A Labor Day reading list

Unions, laborers, employers, and government, oh my! For many, Labor Day weekend is the last hurrah holiday of summer before Autumn and a host of other responsibilities resume. Or, if you’re like me, you find yourself working all weekend and Monday becomes a nice reprieve (or you might be working on that day, too. Thank you.). It’s easy to lose sight of how and why the holiday came into existence and why it continues to matter. The holiday has a complex history that goes beyond the simplified version I’ll share in this blog post. For a more in-depth discussion, please use the following book and article lists as jumping off points. They’ll have bibliographies and notes that will further guide your studies. 

On Tuesday, September 5, 1882, the Central Labor Union held its first Labor Day in New York City. It gained traction in other cities and States, evolving into a large scale celebration of trade and labor organizations with demonstrations, parades and other festivities. Eventually, on June 28, 1894, the United States Congress declared Labor Day a legal holiday (after many States had already made it so) and that it would be held on the first Monday of every September. Workers in the US had a great many reasons to rally together. They advocated for better, safer conditions at their places of employment; for the right not to be worked to death; and for time off to care for sick relatives (and their own health), among many other things. Needless to say, unions, workers, employers, and government entities did not always cooperate with each other and the results of their endeavors achieved mixed results. Take a moment this Labor Day and review your State and Federal legislation. Ask yourself what you could do to help improve working conditions in your region and familiarize yourself with resources and organizations that assist workers.

Reading Recommendations

The handful of books below discuss working class queer folk and labor activists in the United States. And, since I love using my local public library databases to mine for information, you’ll also find a list of articles that I discovered using EBSCOHost (Google Scholar is a good place to start if you need to find full-text access outside of a library database). Since I put this together the day before Labor Day (Monday, September 4, 2017) and was definitely not on the ball, I appreciate suggestions you have for additional articles and books. You can leave those in the comments below. 

Books

• Out in the Union: A Labor History of Queer America (2014) by Miriam Frank, Temple University Press
• Marie Equi: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions (2015) by Michael Helquist, Oregon State University Press
• Sex Workers Unite: A History of the Movement from Stonewall to SlutWalk (2014) by Melinda Chateauvert, Beacon Press
• Steel Closets: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Steelworkers (2014) by Anne Balay, University of North Carolina Press 

 

Articles

Tilcsik, A., Anteby, M., & Knight, C. R. (2015). Concealable Stigma and Occupational       Segregation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 60(3), 446-481. doi:10.1177/0001839215576401

Mosoetsa, S., Stillerman, J., Tilly, C., & Smith, S. R. (2016). Queers are Workers, Workers are Queer, Workers’ Rights are Hot! The Emerging Field of Queer Labor History. International Labor & Working-Class History, 89184. doi:10.1017/S014754791500040X 

Reading List (non-queer specific)

• Library of Congress: Articles relating to Labor Day from the LoC’s impressive quest to archive America’s historic newspapers.
• United States Department of Labor’s “History of Labor Day” .
• Former United States Department of Labor Historian, Linda Stinson, talks about the “History of Labor Day” (2011).
• Whalen, Kelly. “How the Weekend Was Won.” Livelyhood: PBS. http://www.pbs.org/livelyhood/workday/weekend/8hourday.html (accessed September 3, 2017).

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Reading Resolutions for 2017

 Oh, reading challenges. I love them, and yet, I fare better with the types of reading challenges that quantify, rather than qualify, my choices. For example, Goodreads only asks how many books I plan on finishing between January and December. That’s pretty straightforward, simple, and, in some ways, not that much of a challenge. I can set the bar at 5 books, if I wanted (I would wither away if I was only able to read five books in a year).

My excuses/reasons for failing to cross the finish line of the 2016 PopSugar challenge are many. I’m like that dog in the Pixar movie “Up”; I get distracted by every book that crosses my path. There are certainly not enough hours in the day for work, commuting, and my myriad of interests. I am also unable to read less than ten trillion books at a time. There is currently one book in my glove compartment of my car; an audiobook in my car’s disc drive and on my smartphone; Analog magazine on my phone for endless lines at the grocery store; eBooks on my Nook; and on and on.

I don’t give myself a hard time for not living up to my own reading standards. It’s supposed to be so many other things above and beyond a mere assignment. I will, however, craft mini challenges for myself that highlight voices and genres I haven’t spent much (if any) time with. And then there is the news… So long 2016!

How about you?

