A Collective Effort: Made in the U.S.A.

Every public library has its business section. But even the largest one may not have a serviceable collection on labor, despite the enjoyment most of us—in unions or not—get from the achievements of the American labor movement: the 'weekend,' the eight-hour day (in principle, if not in reality), the right to a safe working environment. The movement—meaning the 13 percent of American workers currently organized into unions—is arguably the most multiracial, multiethnic social organization in the country, and our collections should reflect its history, working-class culture, and contemporary concerns.

Labor history was originally a subfield of economics, 'labor economics,' and its pioneer theoretician and writer was economist John R. Commons, who focused on the institutional mechanics of American trade unions and their collective bargaining. (Indeed, the topic is still a cataloging stepchild; there is no Dewey number for labor studies, and most titles will be found in the 331s, a subclass in economics, or classified in sociology or history.)

Despite recent accusations of uncited 'borrowing' from others' work, Philip Foner's massive ten-volume History of the Labor Movement in the United States (the set is out of print but selected paperback volumes are available from International Publishers) is without peer in its details of the development of American unions. With the groundbreaking writings of CUNY professor and historian Herbert Gutman (see below), the focus of labor studies shifted to the life and culture of the individual worker rather than solely workplace organizations.

This 'New Labor History' approach broadened the field's perspective, incorporating such previously separate topics as workers under slavery and immigrant working-class culture as fundamental areas of inquiry. Today's academics are delving even deeper into U.S. history, revealing the rich story of union battles that were frequently intertwined with workers' aspirations for human and civil rights.

The 1995 election of reform candidate John Sweeney as president of the AFL-CIO, the umbrella group of America's labor unions, was followed by a resurgence in labor organizing, just in time to collide with an increasingly globalized economy. The issues facing contemporary labor are the focus of many current labor studies titles. They include the effects of globalization on workers and organizing; recent labor strife stemming from the new realities posed by global capital and the loss of good union jobs in manufacturing and industry; rank-and-file democracy vs. 'business unionism'; immigration; the reemergence of sweatshops; attacks on labor rights; and the harsher realities of working peoples' lives. Some works, such as Studs Terkel's Working and Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, have even made the best sellers lists and can now be considered modern classics.

In addition to traditionally labor-oriented publishers such as Cornell's ILR imprint and presses concerned with social justice issues such as New Press and South End, other houses are offering labor titles this fall, including two rare new encyclopedias from Gale and Greenwood (see below).

There are few 'settled' issues in labor. Thus, older titles retain their importance and weeding should take a back seat to enlarging the collection. You may find your shelves hold such venerable classics as David Montgomery's The Fall of the House of Labor or Philip Taft's Organized Labor in American History, which offer competing and rich interpretations of labor's stormy history.

Labor history and labor studies are, of course, international, but these recommendations deal primarily with U.S. issues. Starred [*] items are essential for most academic and public libraries.

America's Working Women: A Documentary History. 2d ed. Norton. 1995. 430p. ed. by Rosalyn Baxandall. illus. index. 0-393-31262-3. pap. $16.95.

From Mary Jemison (captured and adopted by the Senecas in 1758) reflecting on the labor of Native American women through Anita Hill's testimony regarding sexual harassment in 1991, this collection takes the broad view on women's work. Here are the words of enslaved black workers along with those of female strikers, union organizers, farm workers, and factory pioneers.

*Directory of U.S. Labor Organizations 2003. BNA Bks: Bureau of National Affairs. 2003. 292p. ed. by Court Gifford. index. 1-57018-392-9. pap. $105.

This annual directory offers extensive, basic information (addresses, telephone and fax numbers, web addresses, etc.) on the AFL-CIO national office and affiliated and independent unions nationwide. Appendixes include membership data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), AFL-CIO membership figures, required government filings by unions and employers, and indexes by union name, abbreviation/acronym, key officers, and staff and union web sites. An expanded online version features additional data not available in the print volume and links to other relevant web sites.

Encyclopedia of Labor History Worldwide. 2 vols. St. James: Gale. Sept. 2003. c.1200p. ed. by Neil Schlager. illus. bibliog. index. 1-55862-542-9. $343.25.

