Shift Happens: The History of Labor in the United States by J. Albert Mann (HarperCollins, 416 pages, grades 8-12). Low wages, long hours, wealth inequality, immigrants accused of “stealing” jobs: issues workers face today have in fact been around since the earliest days of United States history. This breezy but thoroughly researched account tells the painful story of American labor, in which actions for improved conditions have all too often been met with resistance, violence, and even murder. There are occasional hard-won victories for workers, and the twentieth century brought substantial legislation and improvements for labor–until they were eroded during the backlash of the Reagan years and beyond. The media is also implicated here for telling stories that favor capitalists and demonize labor organizers and unions. Teens looking for the truth about labor’s history will find plenty to think about, presented with short chapters and irreverent humor that will keep them engaged.

It’s taken me weeks to work my way through this book, but it was well worth it, with fascinating and disheartening stories that make it a good companion to Lies My Teacher Told Me. I was hoping to be able to recommend this for younger kids, but there’s definitely some language that might raise a few middle school eyebrows (starting with the title), and I think that, and the complexity of the topic make it more appropriate for high school.

For a more in-depth look at a single incident in U.S. labor history, try The Mine Wars: The Bloody Fight for Workers’ Rights in the West Virginia Coalfields by Steve Watkins (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 272 pages, grades 6-10). I was too saturated on labor history from Mann’s book to read this one, but it looks like it includes many of the elements I read about: workers paid paltry wages in scrip for long hours of dangerous and back-breaking labor, and a strike that ultimately resulted in several killings. This particular story takes place in West Virginia in the early 1920’s, an era when it was particularly dangerous to be part of a union. This might be a better choice for a middle school introduction to labor history and will potentially appeal to fans of Steve Sheinkin.