May 1st marked International Workers’ Day, a day dedicated to both political action and commemoration, focused on the historic and contemporary struggles of the labour movement and workers around the world. The day was first established in 1889 in memory of the Chicago Haymarket Affair, designated as a day of protest for workers’ rights and improved labour conditions. In honour of International Workers’ Day we have put together a display highlighting materials in our collections related to workers’ rights and the labour movement.
The OISE Library’s Stacks research collection features materials on both historical and contemporary labour movements. Many of the historically focused works examine the role played by women in the labour movement of the 19th and early 20th. Mother Jones: Raising Cain and Consciousness by Simon Cordery explores the life of the legendary Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, detailing her early life and eventual turn to labour activism at the age of 60. Living the Revolution: Italian Women’s Resistance and Radicalism in New York City, 1880-1945 by Jennifer Guglielmo examines the involvement of Italian-American women in the labour movement and other political causes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker by Theresa Serber Malkiel originally published in 1910 offers a fictionalized account of the New York City garment workers’ strike, an event which took place just a year before the “diary’s” publication.
Additionally the Stacks collection features works which focus on contemporary labour struggles within Canada and around the world. We Are in This Dance Together: Gender, Power, and Globalization at a Mexican Garment Firm by Nancy Plankey-Videla relies on ethnographic research to the tell the story of an overwhelming female workforce and the factors which lead them to strike. Manufacturing Meltdown: Reshaping Steel Work by D.W. Livingstone, Dorothy E. Smith, and Warren Smith examines the changing situation of workers at the Stelco plant in Hamilton, Ontario starting with the industries decline in the 1980s, and going on to consider the current state of steel workers and the industry. Care Work and Class: Domestic Workers’ Struggle for Equal Rights in Latin America by Merike Blofield considers the tactics and strategies employed by domestic workers throughout Latin America in their efforts to improve labour laws and working conditions.
Many works in our Children’s Literature and Curriculum Resources collections focus on the experiences of child workers, introducing readers to the realities of child labour and development of child labour laws in the early 20th century. Kids on Strike! by Susan Campbell Bartoletti details American children’s participation in strikes in the 19th and early 20th century, telling the stories of children who worked as newsies, garment workers, and coal miners. The picture book Kid Blink Beats the World written and illustrated by Don Brown offers a fictionalized portrayal of the Newsboys’ Strike of 1899, following the story of how the newsies took on Joseph Pulitzer’s The Morning World, and William Randolph Hearst’s New York Evening Journal. Factory Girl by Barbara Greenwood alternates between historical fiction and fact, focusing on the struggles of child labourers in early 20th century Canadian garment factories.
The display case on the Ground Floor of the OISE Library features these books and many more works related the labour movement. All items included in the display are available to be checked out, speak to staff at the library service desk if you need any assistance.
