American Labor History: Nonfiction

Bryan-Wilson illuminates the works and actions which cemented the role of artists in contemporary labor activism. The unity of the social history of American art and the theory of labor in the tradition of the IWW fostered a more radical concept of Art and labor.

Mayer's retelling of the experiences of women in the IWW's efforts to organize the workers of the Pacific Northwest illustrates an integral role in the overall efforts of the One Big Union.

Copeland explores a small piece of Washington's history which comprises one of the more notable events in the history of the American labor movement.

Montgomery skillfully analyzes the partitioning of the "House of Labor" during the mid 20th century as a result of conflicting interests, experiences and methodology that caused the labor movement to halt its development.

Loomis covers ten of the most critical strikes in American history. Notably, he illustrates that American slaves emancipated themselves before the Emancipation Proclamation simply by withdrawing their labor.

Foner was a prolific author and editor of more than 100 books. He is considered a pioneer in his extensive works on the role of radicals, blacks, and women in American labor and political history, which were generally neglected in mainstream academia

A comprehensive work on American organized labor, beginning in the colonial era.

An anthology on the intersection of race and ethnicity with labor in the American working class. Essays direct focus on the experiences of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latino/Chicano-Americans and European migrant workers.

How a group of low-wage and primarily African American women workers found an industrial and interracial union in the 1930s and why their gender and race interests were subordinated within that union in the 1940s.

Rosenberg explores interracial solidarity in black and white dockworkers in the city of New Orleans. The "half and half" union was perhaps one of the earliest, most progressive labor activist movements in American history.

50 years old, and still a central piece in American sociology. The existence of an "Other America" insinuates that the experiences which we regard as nearly universal are steeped in privilege that is not afforded to those worst-off in this nation.

Zinn provides a nearly-comprehensive retelling of American history, from the perspective of those most disenfranchised by American institutions.

Originally published in 1972, Brecher has continued to revise Strike! over the years in order to reflect an evolving face of organized labor disobedience in America over the course of the last fifty years.