Labor and Employment: The American Worker

In the waning days of World War I in 1918, Eugene Debs, the most famous socialist in America, delivered a speech in Ohio denouncing war. Two weeks later, he was arrested and imprisoned for his words, and sentenced to ten years in federal prison. In 1920, he decided to run for president from his prison cell, ultimately waging the most successful campaign by a socialist candidate in American history.

Minimum wage has been a major conversation among politicians, activists, employers, and employees in recent years. Millions of Americans live paycheck to paycheck or struggle to make ends meet, working multiple jobs to make up for the fact that the federal minimum wage has not kept up with the rate of inflation. Today, federal minimum wage is $7.25—it has not increased since 2009. However, it hasn’t always been difficult to live off of a minimum wage job.

With deadly heatwaves blasting regions around the globe, 2023 is on track to become the hottest year on record. In the United States, this summer has featured a number of unusual weather phenomena—torrential flooding in Vermont and the Hudson Valley, dense wildfire smoke that tanked air quality in the Northeast and Midwest, and a 31-day streak of 110+ degree temperatures in Phoenix, to name just a few. The rising temperatures worldwide are largely thanks to climate change—and with the heat not going away any time soon, adaptations and considerations must be made to ensure survival.

Explore the plight and successes of America’s working class with HeinOnline’s newest editorialized collection of more than 10,000 titles that illuminate the history of labor conditions and employment law in the United States. Labor and Employment: The American Worker is an extensive collection that allows users to explore all of the cases, legislation, scholarly articles, and much more related to the workplace in the United States. And the best part is we’ve made it easy for you to add to your subscription—this collection is available for an affordable, one-time payment.

The 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times Building was a major cause célèbre for the labor movement. Two brothers faced the death penalty, with America’s most famous lawyer defending them.