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Labor’s Day

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Last year’s Labor Day post was about the history of Labor Day.  This year, I thought I would highlight sources that can be used to learn more about American labor and issues affecting the workplace.

Woman on float of the Women’s Auxiliary Typographical Union. Labor Day parade, New York, New York. September 6, 1909.

The U.S. Department of Labor has a long history of publishing information.  The Labor Bulletin began in 1913 and the Monthly Labor Review has been published since 1915.  These publications cover a multitude of topics reported from various department agencies, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Here are just a few of the interesting things you can research:

Cheney Silk Mills. Lewis Wickes Hine, 1924.
  • The history of labor in the U.S. from 1833-1933.
  • The wages and working conditions in textile factories, paper mills, or the pottery industry.
  • The number of people injured or killed on the job.
  • The number of workers in the U.S. who were on strikes, lockouts, or work stoppages–even in a particular industry.
  • Working conditions for women and children in the early 20th century.
  • A wage chronology of General Motors.
  • The unemployment rate in the years after World War II.

I have used this publication to answer many reference questions and I am still amazed by all the topics covered and how useful this title is for researchers.  Check out the index to see for yourself.

Comments

  1. I think the apricion of large factories and industrialization in the course of history had big problems but gave grades solution to the population explosion.

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