Labor History and Studies Research Papers (original) (raw)

Internationalist Review of Irish Culture. 2 (Spring 2009): 134-152

Eighteenth-century Britain saw the emergence of a new poetic genre, the “work” poem which took various forms of labor as its subject and was often written by laborers themselves. Several of these working class poets found their lives... more

Eighteenth-century Britain saw the emergence of a new poetic genre, the “work” poem which took various forms of labor as its subject and was often written by laborers themselves. Several of these working class poets found their lives transformed due to the success of their verse (Stephen Duck most famously), but most faded into literary obscurity. However, a substantial body of “work” poems was produced by a diverse group of poets throughout the century, each manifesting divergent concerns and attitudes about the experience of work. This chapter assesses the formal connections uniting this poetic genre, particularly the frequent use of such literary devices as ironic distancing, litotes, and mock-georgic description. Instead of solely classifying “work” poems on the basis of their subject matter, this chapter demonstrates that such poetry (indeed the genre itself) lends itself to sophisticated literary techniques often associated with other poetic genres. In this fashion the full measure of eighteenth-century working class poetry can be evaluated more fairly, particularly by analyzing the formation of a new genre designed expressly by the poets themselves. The chapter ultimately seeks to demonstrate the connectedness, rather than the alienation, of working class poetry to the eighteenth-century British poetic tradition.

The History of DİSK (1975-1980) Volume 2

The public circulation of temporal discourse fashions the way in which subjects experience and value their time. At the turn of the twentieth century, experts in systematic management mandated that wage-earning women must be prodded into... more

The public circulation of temporal discourse fashions the way in which subjects experience and value their time. At the turn of the twentieth century, experts in systematic management mandated that wage-earning women must be prodded into efficient labor in order to increase the overall yield of industry. Against this regime of time, the narrator of The
Long Day: The Story of a New York Working Girl, as Told by Herself (1905) subverted the temporal protocols governing her by re-deploying efficient labor for her own agenda. Analysis of this work highlights the ways in which time is disproportionately articulated to different subjects, the means employed to discipline the corporeal enactment of time, and
the potential for subjects to resist this orthodoxy

This paper is written in response to a request from Nguyen Hoa, Dean of the Labor Relations and Trade Unions Faculty, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, for background information regarding the setting of minimum wage... more

This paper is written in response to a request from Nguyen Hoa, Dean of the Labor Relations and Trade Unions Faculty, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, for background information regarding the setting of minimum wage in various countries, pursuant to a research contract between TDTU and the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labor (VCGL). This paper is meant to provide background information on arguments for various approaches to setting the minimum wage, for the use of the research committee on which he serves, that will assemble the full report on minimum wage for the use of the VGCL in its presentations to the National Wage Council of Viet Nam for consideration of the minimum wage in the future. Therefore this paper is not a survey of the entire minimum wage issue worldwide , nor is it a survey of minimum wage debate in Viet Nam. After a brief look at the minimum wage historically and the levels of government that have been involved in setting and enforcing it, the paper turns to the key criteria upon which minimum wage has been figured, drawing from national experiences, reports by the ILO and others. These criteria include minimum wage as a living wage or in the Vietnamese terms, basic necessities wage; minimum wage as a profit-sharing wage; minimum wage as a productivity wage; and minimum wage as a consumption wage. This last refers to what would it mean to allow workers to buy what they produce, a concept linked to the productivity wage but not identical in content. The paper then moves to considerations of how the minimum wage has in practice been determined, not just with research and mathematical formulas, but including a brief discussion of the relation of forces and the political/economic struggles that have determined minimum wage, especially in places where substantial changes have been seen in recent years. The conclusion of this research is basically that none of the methods of computation or research are as important as the power expressed by workers and their organizations against capital, and usually government allied with capital, to limit wage increases. The paper concludes with a brief on the Viet Nam example based on research done by others, accessible in English. An appendix is available consisting of a searchable table in Word listing all the documents examined, with keywords and quotes. The primary research was done by Joe Berry, secondary by Helena Worthen.

