American Labour, France and the Politics of Intervention, 1945-52 Workers and the Cold War

From 1945, American labor unions actively sought to influence and alter the internal affairs of union organizations in other countries. France was of particular concern. The election of a Communist government looked quite likely. American labor actively intervened in the French labor movement to prevent such an eventuality and to remake it in its own image. This book asks the question why, given its incredible power, American efforts were not more successful. It explores the differing political cultures in which workers in France and the USA were steeped and which guided their outlooks and actions. The French workers' movement was devastated in this period. How culpable was American intervention? . The study uses archival material not previously examined, including personal papers, internal union letters and memos, contemporary union documents, journals, convention proceedings, memoirs, autobiographies, newspaper reportage and contemporary analyses.