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Spotlight On: The History of Labor in America

Labor Day typically marks the unofficial last day of summer. But that long weekend is meant to commemorate the hard work of the American Labor Movement, and celebrate the laborers that keep our country going. Want to know more? Read up on the past and present history of the Labor Movement in America (and say thanks to a frontline worker!).

Grand Rapids Public Library

47 items

  • The Disney Revolt

    the Great Labor War of Animation's Golden Age

    Friedman, Jake S.,
    Been keeping an eye on the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike? This isn't the first time creators have pushed back against Hollywood, and where creative unions have drawn the line has historically set the tone for labor relations nation-wide for years…
    BookChicago, Illinois : Chicago Review Press, [2022] — 331.88117914334 F914d
  • No Right to An Honest Living

    the Struggles of Boston's Black Workers in the Civil War Era

    Jones, Jacqueline, 1948-
    Antebellum Boston is famously the vocal heart of American abolitionism, but while much of the politics focused on anti-slavery rhetoric, conditions for free Black workers in the city at the time were far from ideal. "No Right to an Honest…
    BookNew York : Basic Books, 2023. — 974.461 J718n
  • Black Folk

    the Roots of the Black Working Class

    Kelley, Blair Murphy, 1973-
    Much of the conversation about the history of American labor centers on the white working class - to the point of excluding or even erasing the experiences and contributions of Black workers. "Black Folk" reframes the narrative of American…
    BookNew York, NY : Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, [2023] — 331.6396 K287b
  • Never Ask "why"

    Football Players' Fight for Freedom in the NFL

    Garvey, Ed, 1940-2017,
    If the word "union" immediately makes you think "factory worker," give "Never Ask 'Why'" a read. The NFL Players Association may not quite fit the stereotypical image of a union, but the fight for player rights starting in the 1950s…
    BookPhiladelphia ; Rome : Temple University Press, 2023. — 796.33264 G199n
  • Essential

    How the Pandemic Transformed the Long Fight for Worker Justice

    McCallum, Jamie K., 1977-
    If the surge of labor unrest during COVID-19 seemed to come out of nowhere, give "Essential" a read. It's a great breakdown of how the current pushback for worker rights has been a long time coming, and how the pandemic only exacerbated…
    BookNew York : Basic Books, 2022. — 331.0973 M124e
  • Midnight in Vehicle City

    General Motors, Flint, and the Strike That Created the Middle Class

    McClelland, Edward
    A gripping deep dive into the Flint sit-down strike of 1936-37, which birthed the United Auto Workers and set the standards for wages across all industries for the next half century. The story of how the push for collective bargaining,…
    eBook2021.
  • Working 9 to 5

    a Women's Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie

    Cassedy, Ellen,
    You've probably heard of the movie "9 to 5" - but did you know it was based on a real labor movement in Boston? Ellen Cassedy and her colleagues started a nationwide movement, fighting to make sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination…
    BookChicago, Illinois : Chicago Review Press, [2022] — 650.14082 C272w
  • Coal Country Killing

    a Culture, a Union, and the Murders That Changed It All

    Tanenbaum, Robert,
    The compelling true story of the prosecutor who spent nearly a decade uncovering the truth behind the 1969 assassination of United Mineworkers of America “reform candidate” Jock Yablonski and his family. A deep dive into the darker side…
    BookNew York : Post Hill Press, [2023] — 364.152309748 T155c
  • Team Building

    a Memoir About Family and the Fight for Workers' Rights

    Gwin, Ben,
    Don't let the title and cover drive you off this one - though at a glance it looks like a corporate self-help title, "Team Building" is a memoir from Ben Gwin, who helped contract workers at Google's Pittsburgh offices unionize. Part…
    BookLakewood, OH : Belt Publishing, 2023. — 331.87 G995t
  • Don't believe workers have the power to create change? Erik Loomis explores ten times throughout American history where laborers fought back against unfair treatment and not only won, but altered the nature of power in America. Available…
    eBook2018.
  • Strike!

    How the Furniture Workers Strike of 1911 Changed Grand Rapids

    Kleiman, Jeff
    Want to learn about the history of labor in Grand Rapids? "Strike!" looks back on the city as a factory town at the start of the 20th century, and explores how our roots as Furniture City weren't always peaceful. Focuses on the city-wide…
    BookGrand Rapids, MI : Grand Rapids Historical Society, 2006. — 331.8929774 K672s
  • Worked Over

    How Round-the-clock Work Is Killing the American Dream

    McCallum, Jamie K., 1977-
    Feel overworked and underpaid? You're probably right. Labor movements slimmed down working hours for a century, but they've been steeply on the rise since the 70s. And not just in oft-acknowledge corporate American overtime. Low-wage…
    BookNew York, NY : Basic Books, Hachette Book Groups, 2020. — 331.257 M124w
  • Beaten Down, Worked Up

    the Past, Present, and Future of American Labor

    Greenhouse, Steven,
    They say that those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it. In "Beaten Down, Worked Up," Steven Greenhouse explores how our current socioeconomic climate in America has happened before - and how changes in workers rights…
    BookNew York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2019. — 331.88 G838b
  • Hard Times

    An Oral History of the Great Depression

    Terkel, Studs
    A portrait of the Great Depression compiled from the memories of those who survived it - children and adults, artists and politicians - all woven together to create a brilliant firsthand account of the realities of some of the hardest…
    eBook2018.
  • Fight Like Hell

    The Untold History of American Labor

    Kelly, Kim
    An exploration of the contributions and successes of American labor activists that are often elided from the history books - including women, people of color, LGBTQ+, disabled people, sex workers, prisoners, and the poor. Combining…
    eBook2022.
  • Fiction. Inspired by a devastating fire in a remote mining town in the 1970s, "The Underworld" is a fictionalized portrait of the survivors of disaster in a small company town, and how dangerous labor conditions impact the entire community.
    BookNew York : W. W. Norton & Company, [2017] — Fiction Canty
  • Work Won't Love You Back [GRPL Book Club]

    How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone

    Jaffe, Sarah, 1980-
    Many of us have grown up on the narrative that if you "do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." Sarah Jaffe's "Work Won't Love You Back" examines how this pervasive idea has created a toxic working culture in America - how…
    Book Club KitNew York, NY : Bold Type Books, 2022. — Book Club 331.256 J18w
  • Neon Girls

    a Stripper's Education in Protest and Power

    Worley, Jennifer,
    Sex work is work - and work that comes with a unique and often extreme set of workplace hazards. "Neon Girls" is the true story of how the dancers at the Lusty Lady Theater in San Francisco unionized and fought for fair pay, safe working…
    BookNew York ; London : Harper Perennial, [2020]
  • Black and White

    Land, Labor, and Politics in the South

    Fortune, Timothy Thomas, 1856-1928,
    Originally published in *1884*, "Black and White" is an astute examination of post-Reconstruction America written by a Black man who lived through it. This updated edition includes a new forward and introduction, but the original…
    BookNew York ; London : Atria Paperback, 2022. — 305.896 F779b
  • Fiction, technically. Upton Sinclair's famed exposé of the American meat packing industry, written in 1905 after working undercover in Chicago. A title that sparked a revolution in both workplace safety and food safety, and a good reminder…
    eBook[United States] : Dreamscape Media, LLC, 2014. — eBook hoopla