The St. Louis Regional Information Technology Labor Market Report delivers insights and analysis of Information Technology (IT) skills and competencies most in demand by St. Louis area employers to help answer the question: What does... more

The St. Louis Regional Information Technology Labor Market Report delivers insights and analysis of Information Technology (IT) skills and competencies most in demand by St. Louis area employers to help answer the question: What does business need? This research is designed to assist key stakeholders involved in economic and workforce development, St. Louis business, educational, and employment services communities in the development of education and training programs to ensure that the region’s workforce is well-prepared and equipped to meet business’ IT demands.

e A experiênciA dA clASSe trAbAlhAdorA 1 FaBiane popiniGis 2 introdução Além de ser o "historiador do século XX mais citado em todo o mundo", como afirmou Eric Hobsbawm 3 , E.P. Thompson é, sem dúvida, uma das referências fundamentais... more

e A experiênciA dA clASSe trAbAlhAdorA 1 FaBiane popiniGis 2 introdução Além de ser o "historiador do século XX mais citado em todo o mundo", como afirmou Eric Hobsbawm 3 , E.P. Thompson é, sem dúvida, uma das referências fundamentais para a reflexão contemporânea sobre o conceito de classe. Com uma produção vasta e marcante, o autor inglês ajudou redefinir tal conceito, incorporando a ele as dinâmicas próprias da História. Em grande parte, tal novidade se liga à sua tentativa de entender classe e consciência de classe em termos relacionais, ancorados na noção de experiência. O objetivo deste texto não é dar conta de toda a produção de Thompson e de seus críticos a respeito do tema proposto, nem tampouco fazer uma abordagem exaustiva, mas destacar como o conceito de classe foi empregado em algumas de suas obras. Seguindo os ensinamentos do próprio autor, que se afasta de definições abstratas apartadas dos processos sociais que analisa, buscaremos discutir como os conceitos de classes sociais, luta de classes e consciência de classe se mostram centrais em sua produção.

This extended encyclopedia entry was published in the "Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History" in 2018

This study is the result of cooperation between the Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s Libya Office and the Jusoor Center for Studies and Development, in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment in sustainable economic development.... more

This study is the result of cooperation between the Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s Libya Office and
the Jusoor Center for Studies and Development, in the field of gender equality and women’s
empowerment in sustainable economic development. We have tried to shed light on the most
important factors concerning women in the Libyan job market despite a lack of information and
data, especially in relation to the private sector. Notwithstanding the difficulty and ambiguity of the
situation, we recommend various mechanisms to improve the situation of women. We hope that
this study will encourage the trade union movement, civil society organizations and other concerned
parties to conduct detailed and comprehensive studies that contribute to improving the conditions
of working women in Libya and reinforcing women’s role in economic activity.
The study aims to understand the current situation of women in the Libyan job market and the
most important challenges they face. It also aims to identify obstacles to women’s effective
involvement in the job market and the factors behind these, including various forms of discrimination
that hinder women’s professional advancement. These obstacles conflict with measures that for
economic and social reasons have sought to encouragement and support women to enter the job
market.

In this paper, the concept of national preference demands is used in order to describe the antagonism expressed by the early unions against the Greek refugees from the Ottoman Empire in the 1910s Athens and Piraeus. In seeking the reasons... more

In this paper, the concept of national preference demands is used in order to describe the antagonism expressed by the early unions against the Greek refugees from the Ottoman Empire in the 1910s Athens and Piraeus. In seeking the reasons that permitted the exclusion of the refugees from the national and class solidarities, we focus on developments in Greek nationalism and politics; changes in the way 'foreign' workers were treated from 1830 to 1920; the monopolistic practices of workers' collectivities in labour markets; the role played by the ethno-local communities of immigrants in the lives of workers. Yet, the workers' particularisms did not fully contradict class formation, but were entangled in a dialectical relationship with it.

Welsh and Northwest English Quakers organized their settlement in the Delaware Valley to promote the spiritual development of their children and thereby built a rich agricultural economy that discouraged slavery locally while promoting it... more

Welsh and Northwest English Quakers organized their settlement in the Delaware Valley to promote the spiritual development of their children and thereby built a rich agricultural economy that discouraged slavery locally while promoting it in the Atlantic World.

The article examines a series of conflicts between coal miners and the Rio Grande do Sul mining companies in 1943, all of which were related to pressure to enforce laws. These conflicts had direct legal consequences, indicating that labor... more

The article examines a series of conflicts between coal miners and the Rio Grande do Sul mining companies in 1943, all of which were related to pressure to enforce laws. These conflicts had direct legal consequences, indicating that labor activists chose a political and legal strategy as a means of ensuring labor rights. This strategy combined apparent confidence in and support for the Getulio Vargas administration, as well as great joy with and praise for the creation of the Labor Court, associated with strong pressure for the implementation of social legislation and the active use of legal instruments.

