ENGL 1103: Honors Composition: Labor Histories and the Future of Work (Fall 2023 - Dr. Finck): Getting Started with Reference Books

This handbook offers empirical basis for a long-term and comparative understanding of changes and variations in European union movements.

Strikes have been part of American labor relations from colonial days to the present, reflecting the widespread class conflict that has run throughout the nation's history. Against employers and their goons, against the police, the National Guard, local, state, and national officials, against racist vigilantes, against their union leaders, and against each other, American workers have walked off the job for higher wages, better benefits, bargaining rights, legislation, job control, and just plain dignity. At times, their actions have motivated groundbreaking legislation, defining new rights for all citizens; at other times they have led to loss of workers' lives. This comprehensive encyclopedia is the first detailed collection of historical research on strikes in America. To provide the analytical tools for understanding strikes, the volume includes two types of essays - those focused on an industry or economic sector, and those focused on a theme. Each industry essay introduces a group of workers and their employers and places them in their economic, political, and community contexts. The essay then describes the industry's various strikes, including the main issues involved and outcomes achieved, and assesses the impact of the strikes on the industry over time. Thematic essays address questions that can only be answered by looking at a variety of strikes across industries, groups of workers, and time, such as, why the number of strikes has declined since the 1970s, or why there was a strike wave in 1946. The contributors include historians, sociologists, anthropologists, and philosophers, as well as current and past activists from unions and other social movement organizations. Photos, a Topic Finder, a bibliography, and name and subject indexes add to the works appeal.

A RUSA 2007 Outstanding Reference Title The Encyclopedia of US Labor and Working-Class History provides sweeping coverage of US labor history. Containing over 650 entries, the Encyclopedia encompasses labor history from the colonial era to the present. Articles focus on states, regions, periods, economic sectors and occupations, race-relations, ethnicity, and religion, concepts and developments in labor economics, environmentalism, globalization, legal history, trade unions, strikes, organizations, individuals, management relations, and government agencies and commissions. Articles cover such issues as immigration and migratory labor, women and labor, labor in every war effort, slavery and the slave-trade, union-resistance by corporations such as Wal-Mart, and the history of cronyism and corruption, and the mafia within elements of labor history. Labor history is also considered in its representation in film, music, literature, and education. Important articles cover the perception of working-class culture, such as the surge in sympathy for the working class following September 11, 2001. Written as an objective social history, the Encyclopedia encapsulates the rise and decline, and continuous change of US labor history into the twenty-first century.

Organized labor is about the collective efforts of employees to improve their economic, social, and political position. It can be studied from many different points of view-historical, economic, sociological, or legal-but is fundamentally about the struggle for human rights and social justice. As a rule, organized labor has tried to make the world a fairer place. Even though it has only ever covered a minority of employees in most countries, its effects on their political, economic, and social systems have been generally positive. History shows that when organized labor is repressed, the whole society suffers and is made less just. The Historical Dictionary of Organized Labor looks at the history of organized labor to see where it came from and where it has been. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, a glossary of terms, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 400 cross-referenced entries on most countries, international as well as national labor organizations, major labor unions, leaders, and other aspects of organized labor such as changes in the composition of its membership. This is an essential reference for students and scholars, this work will also be of interest to labor economists, lawyers, sociologists, human rights activists, and historians.

The first comprehensive analysis of work and the workforce in the United States, from the Industrial Revolution to the era of globalization. This comprehensive two-volume reference book is the first to analyze the central role of work and the workforce in U.S. life from the Industrial Revolution through today's information economy. Drawing on a variety of disciplines--economics, public policy, law, human and civil rights, cultural studies, and organizational psychology--its 256 entries examine key events, concepts, institutions, and individuals in labor history. Entries also tackle tough contemporary questions that reflect the conflicts inherent in capitalism. What is the impact of work on families and communities? On minority and immigrant populations? How shall we respond to changing work roles and the growing influence of the transnational corporation? Work in America describes and evaluates attempts to address social and class issues--affirmative action, occupational health and safety, corporate management science, and trade unionism and organized labor--and offers the kind of comprehensive understanding needed to discover workable solutions. 256 A-Z entries on topics ranging from Amazon.com to income gaps and wages An impressive array of expert contributors representing labor history, labor economics, labor law, welfare and social policy, human resource management, women's history, media studies, political science, workforce development, and employment policy Extensive historiography of U.S. labor and industrial relations End-of-entry bibliographies of references for further research