Covering the period 1800–2000, this reference promises to fill an important niche for larger public and academic libraries. Two-thirds of its 300 articles deal with American labor history, while one-third is devoted to international subjects 'chosen for their relevance to larger social movements and their impact on development of the labor movement in a region or country.'

*Handbook of U.S. Labor Statistics: Employment, Earnings, Prices, Productivity, and Other Labor Data. 6th ed. Bernan. 2003. 450p. ed. by Eva E. Jacobs. index. 0-89059-619-0. $147.

Although the information can be found elsewhere, this handbook is a cost-effective compilation of statistical tables on all aspects of labor—basic census data, productivity, compensation, occupational injuries as well as information on union membership, occupational training, consumer expenditures, and more.

Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor. 2 vols. Greenwood. Dec. 2003. 752p. ed. by Robert E. Weir & James P. Hanlan. illus. bibliog. index. 0-313-31840-9. $175.

This new encyclopedia includes approximately 400 entries designed for the general researcher, students, and lay readers interested in learning more about such topics as unions, union leaders, union history, important laws and court cases, and labor terminology. An appendix contains excerpts from over 50 primary documents.

*Murray, R. Emmett. Lexicon of Labor: More Than 500 Key Terms, Biographical Sketches, & Historical Insights Concerning Labor in America. New Pr. 1998. 208p. illus. bibliog. 1-56584-456-4. pap. $13.95.

To answer such ready-reference questions as 'Who were the Industrial Workers of the World?,' this is a good place to start. Affordable and necessary for any collection, although no substitute for a comprehensive encyclopedia.

Freeman, Joshua B. Working-Class New York: Life and Labor Since World War II. New Pr. 2000. 424p. illus. bibliog. index. 1-56584-575-7. $35; pap. 1-56584-712-1. $19.95.

Even now New York remains a 'union town,' and this is its class biography. Freeman (CUNY) deals with the centrality of the city's workers in its modern history and development. Although regional in topic, all libraries collecting in labor should consider purchase. (LJ 2/15/00)

*Gutman, Herbert G. Power and Culture: Essays on the American Working Class. New Pr. 1992. 464p. ed. by Ira Berlin. index. 1-56584-010-0. pap. $14.95.

The inspirational pioneer of 'New Labor History' saw the American working class as agents of history and that their quest for power was integral to U.S. history. His groundbreaking essays collected here make riveting reading for those wanting greater depth.

*Lichtenstein, Nelson. State of the Union: A Century of American Labor. Princeton Univ. 2002. 352p. illus. bibliog. index. 0-691-05768-0. $29.95.

One of the most prominent labor historians writing today analyzes the history of the labor movement from the 1930s to the present in the context of U.S. economics, politics, and democracy and from this he formulates ideas about where labor may find opportunities in this new century. (LJ 4/1/02)

*Murolo, Priscilla & A.B. Chitty. From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend: A Short Illustrated History of Labor in the United States. New Pr. 2001. 364p. illus. bibliog. index. 1-56584-444-0. $27.50; pap. 1-56584-776-8. $17.95.

This entertaining and expansive popular history is unique for its extensive coverage of the role of slavery and racism in the development of the American working class. A superb resource for high school students looking for a general history—never dry, always informative, and lavishly illustrated by graphic artist Joe Sacco. (LJ 9/15/01)

*Zieger, Robert. American Workers, American Unions. 3d ed. Johns Hopkins. 2002. 288p. bibliog. index. 0-8018-7078-X. pap. $17.95.

This standard work of American labor history from the Gilded Age onward has been updated to almost the present, with the last paragraph discussing September 11. Zieger's strength lies in his striving for a balanced survey.

*Jones, Jacqueline. Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow: Black Women, Work and Family, from Slavery to the Present. rev. ed. Vintage. 1995. 464p. index. 0-394-74536-1. pap. $15.

Winner of the 1986 Bancroft Prize in American History, this study brings together the issues of work and family life as singularly experienced by African American women. Jones, who added an epilog to this volume almost ten years later, followed up this seminal book with another, American Work: Four Centuries of Black and White Labor (Norton, 1998).

