Cedric de Leon
Professor of Sociology and Labor Studies | University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA, UNITED STATES
Cedric de Leon's research focuses on labor, race, and party politics in the United States, India and Turkey.
Expertise (6)
Labor Unions
Labor Movements
Political Sociology
Comparative Historical Sociology
Race and Race Relations
Race and Ethnicity
Biography
Cedric de Leon's areas of expertise are labor, labor unions and organizing, race, political sociology and comparative historical sociology. He is the author and editor of five books, including "Crisis! When Political Parties Lose the Consent to Rule."
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Education (3)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: Ph.D., Sociology
University of Cambridge: M.Phil., Social and Political Sciences
Yale University: B.A., Sociology
Links (3)
Select Recent Media Coverage (7)
Black Workers Drive the Freedom Train
Convergence
2024-05-07
Cedric de Leon’s forthcoming book, “Freedom Train,” documents the unsung but vital roles independent Black labor organizations played in major 20th century civil rights and union struggles. Steven Pitts sat down with him to dig into the untold stories.
UAW Makes History at Tennessee Volkswagen Plant
yes! online
2024-04-25
Cedric de Leon comments in a video segment on the history-making vote by workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. This is the first time a foreign-owned auto plant in the southern U.S. has unionized, and de Leon says that this is a win for labor that has the potential to start a domino effect among industries in the South.
Fledgling Union Efforts At Amazon, Starbucks Dig In For Long Fight
International Business Times online
2022-10-12
What's more, "winning the election is actually the easy part," said Cedric de Leon, a sociologist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. "The hard part is to negotiate the contract," he said. "And there is nothing the government can really do to force the employers to negotiate in good faith."
Biden loves to talk about unions. But the autoworkers are withholding their affection
NPR radio
2023-09-13
Cedric de Leon is quoted in an article on a possible strike by members of the United Auto Workers union at the big three Detroit carmakers. He says President Joe Biden needs to side with workers in ongoing negotiations – and be vocal about it – to maintain their support. “I know who will take advantage of it if he isn’t full-throated on behalf of workers: [former President Donald] Trump will,” de Leon says.
Unions have enthusiasm, media spotlight. But membership numbers lag
NPR radio
2022-01-28
In a radio interview, Cedric de Leon says: "There are things happening now that we have not really seen in the labor movement in generations," said Cedric de Leon, director of the labor center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. "I really believe that we're on the verge of another upsurge."
US Starbucks Workers Score Union Breakthrough
International Business Times online
2021-12-09
The campaign shows how workers are becoming more assertive at a time when tight job markets have given employees more clout, said Cedric de Leon, a labor expert at University of Massachusetts Amherst. "The bargaining power of workers is very high at the moment," de Leon told AFP.
Author Cedric de Leon discusses CRISIS! on #ConversationsLIVE
BlogTalkRadio.com radio
2020-02-11
Host Cyrus Webb welcomes author Cedric de Leon to #ConversationsLIVE to discuss his new book CRISIS: When Political Parties Lose the Consent to Rule---and what he hopes readers are able to take away from it.
Select Publications (4)
Why the Center Holds
JacobinCedric de Leon
2024-06-08
"But the question of why Trump has been able to take hold of the Republican Party only becomes pressing in contrast to the inability of Bernie Sanders, or any other left-wing challenger, to do the same. Absent in the inner circle narrative is a discussion of the enduring strength of the Democrats...."
The New Handbook of Political Sociology (Book)
Cambridge University PressCedric de Leon, co-editor
2020-02-01
The New Handbook of Political Sociology supplies the knowledge necessary to keep up with this exciting field. Written by a distinguished group of leading scholars in sociology, this volume provides a survey of this vibrant and growing field in the new millennium.
Crisis!: When Political Parties Lose the Consent to Rule (BOOK)
Stanford University PressCedric de Leon
2019-10-29
A timely analysis of the power and limits of political parties―and the lessons of the Civil War and the New Deal in the Age of Trump.
The Retreat to Method: the Aftermath of Elite Concession to Civil Society in India and Mexico
Studies in Comparative International DevelopmentTrina Vithayathil, Diana Graizbord and Cedric de Leon
2018-02-13
The literature on democratic accountability assumes that alternative institutions can make state practices more transparent and thus enhance accountability. In this paper, we problematize the celebration of alternative institutions by comparing the cases of Mexico and India.
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