Product Description

This book chronicles the tumultuous history of labor unions beginning with the train wrecks in the 1800s. Alongside the unions were the doctors who cared for injured workers. Conflicts arose. The battle between union workers and company doctors is deciphered and potential solutions analyzed.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1426416 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-19
• Released on: 2006-06-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 158 pages

About the Author
Richard E. Sall, MD, is a general surgeon who went on to become Board Certified in both Medicine and Surgery after completing his surgical residency. He lives with wife in Central California and continues to be active in medical practice. Dr. Sall began writing in 2001 and published in 2004 his first work, Strategies in Workers’ Compensation, which focused on management problems and solutions of injured workers. Behind the Union Curtain is his second book dealing with injured workers and the compensation system. It goes into the relationship with labor unions and delves into the people who shaped their early days and who made them what they are today. From his vantage point as a physician, the reader becomes privy to information that might unsettle, if not shock. This book is a must for anyone who has ever wondered how the union system works…or doesn’t

Customer Reviews

Tumultuous evolution of labor unions
Reviewed by William E. Cooper for Reader Views (7/06)

As a career law enforcement officer who was involved with unions, both as a member and as the Chief of Police of a municipal department, I have considerable experience with unions and associated issues. I studied labor issues and asked the questions about why labor-management conflict exists and what remediation strategies were possible. I learned very quickly that solutions could be premised on simple management principles in most cases. Part of my own book, Leading Beyond Tradition, discusses leadership and labor issues.

Dr. Sall provides his readers with an outstanding history of organized labor, how it evolved, and how it exists today. He provides excellent background, complete with anecdotes and legal issues. While his emphasis speaks to the medical field, his discussions are applicable to virtually any field. I strongly urge managers, leaders, and all students to read and study the valuable information contained in this excellent book.

Well done Dr. Sall.

a fascinating look at America's society
Conspiracy theories abound but how do they come to be? Does anyone really make up their own mind about things that our culture has so much influence on? In Richard E. Sall's book, "Behind the Union Curtain," he examines the abundant distrust that worker's compensation patients have of the company doctor, and how this vicious cycle all began. Doing so took his research into the beginnings of unions and the people who started it all. This look into our history and the affects it all has on us now is most interesting and opens the mind to wonder about so many other instances where our minds may be made up for us by something larger than ourselves...society.

Having just reviewed another book that dealt with the railroad construction of our country with the labor of new immigrants who served basically as workhorses, I was highly interested in the very beginnings of unions being formed by these same strong-willed persons. The personal tales are told in this book, the statistics and facts of the first pre-paid medical coverage, and the first inclinations of fear for the care that was needed versus what was actually given...all for the matter of saving a buck. Here lies the start of society's distrust. Sall goes on to examine the development of unions, strikes, management, company doctors, and the lack of trust that grew at the same rate.

"Behind the Union Curtain" is a fascinating look at America's society. These are issues that most of us will have to deal with at some point, and even if not directly, the psychological impact is on us all. It is a well written work with variety in its text, including quotes, well researched facts, first hand stories, and well spoken narrative. In the voice of Richard E. Sall, MD, the book offers a unique perspective.
Review by Heather Froeschl.

The Truth about Union Workers and the Doctors their Companies use
Richard Sall has done it again, a great book based on truth. This book starts out way back in the 1800's but focuses on the worker/doctor issues in the early 1900's. You will learn about how the injured workers of the Great Depression influences the labor laws that are in effect to this day. If you don't know how a Union works, this is the book for you.
Dr. Sall defines the conflict between the company appointed doctors and the union workers they deal with. He does something no one else has done and offers ideas on resolutions to this widely unknown issue. If you can't trust your doctor, who can you trust?