Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, the author decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that a job, any job, can be the ticket to a better life. But how does anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 an hour? To find out, she left her home, took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered. Moving from...

Studs Terkel records the voices of America. Men and women from every walk of life talk to him, telling him of their likes and dislikes, fears, problems, and happinesses on the job. Once again, Terkel has created a rich and unique document that is as simple as conversation, but as subtle and heartfelt as the meaning of our lives. --Publisher description.

Fannie Sellins was a union activist who fought and gave her life for equality and labor reform.

A sobering account of a little-known crime against African Americans, and the insidious legacy of racism that reverberates today. From the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II, under laws enacted specifically to intimidate blacks, tens of thousands of African Americans were arbitrarily arrested, hit with outrageous fines, and charged for the costs of their own arrests. With no means to pay these "debts, " prisoners were sold...

Recounts photographer Lewis Hines' fight against child labor in the early 1900s and discusses how his work and the work of others revealed truths about the issue to the public.

"An award-winning historian illuminates the adversities and joys of the Black working class in America through a stunning narrative centered on her forebears. There have been countless books, articles, and televised reports in recent years about the almost mythic "white working class," a tide of commentary that has obscured the labor, and even the very existence, of entire groups of working people, including everyday Black workers. In this brilliant...

"We live in an era of soaring corporate profits and anemic wage gains, one in which low-paid jobs and blighted blue-collar communities have become a common feature of our nation's landscape. Behind these trends lies a little-discussed problem: the decades-long decline in worker power. Award-winning journalist and author, Steven Greenhouse guides us through the key episodes and trends in history that are essential to understanding some of our nation's...

In African Americans at Work, historian Steven A. Reich examines the economical, political and cultural forces that have built and broken America's black workforce for centuries. From the abolition of slavery through the civil rights movement and Great Recession, African Americans have been singularly disadvantaged members of the workforce, repeatedly denied access to the opportunities all Americans are to be afforded under the Constitution.

Having a good, stable job used to be the bedrock of the American Dream. Not anymore. In this richly detailed and eye-opening book, Rick Wartzman chronicles the erosion of the relationship between American companies and their workers. Through the stories of four major employers--General Motors, General Electric, Kodak, and Coca-Cola--he shows how big businesses once took responsibility for providing their workers and retirees with an array of social...

Get your contract in writing With the rise of the gig economy, independent contractor arrangements are more common than ever. Whether you're an independent contractor or a business hiring one to work for you, a written agreement will help to protect your rights, define expectations, and prove that there's no employer-employee relationship. Here you'll find specific agreements for many types of independent contractors and freelancers, including salespeople,...