If the critique of neoliberal capitalism has become a staple of leftist documentary filmmaking in France since the late 1990s, few films have gone as far in their rejection of work as those made by Pierre Carles, Stéphane Goxe and... more

If the critique of neoliberal capitalism has become a staple of leftist documentary filmmaking in France since the late 1990s, few films have gone as far in their rejection of work as those made by Pierre Carles, Stéphane Goxe and Christophe Coello. Following late nineteenth-century pamphleteer Paul Lafargue’s advocacy for “the right to be lazy” and the enjoyment of the flourishing society of leisure, Attention, Danger, Travail (2003) and Volem rien foutre al païs (2007) unapologetically and uncompromisingly reject the normative legitimacy of waged employment as a warrant of individual and social productivity. Nonetheless, it would be highly reductive to see in these two films and in the filmmakers’ project a celebration of idleness. Rather, as they strive to restore the productive value of individuals unable and unwilling to enter the labor market, Attention, Danger, Travail (2003) and Volem rien foutre al païs (2007) reject what the filmmakers see as leftist politics’ complacency with capitalism’s promotion of work as an ethics of self-realization. Drawing from Jacques Rancière’s emphasis on the proletariat’s self-identification and incidental political inscription in late 19th century society, this analysis argues that the two films discussed here operate therefore a political and aesthetic shift away from twentieth-century militant cinema by replacing the figure of political consciousness commonly associated with the industrial, capitalist society, namely the worker, with the unemployed post-industrial subjects of late-twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In doing so, these two films disrupt dominant narratives; by giving authority to the refusal of work as a legitimate experience, they allow the sharing and debating of these experiences to produce ‘disturbances’ in such public discourse. Entertainment and didacticism are thus intricately interwoven in these films.

The history of the state of Maine can be seen as a series of clashes. Maine is a place where water clashes with the land, native people clashed with Europeans, agriculture clashed with industry, humans clashed with nature, tradition... more

The history of the state of Maine can be seen as a series of clashes. Maine is a place where water clashes with the land, native people clashed with Europeans, agriculture clashed with industry, humans clashed with nature, tradition clashed with novelty, slavery clashed with freedom, conservation clashed with commerce, immigrant cultures clashed with dominant norms, and where work clashed with leisure. These clashes resulted in defeats, conflicts, cooperation, and compromises and these clashes are what shaped Maine. In this class, we will cover the history of Maine from prehistory to the present. This history will not be told from the perspective of social, cultural, economic, or political elites. Instead we will focus on the lives of working people, women, and minority groups as they shaped the society, culture, economy, and politics of the state. The readings and lectures are about the quotidian lives of a broad spectrum of working Mainers. We will strive to understand how the culmination of the actions of average people over time accrete to cause historical change. In this class, you will get a clear understanding of how Mainers interacted with the land, with elites, and with each other, and how these quotidian experiences changed over time. Some weeks we will learn about how events in other parts of New England and the country shaped Maine history. Other weeks we will learn how Maine history shaped these regional and national histories. We will always pay special attention to features of Maine history that highlight the uniqueness of the state and its people. The history of the people of Maine serves as an example of what life was like for many people in different parts of America. The opposite is also true, so we will sometimes explore the history of places outside of Maine to better understand what life would have been like for people in Maine. Class Organization The class is composed of three sections. The first section contains a brief introduction to Maine history and information on the natural history of the state. The next section covers the prehistory of Maine up to the period of industrialization around 1850. The last section covers the period of industrialization up to the present. In the last week of the class we will tour the Maine Folklife Center to prepare students for their final paper project.

Avery Review, no. 8 (May 2015)

A study of tensions between black workers and black elites in the industrializing South

Because battlefields can be potent symbols in the construction of historical memory, they can remain sites of struggle for as long as that memory is important. History professionals, such as archaeologists, participate fully in these... more

Because battlefields can be potent symbols in the construction of historical memory, they can remain sites of struggle for as long as that memory is important. History professionals, such as archaeologists, participate fully in these struggles. The commemoration of the Ludlow Massacre Site, a battlefield in the industrial wars of the early-20th century is discussed. The commemoration of Ludlow highlights the role of class interest in the construction of historical memory. Doing archaeology at Ludlow entails acknowledging these interests, both ours, as archaeologists, and those of the working class people who guard the memory of Ludlow.

What are the effects of capital’s restless attempts to appropriate unpaid cleanup work done by humans and the rest of nature? Neglect of this question has led to repeated confusions about what waste is and how it might better be... more

What are the effects of capital’s restless attempts to appropriate unpaid cleanup work done by humans and the rest of nature? Neglect of this question has led to repeated confusions about what waste is and how it might better be approached. A refreshed perspective is especially important in an era in which discussions about solid waste have come to focus largely on landfills and climate discussions to focus on real or imaginary carbon sinks. Critiquing these discussions, and their intersection in carbon credit schemes involving landfill methane, is one foundation for moving forward across a wide range of issues in political ecology. This chapter has appeared in Spanish in Ecologia politica de la basura: Pensando los residuos desde el Sur (Abya Yala, 2017), edited by Ma. Fernanda Soliz T., and in English in the Lahore Journal of Policy Studies 8 (1), December 2019, pp. 79-88.

