LIST: Books to Celebrate May Day

On May 1st 1886, unions across America went on strike to demand an 8 hour work day. The strike culminated in Chicago’s Haymarket Square, where a deadly police riot resulted in the execution of four anarchists and labor activists. Three years later, the American Federation of Labor named the day International Worker’s Day, or May Day, to commemorate those lost at Haymarket. Unsettled by the radical origins of the May 1st date, Grover Cleveland designated the early September celebration of Labor Day. May Day, however, is observed globally, including by the Catholic Church, which named May 1st as the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955. 

Zelda Zerkel-Morris and The National have recommended a set of books about May Day, labor organizing, and workers’ history to mark the occasion.

Wobblies of the World: A Global History of the IWW edited by Peter Cole, David Struthers, and Kenyon Zimmer (Pluto Press, 2017)

Wobblies of the World is the first history of the International Workers of the World, also known as the IWW or Wobblies, from a global perspective. Because of its Chicago origins, histories of the IWW have largely focused on the United States. Cole, Struthers, and Zimmer examine the reach of the Wobblies in countries like South Africa, Ireland, and Mexico, expanding on the scholarship surrounding one of the most prominent labor movements of the 20th century. 

The Long Deep Grudge by Toni Gilpin (Haymarket Books, 2020)

Winner of the Philip Taft Labor History Prize, The Long Deep Grudge explores the decades-long battle between International Harvester and the Farm Equipment Workers Union. Both groups were in unique positions during the labor clashes of the late 20th and early 19th century – International Harvester developed union suppression and avoidance tactics that are still in use today, and the FE Workers Union’s connection to the Communist Party made them targets of  government surveillance. Gilpin explores the origins and dynamics of each side, helping to develop a well rounded account of a deeply influential conflict many readers likely have never encountered. 

A History of America in Ten Strikes by Erik Loomis (The New Press, 2018)

In A History of America in Ten Strikes compares and contrasts the origins, durations, and long-term effects of ten strikes, from janitors to mill workers to air traffic controllers. In one section, Loomis discusses enslaved people’s withdrawal of labor in the Confederate South, challenging preconceived notions of workers’ movements and the agency they have had in watershed political and historical moments. 

Lucy Parsons: an American Revolutionary by Carolyn Ashbaugh (Haymarket, 1976)

Contemporary labor historians largely neglected women and people of color in their accounts, which often center men of the white working class. Ashbaugh amends this in her moving biography of Lucy Parsons, a woman of color, labor activist, anarchist, and wife of Haymarket defendant Albert Parsons. Ashbaugh examines Parsons’ radical advocacy for the Black working class and women, including her belief in the necessity for class solidarity in the Black community, a point later echoed by Eugene Debs. Lucy Parsons is necessary reading for anyone looking to learn more about the woman considered by the Chicago Police to be “more dangerous than a thousand rioters.”

The Making of the English Working Class by E.P. Thompson (Victor Gollancz, 1966)

Another international perspective, The Making of the English Working Class examines the industrial revolution in England and its long-reaching effects on factory workers, tradesmen, and other members of the English proletariat. Though its publication in the early sixties stirred intense controversy among Thompson’s fellow academics, this study is now considered both his most influential work as well as a fundamental reading of labor history.

The Maya of Morganton: Work and Community in the New South by Leon Fink (University of North Carolina, 2022)

In 2003 Leon Fink traveled to Morganton, North Carolina, where he spent significant time with a community of Mexican and Guatemalan poultry workers attempting collectivization. His return almost two decades later resulted in an expanded version of The Maya of Morganton, where he examines changing American perceptions of immigration and deindustrialization with the struggles of migrant workers. The book feels especially relevant today in the aftermath of a presidential election run so heavily on the immigration anxieties of the white working class. 

Labor’s Untold Story by Richard O. Boyer and Herbet M. Morias (Cameron Associates, 1955)

Currently in its 29th reprint, Labor’s Untold Story follows American labor history from the Civil War through the Eisenhower administration, focusing solely on the perspective of the worker. Published at the onset of the Cold War, it was also met with immense controversy. Along with E.P. Thompson, Boyer has been elevated to required reading for anyone interested in a 20th century radical perspective on labor.

Beaten Down, Worked Up: the Past, Present, and Future of American Labor by Steve Greenhouse (Knopf, 2019)

Beaten Down, Worked Up provides a much-needed look at the state of labor in post Occupy Wall Street America, considering the perspectives of gig workers like Uber drivers, illustrating that their concerns largely align with those of teachers, factory workers, and other jobs that one may more typically associate with labor organizing. Greenhouse also puts forward solutions and possibilities for what a future with a liberated working class could look like – perfect for a reader looking to end on a hopeful note. 

Mama Learned Us to Work by LuAnn Jones (University of North Carolina, 2002)

Jones joins Ashbaugh in centering the voices of women in Mama Learned Us to Work, an oral history of female poultry workers in the post-World War II South. Contrary to past accounts of women workers, which often posited them as a passive class, Jones sees these women as changemakers in their communities, juxtaposing the emotional labor done in the household with the oftentimes equally physically and emotionally draining realities of factory work. 

 Hardpressed in the Heartland: The Hormel Strike and the Future of the Labor Movement by Peter Rachleff (South End Press, 1993)

Now unfortunately out of print (but available from many libraries and used book sellers), Hardpressed in the Heartland tells the story of the year-long strike by workers in the Hormel meatpacking plant in Austin, Minnesota. Rachleff uncovers a fascinating dynamic within the union, with the national leadership pushing for a negotiation while individual members remained committed to action. Perfect for readers interested in the push and pull between radicalism and pragmatism in social movements. 

Zelda Zerkel-Morris holds a bachelor's degree in history with a focus on Slavic-American immigrant labor from Depaul University. Her previous work with the National includes interviews with authors Sasha Vasilyuk and Alice Austen.