From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend: A Short, Illustrated History of Labor in the United States (review)

"The future of American labor is inseparably bound with the future of the whole of America," said Walter Reuther. In a refreshing new general labor history, Priscilla Murolo and A.B. Chitty have combined, in the spirit of Howard Zinn, the story of the whole of America—the story of workers struggling not only for economic justice and dignity, but also with a variety of prejudices (race, ethnicity, gender, age, creed and orientation.) Unlike many other national labor movements that were built with a generally homogenous working class, thus having a little less struggle with the aforementioned prejudices, what makes the U.S. labor movement singular is not having the experience of social solidarity nor having dealt very successfully or completely with this litany of prejudices. In this book the authors face head-on the workforce differences that have divided and challenged the labor movement in this country.

Readers can learn more about the U.S. from reading this book or other general labor histories (e.g., Joseph Rayback, Robert Zieger, or Howard Zinn) than in any high school history class. The powerful stories told here can even make you like this country and to have hope for its future.

The authors explain their reasons for writing this book: a new labor history hadn't been done in a decade; there have been many changes in the labor movement, and a body of new scholarship has emerged, concerning the relationships among organized labor and ethnic and racial minorities as well as gender.

Were I choosing a book for first time labor history readers, I would add this one to the short list. While it may be a difficult task for people to relate to the fact that we are a nation built on many hypocrisies, whether this book is used for a class of electrician apprentices or a class of college undergraduates, the recognition of the constant struggle with our own prejudices is key to understanding the U.S. labor movement and working class. From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend is the best presentation of that worrisome side of our personality that I've experienced. I encourage you to read it and to get students and workers to read it.