*Kessler-Harris, Alice. Out to Work: A History of Wage-Earning Women in the United States; 20th Anniversary Edition. Oxford Univ. 2003. 432p. illus. index. 0-19-515709-5. pap. $19.95.

First published in 1982, this work remains a landmark in the field of analyzing the history of women's work in the United States from Colonial times to the Reagan era. With a new epilog.

*Korstad, Robert Rodgers. Civil Rights Unionism: Tobacco Workers and the Struggle for Democracy in the Mid-Twentieth-Century South. Univ. of North Carolina. 2003. 576p. illus. maps. bibliog. index. 0-8078-2781-9. $55; pap. 0-8078-5454-9. $24.95.

Much of the important current scholarship in labor history focuses on the convergence of race and class issues and the role of the labor movement as a component of the civil rights struggles that came to the forefront in the 1960s. Historian Korstad brings to light a previously hidden history, with 'common folks' as the heroes.

Stepan-Norris, Judith & Maurice Zeitlin. Left Out: Reds and America's Industrial Unions. Cambridge Univ. 2002. 392p. bibliog. index. 0-521-79212-6. $75; pap. 0-521-79840-X. $27.

In 1947, ten 'Communist-dominated unions' were expelled from the CIO. The mythology that developed is that these unions sacrificed the interests of the American worker to the foreign policy dictates of the Stalin-era Soviet Union. The authors, both sociologists, use statistical analysis of contracts to argue that these unions actually had the most democracy, the most pro-labor contracts, and the best track record in fighting for gender and racial equality in the labor movement.

*Brecher, Jeremy. Strike! rev. ed. South End. (Classics). 1997. 420p. bibliog. 0-89608-570-8. $40; pap. 0-89608-569-4. $22.

The strike is the last resort by which workers can collectively try to realize their demands in the workplace. Beginning with the Great Upheaval in 1877—the great railroad strike—and ending with the Teamsters' walkout against UPS in 1997, this resource is essential for students and others researching this most controversial of labor's weapons.

*Franklin, Stephen. Three Strikes: Labor's Heartland Losses and What They Mean for Working Americans. Guilford. 2002. 308p. bibliog. index. 1-57230-477-4. $35; pap. 1-57230-797-8. $18.95.

During the early to mid-1990s, three unions faced the ramifications of globalization in the American industrial heartland. Labor journalist Franklin chronicles what happened in Decatur, IL, and how the global economy has dramatically altered the rules of U.S. labor-management relations. (LJ 7/01)

Hoerr, John. We Can't Eat Prestige: The Women Who Organized Harvard. Temple Univ. (Labor & Social Change). 2001. 280p. illus. index. 1-56639-535-6. $29.95; pap. 1-56639-925-4. $18.95.

It took 15 years to organize Harvard's support ('white collar') staff, predominantly female and therefore lower paid, into a union. Hoerr's account shows how organizers challenged the idea that unions are only for 'blue collar' workers and carried issues specific to working women into their campaign.

Juravich, Tom & Kate Bronfenbrenner. Ravenswood: The Steelworkers' Victory and the Revival of American Labor. ILR: Cornell Univ. 1999. 288p. index. 0-8014-3633-8. $42.95; pap. 0-8014-8666-1. $16.95.

At the Ravenswood Aluminum Company (RAC) in West Virginia, the steelworkers' local responded to a lockout with astonishing solidarity and a multifaceted campaign that also was global.

Minchin, Timothy J. Forging a Common Bond: Labor and Environmental Activism During the BASF Lockout. Univ. Pr. of Florida. (New Perspectives on the History of the South). 2002. 256p. illus. bibliog. index. 0-8130-2580-X. $55.

Conventional wisdom says that unions and environmental activism don't mix because they have 'conflicting interests.' A lockout at a German-owned company polluting in Louisiana during the 1980s ended in victory for the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers when they joined forces with Greenpeace and local activists to wage a worldwide campaign against the firm.

