Workers and Unions in Wisconsin

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A Labor History Anthology

Darryl Holter

A fascinating and informative exploration of American labor and economics through documents and writings from a state that was frequently at the forefront of union organizing and upholding the rights of workers.

296 pages, 8.5 x 11, 148 b&w photos
Paperback: $24.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-314-5
Publication Date: 12/1/1999

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Front cover of Workers and Unions in Wisconsin

Description

Wisconsin accounts for about two percent of the nation’s total population, but its contribution to the history of working people and social reform extends far beyond these numbers. In the early years of the twentieth century, Wisconsin became a veritable laboratory for social and political reform, producing such landmark legislation as workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and additional laws that became models for several other states and helped shape federal labor policies. The study of the history of labor also began in Wisconsin when University of Wisconsin economics professor John R. Commons began documenting the history of work and labor in America. Building on those efforts, Workers and Unions in Wisconsin includes nearly one hundred selections covering the period from 1850 to 1990, illustrated by scores of historic photos, most of which have never before been reprinted.

Editor Darryl Holter has included accounts of episodes that took place in more than twenty-five cities and towns in Wisconsin, including labor activities at such nationally known companies as Oscar Mayer, Kohler, Case, Allis-Chalmers, and Ray-O-Vac and workers as diverse as dairy farmers and university teaching assistants, lumberjacks and hosiery makers, municipal employees and paper mill workers. The result is a book that will fascinate and inform anyone interested in American labor history and economics, as well as in the personal stories that are part of any great societal change.

Author Bio

Darryl Holter

Darryl Holter is a musician, historian, and author. The former Educational Director for the State AFL-CIO in Wisconsin, he has written several books and scholarly articles on labor history and urban revitalization. He has a PhD in history from the University of Wisconsin and taught for several years in the History Department at UCLA. Holter manages several family businesses in Los Angeles and is an Adjunct Professor in History at the University of Southern California. He is also a singer-songwriter and a member of Professional Musicians Local 47.