The roots of decline : the AFL-CIO in the Meany years -- A new president, and a new decade -- Kirkland fights back : the 1981 Solidarity Day mass march -- From solidarity to defeat -- Defending what we have : survival and decline in Reagan's second term -- Partial détente : George H.W. Bush and the AFL-CIO -- He's on our side? : Hope and betrayal in the Clinton years -- Saying no to the status-quo : the 1995 leadership challenge -- Big visions and big hopes : the early Sweeney years -- Our job has never been harder : the Sweeney presidency in the Bush era, 2001-2009 -- Holding on in the Trumka years.