If The New Deal is often referred to as “alphabet soup legislation”, then post-WWII labor in New York City should be called an “alphabet soup of unions”. The huge number of unions and their respective acronyms belies the actually small range of included workers. I found that there were two labor worlds before the purge of communists during the 50’s — the radicals who were consumed with uniting industrial workers into a visible presence in strikes and walkouts, and those, like the AFL, who were more interested in providing their workers (slightly more upper-blue-collars) with union jobs. It would seem that the radicals were much more effective in getting their demands and making labor NYC visible, but their ties to communism reduced their influence in the long run. I found it most impressive that unions actually operated union halls which served as connecting points for union employees and employers. It seems strange that such halls no longer exist in large numbers. Of course the de-industrialization of the city described in the years following the 50s would have lowered the number of industrial jobs, but service-sector jobs in NYC still remain in large numbers, and union halls would be a good aid to the unemployed who are unable to find jobs.