Catherwood LibraryILR School

Randi Storch

Working Hard for the American Dream presents an in-depth examination of the various economic, social, and political developments that shaped labor history in the United States from World War I until the present day. By taking a working-class perspective, the text vividly illustrates the ways average workers experienced the U.S. economy's changing nature, the relationship of the government to workers, and how global economic and political forces affected—and were affected by—working Americans. We are shown how evolving economic developments and the changing composition of the nation's working class affected working-class agency and protest, ideologies, and organization. Workers' struggle to exert power in the modern workplace is also examined, along with how and why workplace activism has changed over time among a broad range of industrial, agricultural, public, and service workers. Incorporating the most recent scholarship in labor history, Working Hard for the American Dream offers illuminating insights into 20th-century union history in the United States. [from back cover]