Within a century, New Castle, Indiana changed from an agricultural county seat to a prosperous factory town to a deindustrialized and struggling part of the American rust belt. For much of that time, New Castle was a strong union town--a UAW town. For its working-class families, the UAW won a living wage, a company funded pension, and some democratic, collective control over the forces affecting their lives.

As the advocates of unfettered capitalism intensify their attacks on organized labor, Legacy Costs traces the history of how the union victories were won, who shuttered the great factories, and how we can win the fight for union representation and social justice.