Here’s my conversation with James Walsh, who spent two years as an undercover union organizer at casinos in Miami, and writes about the experience in “Playing Against The House.” I asked him about:
- Being a double agent, keeping union organizing secret while not telling anyone he was writing about it.
- The reaction of his fellow casino employees to the idea of joining a union.
- The tactics management used to keep the union from organizing in the casinos.
- Whether he found a Norma Rae among his colleagues.
- What kind of training he was given by the outside union organizers who helped him get inside.
- Whether people lost their jobs because of his efforts, despite laws against that.
- Why union membership has dropped to single digit percentages in the US.
Listen to our conversation here.