Joshua Freeman
Joshua Freeman is a professor of history at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center. He is the executive officer of the Graduate Center’s history department. He has often been called the “dean of New York labor historians,” due to his published works that deal with the relations between unions and the city. These include In Transit: The Transport Workers Union in New York City, 1933-1966, and Working-Class New York: Life and Labor Since World War II. Mr. Freeman described how city employees were affected by this crisis. Many city workers lost their jobs. Often city unions resisted efforts by city adminstrations to rescue the city in an effort by the unions to preserve the benefits of their workers. The head of the Teachers’ Union, Albert Shanker, became notorious for his opposition. When the help of the city unions was needed, city unions, however, did help. After considerable political wrangling, city unions agreed to invest their pension funds in Municipal Assistance Corporation’s bonds to generate much-needed revenues for the city. We thank Mr. Freeman for his help.
Complete Interview with Professor Freeman