Basso, Pietro. Modern Times, Ancient Hours: Working Lives in the Twenty-First Century. Verso. 2003. 283p. ed. & tr. by Giacomo Donis. index. 1-85984-565-7. $27.

Italian sociologist Basso argues that the working day is getting longer, not just in the United States but in Europe, and with this has come deterioration of the quality of working people's lives in the industrialized economies on a massive scale.

Global Woman: Nannies, Maids and Sex Workers in the New Economy. Metropolitan: Holt. 2003. 336p. ed. by Barbara Ehrenreich & Arlie Russell Hochschild. bibliog. 0-8050-6995-X. $26.

The worsening situation of female migrant workers from developing countries is the subject of these sometimes heartbreaking and always illuminating essays by 15 writers, mostly women. Appended with maps and lists of organizations dealing with the problems of these workers. (LJ 11/1/02)

*Levine, Marvin J. Children for Hire: The Perils of Child Labor in the United States. Praeger. 2003. 248p. bibliog. index. 1-56720-433-3. $49.95.

'The United States has more of its children in the workforce than any other developed country,' writes Levine, who defines the scope of the problem and analyzes the working conditions of people under 18, the legal context for their employment and exploitation, and the impact of such labor upon the education and development of America's young people. An important work about a hidden social problem. (LJ 8/03)

Louie, Miriam Ching Yoon. Sweatshop Warriors: Immigrant Women Workers Take on the Global Factory. South End. 2001. 256p. bibliog. index. 0-89608-638-0. pap. $18.

Immigrant labor forms an increasing percentage of the U.S. work force. Louie chronicles the workplace justice and political battles initiated by contemporary Chinese, Mexican, and Korean female workers in sweatshops primarily on the West Coast.

Shulman, Beth. The Betrayal of Work: How Low Wage Jobs Fail 35 Million Americans. New Pr. Sept. 2003. 272p. 1-56584-733-4. $25.95.

Shulman, a lawyer, consultant, and former vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union, analyzes one of the downsides of the 'new economy': the large number of American jobs that pay poverty-level wages, have few or no benefits, and create childcare nightmares. According to Shulman, fully 25 percent of American workers fall into this category and they are not teenagers, immigrants, or high school dropouts.

Foner, Moe with Dan North. Not for Bread Alone: A Memoir. ILR: Cornell Univ. 2002. 160p. illus. bibliog. index. 0-8014-4061-0. $25.

Foner, who died last year, was in charge of communications and cultural events at New York's esteemed 1199 union (Dr. Martin Luther King's favorite union) for 30 years. His memoir is a unique window into the evolution of 1199 SEIU from its origins as a tiny conglomeration of drugstore employees into the country's largest healthcare union.

Gorn, Elliott J. Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America. Hill & Wang. 2001. 416p. illus. index. 0-8090-7093-6. $27; pap. 2002. 0-8090-7094-4. $14.

Mother Jones (1837–1930), the 'miners' angel,' was present at some of the most important strikes of her time. She was never an 'organizer' but a fearsome 'agitator' and proud of it. Among many biographies, this is the most recent and well researched. (LJ 2/15/01)

Needleman, Ruth. Black Freedom Fighters in Steel: The Struggle for Democratic Unionism. ILR: Cornell Univ. 2003. 320p. illus. index. 0-8014-3741-5. $47.50; pap. 0-8014-8858-3. $19.95.

The major role of African Americans in building the U.S. labor movement is now being recognized in the new labor history scholarship. Needleman tells the story of five Midwestern black steelworkers who were instrumental in developing the steelworkers' union, despite the racism they encountered in the union movement.

Register, Cheri. Packinghouse Daughter: A Memoir. Minnesota Historical Society. 2002. 288p. illus. 0-87351-391-6. $24.95; pap. HarperPerennial: HarperCollins. 2001. 0-06-093684-3. $13.

