Alright, Labor supporters, recommend some books, please.

[BlueIris]

I need recs from DUers about any books essential to understanding the Labor Movement and its members.

[TBF]

1. Writings of Eugene V Debs: A Collection of Essays by America's Most Famous Socialist

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Writings-Eugene-Debs-Collection-Socialist/dp/1934941484/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323194259&sr=8-1

[Omaha Steve]

2. Here is a bookstore full of nothing but labor

They also have a new catalog coming out: https://commerce2.pair.com/unionist/ccp7/

LABOR'S BOOKSTORE!

Our 100 percent union bookstore offers the largest, most varied and helpful selection of hand-picked books ever created for union leaders, activists and rank-and-file members. Many of our 150-plus titles can’t be found anywhere else.

Our books are divided into eleven categories (left); Click on the category you’d like to explore. You can also Search (above) for a particular topic, like strikes or negotiating, or by an author’s name.

* You may view the latest additions to our catalog HERE.
* If you'd like a free printed catalog that includes many of the books found on this site, click HERE.
* To visit the UCS home page, click HERE.

[fishwax]

7. very cool -- I'd bookmark this if I could

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Some recent books

and not so recent.

Start with ... yes, Howard Zinn. He touches on the labor movement.

A History of American Labor by Rayback, (A tad dated but)

White Cargo.. recent on indentured slavery.

A history of trade unionism in the United States

Solidarity Divided

Death at the Haymarket

There's always work at the post office

Formation of the Union

That should keep you busy for a while.

But start with Zinn and Rayback. The rest are a tad more specialized.

Of course the Papers of Samuel Gompers and Emma Goldman are kind of good primary sources.

[secondvariety]

4. The Shock Doctrine

by Naomi Klein. The story of what happens when anti-labor capitalists' wet dreams become reality.
The book should serve as a warning.

[CatholicEdHead]

5. Rayback - A History of American Labor

that is the the most complete history from the time of the colonies to the late 1950's.

I am also going through

Labor Leaders in America - Dubofsky, Van Tine (ISBN - 0-252-01343-3)

It is a good history on many labor leaders from the early 1800's through the 1960's.

Those were both former library books I got for 25 cents each. Next I need to find books that have detail from 1960-present.

[demosincebirth]

9. 1960 and on, many, feature on some of the corruption within the labor unions, especially the

Teamsters which I was a active member for forty years. Don't take me wrong, I got super wages and benefits.

[limpyhobbler]

6. "In Dubious Battle", a novel by John Steinbeck

If anybody is interested in American labor, the history of strikes and how they can work, and how they can fail, I recommend "In Dubious Battle".

Most people know Steinbeck from "The Grapes of Wrath" or "Of Mice and Men" or even "Travels With Charley". Sometimes these are assigned in school. But not too many high school teachers are going to assign "In Dubious Battle" because it is too awesome.

It tells the story of fruit pickers in California during the Great Depression. It shows the beginning, middle and end of a hard fought strike.

It's a fiction novel so if your looking for a history book this isn't it.

But if you're a Steinbeck fan, definitely check it out.

If you look on the wiki page it says a bunch of stuff about communists in regard to this book. Just ignore that. There is nothing communist about this book. It is just one of the great American novels and in my opinion it is second only to Grapes of Wrath among Steinbeck's works.

[Cal Carpenter]

8. Them and Us: The Struggles of a Rank-and-File Union James J. Matles & James Higgins

Them and Us:
The Struggles of a Rank-and-File Union
James J. Matles & James Higgins

Written by UE's first Director of Organization, James J. Matles, Them and Us, The Struggles of a Rank-and-File Union has been the most exciting history of UE available since it was released in 1974. With more history to tell, Them and Us was updated in 1995 to include more of the stories and struggles of UE members and their union. 331 pages.

[CatholicEdHead]

10. I found this one which goes to the present (Jan 2010)

and will probably be entering my reading backlog later this year.

http://www.amazon.com/Labor-America-History-Melvyn-Dubofsky/dp/0882952730/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_2