What Do We Draw From Labor History?

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There are so many great books on labor history. How do we draw from labor history? When is it relevant? I think it's important for people to recognize what unions have done and what their absence does. The fact that unions were once so strong relatively meant that certain kinds of legislation got passed, no, not to everybody's taste. And part of the history is who prefers that way of having the society organized.

We don't know about you, but we are fans of weekends. And social security. And health insurance. And the end of child labor! And all of these workplace protections exist because of the advocacy of labor unions. In this episode, American political scientist Margaret Levi shares the long history of organizing labor, and explains how unions create equality and protect worker rights. Margaret also discusses her optimism about today’s young workforce and why she believes that an equitable future requires a revival of the labor movement.