Eleanor & Hick

Two audiobooks have been released this year about the 30+ year relationship between former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and journalist Lorena “Hick” Hickok. The relationship began as a romance and mellowed into a sustaining, supportive friendship.  

Volumes have been written by and about Eleanor and to a more limited extent, you can find writings by and about Hick. Every nook and cranny of Eleanor’s life poured over by historians, journalists, critics, and politicians. Happily, however, these two books contribute to a more complete view of the women behind the personages. I’m miles behind folks, though, since I have only just now got my hot little hands on a copy of Empty Without You, a collection of the letters, annotated by Rodger Streitmatter. I recommend listening to Loving Eleanor and Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair that Shaped a First Lady. It isn’t necessary to start with one over the other, though. Enjoy!

 

 

 Loving Eleanor by Susan Wittig Albert is told with through the framework of a fictional memoir written by Hick and left with the voluminous correspondence she shared with Eleanor (known to her, fondly, as Madam, ER, and Eleanor). The letters were donated to the FDR Presidential Library in Hyde Park, with the provision that they remain sealed until ten years after Hick’s death. Albert, known for The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter and mystery series, draws from extensive research to pen a vivid story surrounding the the two women’s romance and friendship. Albert includes information at the end of the story for readers who want to find out more. She also clarifies which parts of the novel are creative license. These additions reflect important truths that were hidden away or reinterpreted by persons who found the letters unpalatable. Albert highlights Doris Faber’s 1980 biography of Hick, which demeans its subject; a result, Albert writes, of Faber’s disapproval and disgust with the relationship revealed by the letters. The novel spans four decades, covering the women’s first meeting prior to FDR’s term as Governor of New York until Hick’s death in 1968. It’s an engrossing read. Told through Hick’s eyes, it takes on an especially personal, candid tone.

Karen White narrates this story with a wonderfully straight forward style suited to the personality of it’s primary voice. Lorena eschewed jewelry for suits; built a successful career as a journalist; and relished solitude, a stark contrast to the life she lived while active and as part of Eleanor’s life. Skilled narrators resist exaggerated imitations of real persons. Eleanor Roosevelt has a very distinctive voice. White’s performance of ER reflects the cadence produced by a patrician upbringing. I enjoyed the depth of her delivery, as the emotional weight of ER’s experiences, hopes, and passions, pour through the speakers.

You can learn more about the authors, narrators, and where to purchase a copy of these audiobooks via the links below.

Loving Eleanor
Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Narrator: Karen White
Produced by Tantor Media
Length: 10.5 hours
Release date: March 22, 2016

Available as an audiobook from Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, and Overdrive (check your local public library for availability in both eAudio and CD), as well as many other retailers.

Join the discussion on Goodreads!

 

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Eleanor and Hick is a sympathetic, well-researched exploration of the relationship between the two women. While not all readers will agree on the weight or interpretation of the materials sources, the book will definitely inspire spirited conversation.Author Susan Quinn delves into primary source material and other resources from collections housed at the FDR Library, the Library of Congress, and universities, in order to present a balanced, informed, and contextual look at the women’s lives together and as individuals. 

Narrator Kimberly Farr delivers a solid performance. Her frank tone, with upticks of emotion for direct quotes, draws out the public and private personas of Eleanor and Hick.

Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady
Author: Susan Quinn
Narrator: Kimberly Farr
Produced by Penguin Audio
Length: 13 hours, 44 minutes
Release date: September 27, 2016

Available as an audiobook from Amazon, Audible, Audiobooks, Barnes & Noble, and Overdrive (check your local public library for availability in both eAudio and CD), as well as many other retailers.

Join the discussion on Goodreads!

 

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Rodger Streitmatter curated and annotated a collection of letters Hick and Eleanor wrote to each other. He provides important context and discussion of their relationship. Prior to her death in 1968, Hick donated thousands of these letters to the FDR Presidential Library in Hyde Park, New York, with the directive to keep them sealed until ten years after her passing. When the cache became available to researchers, some were dismayed and unsettled by what they discovered. One of Hick’s biographers, Doris Faber, produced a less than favorable book after she read them, according to the author’s note at the end of Loving Eleanor. I’ve just picked up a copy for my own library and look forward to reading them.

Empty Without You
Editor: Rodger Streitmatter
Published by Free Press
Originally published in 1998
Hardcover, paperback, and ebook copies are available. Don’t forget to check with your local public library for availability.