Category: Labor Studies

Lisa Levenstein on Balancing Budgets and Public Employees

The recent events concerning public sector workers in Wisconsin have brought a great deal of reflecting and attention to the ways in which the government, at both the state and national levels, spends and saves money. UNC Press author Lisa Levenstein, with economics doctoral student Jason Brent, wrote an Op-ed in this past Sunday’s Greensboro News & Record on the… Continue Reading Lisa Levenstein on Balancing Budgets and Public Employees

Leon Fink: Oceanic Piracy–A War without Nations

In today’s guest post, Leon Fink, author of Sweatshops at Sea: Merchant Seamen in the World’s First Globalized Industry, from 1812 to the Present, reflects on the recent Somali pirate attack on a group of Americans on a private yacht.  With piracy on the rise off the Somali coast, the relationship between commerce, globalization, power, and security becomes problematic.  Fink… Continue Reading Leon Fink: Oceanic Piracy–A War without Nations

Remembering Allan Berube, historian of gays in the military

I currently have a live feed of the Senate Committee Hearing on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell open in another window on what would have been Allan Bérubé’s 64th birthday. Despite wide support of DADT’s repeal by President Obama and other high-ranking officials, Senator McCain and other Republican leaders are challenging any change in the policy before the year’s end, expressing… Continue Reading Remembering Allan Berube, historian of gays in the military

Philip Rubio hits the airwaves to talk snail mail and the effects of postal cuts on African American postal workers

The U.S. Postal Service faces an $8.5 million budget shortfall this year. NPR is broadcasting a series of stories about cuts in postal services and facilities and the lives and communities already being affected. One person with great insight into the social history of the USPS is Philip Rubio, author of There’s Always Work at the Post Office: African American… Continue Reading Philip Rubio hits the airwaves to talk snail mail and the effects of postal cuts on African American postal workers

The starting lineup for The Journal of the Civil War Era

Back in April we mentioned a call for papers for the inaugural edition of The Journal of the Civil War Era, a peer-review journal published in collaboration with UNC Press and the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center at Pennsylvania State University. There’s been great response, and the issues are starting to take shape. We’ve got a special… Continue Reading The starting lineup for The Journal of the Civil War Era

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: March 25, 1911

As a continuation of our series of posts on National Women’s History Month, today’s post will be about an event from 99 years ago today–the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. While horrific–146 workers, mostly poor Italian, German, and Jewish women between the ages of eight and twenty perished–the fire at Triangle Shirtwaist holds an important place in… Continue Reading The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: March 25, 1911

William Bauer on writing American Indian history from home

William J. Bauer Jr. (Wailacki and Concow, and an enrolled member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes) is author of the new book We Were All Like Migrant Workers Here: Work, Community, and Memory on California’s Round Valley Reservation, 1850-1941.  The federally recognized Round Valley Indian Tribes are a small, confederated people whose members today come from twelve indigenous California… Continue Reading William Bauer on writing American Indian history from home

Fisk calls arbitration a key element to EFCA bill

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is a bill aimed to remove barriers to collective bargaining in the workplace. It includes provisions enabling a card check system for voting to establish a union and  guaranteeing that workers who unionize can negotiate a contract with their employer. Catherine L. Fisk, author of Working Knowledge: Employee Innovation and the Rise of Corporate… Continue Reading Fisk calls arbitration a key element to EFCA bill

In memoriam, Archie Green (1917-2009)

I wrote briefly last week (in rather vague terms) about some of Archie Green’s accomplishments. Over the weekend, the New York Times and Los Angeles Times both published lengthy obituaries. I wanted to offer a more personal glimpse of him here from a longtime friend and colleague of Green’s, Robert Cantwell. In 2001 UNC Press published Green’s collection Torching the… Continue Reading In memoriam, Archie Green (1917-2009)

Sad news: we’ve lost 2 giants

We’re mourning two great losses over here at the Press this afternoon. In addition to being UNC Press authors, both men were giants in their fields, and indeed helped establish and define new fields of scholarship. Both lived long, fulfilling lives in which their pioneering intellectual pursuits served the public good. Both gave of themselves tirelessly, mentoring and inspiring multiple… Continue Reading Sad news: we’ve lost 2 giants

There Is Power in a Union

YouTube: Billy Bragg – There Is Power in a Union Laid off with a mere 3 days’ notice (instead of the legally required 60 days) and denied severance, health insurance, and earned vacation pay, about 200 employees of Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago have been peacefully occupying the Republic factory for five days. Last night their union agreed to… Continue Reading There Is Power in a Union

Award winner: Our Daily Bread

The Michael Harrington Book Award, given annually by the New Political Science Section of the American Political Science Association, recognizes “a recent outstanding book that demonstrates how scholarship can be used in the struggle for a better world.” This year’s prize has been awarded to Geoff Mann for his book Our Daily Bread: Wages, Workers, and the Political Economy of… Continue Reading Award winner: Our Daily Bread