This award-winning, exquisitely written personal and public history remembers the bitter 1959 strike in the Wilson & Co. meatpacking plant of Albert Lea, MN, when the author was a teen and her father was a millwright. The book is rich with the texture of Midwestern working-class life, Midwestern slaughterhouse history, and union solidarity. (LJ 12/00)

Russell, Thaddeus. Out of the Jungle: Jimmy Hoffa and the Remaking of the American Working Class. Knopf. 2001. 288p. illus. index. 0-375-41157-7. $26; pap. Temple Univ. 2003. 1-59213-027-5. $18.95.

The career of one of the most controversial of American labor leaders is explored from the point of view of one of the integral questions in the labor movement: Do unions exist as part of the broader movement for social change or as bread-and-butter workers' organizations? The pugnacious Hoffa, according to this author, was a shining example of the latter who 'brought home the bacon' for his members while eschewing the larger role. (LJ 9/15/01)

A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom. color & b/w. 90 min. WETA, dist. by California Newsreel. 1996. $49.95; acad. libs. $195.

Randolph is best known as the founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, but he was also the inspiration behind the 1963 March on Washington. His life united civil rights struggles with workers' rights, and he campaigned tirelessly within the AFL-CIO for racial equality. (LJ 3/15/97)

*At the River I Stand. color. 56 min. California Newsreel. 1993. $49.95.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in April 1968 when he came to the aid of the sanitation workers on strike for a union contract in Memphis. Viewers will understand better the reasons that workers want a union, not simply for better wages, but for dignity on the job. If you can only buy one labor video, this is it. (LJ 2/15/95)

*Harlan County, USA. color. 103 min. First Run Features. 1976. $29.95.

Barbara Kopple's Oscar®-winning documentary chronicles the struggle of 180 coal mining families in Kentucky to win a union contract. It has not lost any of its appeal or its relevance to current labor issues, although most of the mines in the area are now closed.

Harry Bridges: A Man and His Union. color. 58 min. Cinema Guild. 1992. $200.

Bridges was the longtime radical president of the West Coast Longshore Union (ILWU), despite the U.S. government's attempts to deport him on charges of being a Communist. This film is about his career and why the ILWU became the powerful union that it was. (LJ 7/95)

Salt of the Earth. b/w. 94 min. MPI Home Video. 1987. $59.95.

Another famous strike, this time by zinc miners in New Mexico in 1951, is the subject of this unique feature film that focuses on how the women, almost all Mexican Americans, helped to win the day. Some of the actual strikers appear in the film.

Labor Notes. m. $35 (individuals: $24). 7435 Michigan Ave., Detroit, MI 48210; 313-842-6262; www.labornotes.org. ISSN 0275-4452.

This monthly for the rank-and-filer is dedicated to 'putting the movement back into labor movement,' offering the latest on strikes and organizing and trade union news from around the world. It can be critical of the union power structure.

* Labor's Heritage. q. George Meany Center for Labor Studies-National Labor College, 10000 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20903; 301-431-5451. $19.95.

The American Heritage of labor studies, this quarterly publishes scholarly-based but public-oriented articles on labor history, labor culture, interviews, students' articles, and articles on contemporary issues, all well illustrated with color and black-and-white photos. Best suited for a public library audience.

Working USA: The Journal of Labor and Society. q. $145 (individuals: $42). M.E. Sharpe, 80 Business Park Dr., Armonk, NY 10504; 800-541-6563; workingusa.org. ISSN 1089-7011.

This peer-reviewed journal publishes mostly scholarly articles on high-profile issues of the day. Writers are primarily academics, but this title is very suitable for larger public libraries seeking a broad-ranging periodical.

AFL-CIO www.aflcio.com
The home of the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations. A good place to find out what is important to trade unionists, with links to individual unions around the country, political alerts, boycotts, and other campaigns.

Illinois Labor History Society www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs
One of the most active labor history associations in the country, it is far reaching while maintaining its Illinois focus.

Labor Arts www.laborarts.org
'A virtual museum of cultural artifacts of working people and their organizations'—the images here (photos, flyers, banners, posters) evoke the lives and achievements of ordinary laborers.

Labor Watch www.zmag.org/LaborWatch.htm
An excellent collection of labor-oriented articles and analyses, with links to relevant labor sites.