"The eagerly awaited next novel from the author of the New York Times bestselling A Land More Kind Than Home about a young mother desperately trying to hold her family together in the years before the Great Depression, a haunting and moving story of cowardice, courage and sacrifice"-- Ella May Wiggins, a young mother desperately trying to hold her family together with the paltry nine dollars a week she earns from the textile mill two miles away,...

Three women union activists tell their fascinating stories of organising in 1930s America, recounting their conflicts with bosses, police as well as their struggles against racism and sexism.

Between World War I and World War II, African Americans' quest for civil rights took on a more aggressive character as a new group of black activists challenged the politics of civility traditionally embraced by old-guard leaders in favor of a more forceful protest strategy. Beth Tompkins Bates traces the rise of this new protest politics--which was grounded in making demands and backing them up with collective action--by focusing on the struggle...

The Company Man takes listeners on a wild ride to 1919 Washington state, where a war is brewing between the McNaughton Corporation and its union workers. When the conflict's latest casualty prompts McNaughton security officer Cyril Hayes to investigate, he's soon caught up in worker claims that the corporation's machines have minds of their own.

"Relevant images match informative text in this introduction to Dolores Huerta. Intended for students in kindergarten through third grade"--

"Zeke would love to be invisible. His mother is struggling to make ends meet and stuck with a no-good boyfriend. Zeke knows he and his mom will be stuck forever if he doesn't find some money fast. When Zeke starts working at a local pizza place, he meets labor activists who want to give him a voice--and the living wage he deserves for his work. Zeke has to decide between living the quiet life he's carved for himself and raising his voice for justice"--Back...

On September 9, 1985, one thousand mainly Mexican women workers in Watsonville, California, the "frozen food capital of the world," were forced out on strike in response to an attempt by Watsonville Canning owner, Mort Console, to break their union. They returned to work eighteen months later. Not one had crossed the picket line. A moribund union has been revitalized, and Watsonville's Latino majority emerged as a major force in local politics. At...

The current angry debates around affirmative action too often ignore their historical roots: how prior to government intervention African Americans were confined to the most back-breaking, dangerous and low paid work. Struggles in Steel documents the shameful history of discrimination against black workers and one heroic campaign where they won equality on the job. The film is the result of a unique collaboration. Black steelworker Ray Henderson was...

Incorporating interviews and archival footage, The Wobblies presents the story of the Industrial Workers of the World (or I.W.W.), which in the early 20th century managed to organize various categories of unskilled worker into a single monolithic union and changed the course of labor history by, among other achievements, facilitating the eight-hour work day and fair wages.

An account of the efforts of women to improve their working conditions, often in the face of hostility from employers and the public and the indifference of the male-dominated trade unions, discussing these efforts against the background of the major social, political, and economic events in American history.