INTRODUCTION: Uncovering Labor’s History

Michael Frisch presents an outline of how to present the truth of history.¹ Class is central to everyday life, and labor issues are woven throughout U.S. history and culture. Yet the stories of how working-class people have fought for fair wages; humane hours of work and leisure time; the right to join a union; safe, sanitary, and democratic workplaces; and a host of other things that make life worth living remain unfamiliar to large numbers of Americans. Mainstream academic and popular culture narratives, even those that claim an “intersectional” approach, typically minimize the importance of class as a category of