Este artículo describe el contexto histórico y socioeconómico de los programas de trabajo temporal de los EEUU y los modelos de (in)migración peruana que han contribuido al empleo de pastores quechuas en los Estados Unidos. El pastor... more

Este artículo describe el contexto histórico y socioeconómico de los programas de trabajo temporal de los EEUU y los modelos de (in)migración peruana que han contribuido al empleo de pastores quechuas en los Estados Unidos. El pastor ‘‘invitado’’ y contratado por un ranchero ‘‘anfitrión,’’ enfrenta un desequilibrio de poder en el cual su estatus legal depende del cumplimiento del contrato establecido por un solo empleador. Siguiendo el concepto de hospitalidad elaborado por Derrida que la describe como un aporía sin resolución, en este artículo se argumenta que los programas de trabajo temporal conducen a los pastores hacia una ‘‘trampa hospitalaria’’; pues no entienden el lenguaje del contrato y, además, su estatus temporal y legal contribuye a la crónica ceguera de los legisladores ante las atroces condiciones de trabajo y vivienda. Los pastores relatan testimonios sobre las privaciones físicas y emocionales a las que se que enfrentan como ‘‘huérfanos’’ (wakchakuna) en planicies estadounidenses en donde el pastoreo carece de las creencias quechuas sobre las relaciones de reciprocidad entre los humanos, la tierra y los animales. ***(This article describes the historical and socioeconomic contexts of U.S. migrant labor programs and Peruvian (im)migration patterns, which have contributed to the wide- spread employment of Quechua sheepherders on U.S. pastures. Herder ‘‘guests’’ employed by ‘‘host’’ ranchers face a dangerous power imbalance: their legal status as temporary workers depends on the fulfilment of a contract offered by one specific employer. Following Derrida’s conception of hospitality as an irresolvable aporia, it is argued here that U.S. migrant labor programs lead herders into a ‘‘hospitality trap,’’ because they do not understand the language in which their work contracts are written; their status as temporary and legal workers contributes to legislators’ inattention to their appalling working and living conditions. Herder personal narratives relate the physical and emotional hardships they face as ‘‘orphans’’ (wakchakuna) on profit- driven ranches where husbandry practices bear little resemblance to Quechua beliefs regarding relationships of reciprocity between humans, animals, and the land.)

Tulisan ini menganalisis realita orang-orang bersaing menjadi ASN dengan kacamata struktural melalui pendekatan ekonomi politik. Berebut menjadi ASN ini bukan sekadar karena motivasi, keinginan, atau faktor budaya, akan tetapi ada... more

Tulisan ini menganalisis realita orang-orang bersaing menjadi ASN dengan kacamata struktural melalui pendekatan ekonomi politik. Berebut menjadi ASN ini bukan sekadar karena motivasi, keinginan, atau faktor budaya, akan tetapi ada realitas struktural yang membentuk persepsi moralistik seperti itu. Kajian ini akan mengelaborasi tentang tiga hal: 1) proses proletarisasi yang telah menyingkirkan para petani dari tanahnya dan meningkatkan jumlah cadangan pekerja; 2) rendahnya penyerapan tenaga kerja ke sektor formal dan pekerjaan formal di sektor swasta yang semakin dibuat fleksibel, sehingga orang mengantri untuk menjadi ASN; 3) berebut menjadi ASN justru telah mengaburkan permasalahan utama dalam rezim perburuhan yang telah mengakibatkan meluas dan meningkatnya ketidakpastian kehidupan.

American Jewish labor history stands out as a place where labor, immigration, Jewish, and other specialties meet and interact – often uneasily. The changing fortunes of this area of study have not always coincided with those of American... more

American Jewish labor history stands out as a place where labor, immigration, Jewish, and other specialties meet and interact – often uneasily. The changing fortunes of this area of study have not always coincided with those of American Jewish history, which was established as a field well in advance of the rise of the new social history. As a result, American Jewish labor history became marginalized just as American Jewish history as a field had become mainstream enough to become comfortably critical as opposed to self-consciously celebratory. Part of the reason for this has been a relatively narrow geographic and chronological focus, as well as an emphasis on institutions and lack of attention to (or even dismissiveness) of gender issues. Additionally, the focus has traditionally been more celebratory and memoiristic than critical, due to the fact that most of the earliest published histories have been written by former activists. In addition, the general narrative, popularized by Irving Howe's The World of our Fathers has made the Lower East Side tailor the symbol and stereotype of the Jewish worker. In the last decade, however, more critical approaches, as well crossover scholarship from the fields of women's, immigration, and labor history, have resulted in the study themes and topics that have been previously ignored or slighted, as well as new approaches that incorporate gender, social history, and comparative perspectives and challenge long-accepted conventional wisdom.