoking and scholarly work.... its implications for improving inter-group communications and democracy shouldserve as a counter-argument in the ongoing debate about unintended results of modern worklife.-New York Law JournalIn this creative and original work, legal scholar Cynthia Estlund brings the workplace to the debates on civic engagement and civic associationalism. Workplaces are, after all, associations of citizens or polity members. The overarching point here is that placed of employment play neglected rolesin developing civic engagement and cooperation. Estlunds more specific goal is to show how law can aid or retard these rarely recognized contributions. She presents a richly textured, unflinching, and progressive analysis.-Work and OccupationsCynthia Estlund contributes to the literature on communal ties, civil life, and self-government by considering the broad political effects of relationships formed in the not-so-voluntary arena of the American workplace.... [She] presents a wide-ranging review of empirical studies of workplaceregulation and workplace bonds.... [and] offers a wealth of hypotheses presented in a carefully explicated logic.-Perspectives on PoliticsWorking Together is an original and important book. With eloquent prose, Cynthia Estlund convincingly develops the argument, based on a careful integration of empirical studies and social and political theory, that working together enhances inter-group relations in the long run. Indeed her analysisdemonstrates the work place is the most important setting for cooperative interaction among individuals of diverse backgrounds. This book has enormous relevance for students concerned about the future of civil society, and will be widely discussed and cited for many years.-William Julius Wilson,Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor, Harvard UniversityTo reverse Americas growing social fragmentation, especially in the context of increasing diversity, will require that we explore and exploit the civic potential of the workplace. Cynthia Estlunds book admirably opens that debate and should be on the must read list of anyone concerned torevitalize American democracy.-Robert D. Putnam, author of Bowling AloneWorking Together shines a bright line on group conflict and cooperation at a fundamental but understudied juncture in American social life- the workplace. Her study combines deep research and careful nuance with bristling insight and an accessible style that should attract a broad audience. For ahost of reasons, American social analysts tend to minimize the importance of what happens at the job. Working Together is an important and impressive corrective.-Randall Kennedy, author of Interracial IntimaciesWhat Carol Pateman and Robert Dahl did for workplace democracy 30 years ago, Cynthia Estlund has done for the contemporary workplace as a site of civic engagement. This book will be the touchstone for discussions of the political importance of race and gender integration in employment. Estlundsconstitution of the workplace, her cold-eyed account of the uses and limits of affirmative action and sexual harassment law, her fine-grained understanding of changing work environments, her fresh assessment of unions and alternative forms of worker representation provide important new resourcesfor democratic theorists, legal scholars, and everyone party to the social capital debates.-Nancy L. Rosenblum, author of Membership and Morals