Until you’ve consumed all of the best Labor History books, can you even claim to be a true fan?
- There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America (2011)
- Labor in America: A History (2017)
- History of the Labor Movement in the United States, Vol. 1: From Colonial Times to the Founding of the American Federation of Labor (1979)
- History of the Labor Movement in the United States: Industrial Workers of the World (1965)
- American Labor: A Documentary Collection (2005)
- An A.c.t.i.o.n Guide For Union Reps, Stewards & Leaders In The Labor Movement (2010)
- Labor’s Mind: A History of Working-Class Intellectual Life (Working Class in American History) (2018)
- Radicals in the Barrio: Magonistas, Socialists, Wobblies, and Communists in the Mexican-American Working Class (2018)
- Voices of Labor: History of the Working Class (2019)
- Researches and Missionary Labours Among the Jews, Mohammedans, and Other Sects (Classic Reprint) (2018)
- Labor’s Untold Story: The Adventure Story of the Battles, Betrayals and Victories of American Working Men and Women (1979)
- The Child Labor Reform Movement: An Interactive History Adventure (You Choose: History) (2013)
There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America (2011)
From the nineteenth-century textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, to the triumph of unions in the twentieth century and their waning influence today, the contest between labor and capital for the American bounty has shaped our national experience. In this stirring new history, Philip Dray shows us the vital accomplishments of organized labor and illuminates its central role in our social, political, economic, and cultural evolution.
Labor in America: A History (2017)
From the Back Cover This book, designed to give a survey history of American labor from colonial times to the present, is uniquely well suited to speak to the concerns of today’s teachers and students.
History of the Labor Movement in the United States, Vol. 1: From Colonial Times to the Founding of the American Federation of Labor (1979)
Traces the history of labor unions and the labor movement from America’s colonial era, through the Industrial Revolution, to the present
History of the Labor Movement in the United States: Industrial Workers of the World (1965)
Traces the history of labor unions and the labor movement from America’s colonial era, through the Industrial Revolution, to the present
American Labor: A Documentary Collection (2005)
This comprehensive compilation of documents integrates institutional labor history (movements and trade unions) with aspects of social and cultural history. It charts changes in trade union and managerial practices and integrates the economics and politi
An A.c.t.i.o.n Guide For Union Reps, Stewards & Leaders In The Labor Movement (2010)
Paperback: 152 pages Publisher: Xlibris, Corp. (August 28, 2010) Language: English ISBN-10: 1453532277 ISBN-13: 978-1453532270 Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars 3 customer reviews Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #516,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #9552 in Motivational Self-Help (Books) Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
Labor’s Mind: A History of Working-Class Intellectual Life (Working Class in American History) (2018)
Business leaders, conservative ideologues, and even some radicals of the early twentieth century dismissed working people’s intellect as stunted, twisted, or altogether missing. They compared workers toiling in America’s sprawling factories to animals, children, and robots. Working people regularly defied these expectations, cultivating the knowledge of experience and embracing a vibrant subculture of self-education and reading.
Radicals in the Barrio: Magonistas, Socialists, Wobblies, and Communists in the Mexican-American Working Class (2018)
Radicals in the Barrio uncovers a long and rich history of political radicalism within the Mexican and Chicano working class in the United States. Chacón clearly and sympathetically documents the ways that migratory workers carried with them radical political ideologies, new organizational models, and shared class experience, as they crossed the border into southwestern barrios during the first three decades of the twentieth-century.
Voices of Labor: History of the Working Class (2019)
Have you ever wondered how the 8 hour work day happened? Or how we have a 40 hour work week, sick days, pensions or vacations? It didn’t happen because a politician or president gave it to us; it happened because people came together, organized, and fought for it. This is the story of American labor history as told in a “This day in labor history” format.
Researches and Missionary Labours Among the Jews, Mohammedans, and Other Sects (Classic Reprint) (2018)
Excerpt from Researches and Missionary Labours Among the Jews, Mohammedans, and Other SectsMay 4. – I dined with the Armenian Catholic Archbishop, (to whom I had been recommended by Sir Robert Gordon) and with the Primates of the Armenian Catholics.
Labor’s Untold Story: The Adventure Story of the Battles, Betrayals and Victories of American Working Men and Women (1979)
Fundamentally, labor’s story is the story of the American people.
The Child Labor Reform Movement: An Interactive History Adventure (You Choose: History) (2013)
It’s the 1800s, and you are a child from a poor family. You have to go to work to keep from starving. Will you: Work as a pauper apprentice in an English factory? Emigrate from Ireland in order to work in the New England cloth mills? Make your living on the streets of New York City selling newspapers? Everything in this book happened to real people. And YOU CHOOSE what you do next. The choices you make could lead you to opportunity, to wealth, to poverty, or even to death.
Best Labor History Books to Read
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some labor history books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Labor's End: How the Promise of Automation Degraded Work
Author(s): Jason Resnikoff
ID: 3230791, Publisher: University of Illinois Press, Year: 2022, Size: 3 Mb, Format: epub
Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor
Author(s): Kim Kelly
ID: 3318593, Publisher: Atria/One Signal Publishers, Year: 2022, Size: 4 Mb, Format: epub
Remembering African Labor Migration to the Second World: Socialist Mobilities between Angola, Mozambique, and East Germany
Author(s): Marcia C. Schenck
ID: 3524899, Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, Year: 2022, Size: 8 Mb, Format: pdf
Please note that this booklist is not definite. Some books are really record-breakers according to Washington Post, others are drafted by unknown authors. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant resources you could recommend? Drop a comment if you have any feedback on the list.