How Show Business Went Union
Since the nineteenth century, the IATSE union has organized behind-the-scenes workers, first in theater, then in the movies.
Black Camerawoman Jessie Maple’s Fight to Join a Union
Her climb into filmmaking began with programs designed to train African Americans. But to succeed, she needed to break into a mostly white male union.
The Woman Teacher Documents a Feminist Labor Union’s Victory
The UK’s National Union of Women Teachers went from splinter group to union in its own right, winning on equal pay—as The Woman Teacher shows first-hand.
How the Artists Union Shook Up the New Deal
When artists showed solidarity with one another and the larger labor movement, they won federal patronage.
Superbarrio: The People’s Superhero
Defender of the poor tenants and evictor of the voracious landlords, a masked lucha libre wrestler rose from the ruins of Mexico City’s 1985 earthquake.
The Hobo College of Hobohemia
Vagrancy laws targeted hobos at a time when there were few jobs for them. They responded by forming a union and helping to create Chicago’s Hobo College.
How “Measured Militancy” Empowered California’s Fieldworkers
When Mexican-American fieldworkers' strikes didn't net results, César Chávez led the Ventura County Community Service Organization in alternate tactics.
The Bisbee Deportations
According to one scholar, the 1917 deportation in Bisbee, AZ wasn't "about labor relations or race or gender: it was about all of them."
The Teachers’ Union Boomerang
Today's teacher's strikes in places like Oklahoma and West Virginia are the result of labor battles back in 2010, and the declining presence of unions across the economy generally.
When Jimmy Hoffa Vanished, He Took Union Strength With Him
The July 30, 1975, disappearance of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa sparked public fascination because he was an important cog in the nation's economy.