Skip to Main Content

Subject Guide: Labor History

Archival and library highlights found at the Center relating to labor history and the individuals and organizations that fought for equal rights in the workplace.

Agriculture in Poland [c.1920] (RG 380, YIVO)

Introduction

Welcome to the Center for Jewish History's Labor History LibGuide, where you will find information and materials here at the Center, which include both library and archival materials, that illustrate the development of labor movements in the United States and abroad. These materials describe the evolution of organized labor, US labor law, and United States philanthropic organizations that implemented labor as a way of rehabilitation for peoples affected by tragedy during World Wars.

Jewish history intersects with many different periods of reform and radical change throughout the centuries. Resources at the Center illuminate the history of labor through primary sources related to first-hand accounts, literary and art works, and rich photograph collections.

Please email inquiries@cjh.org if you have any additional questions about the thousands of books, archival collections, and museum objects available to use for research at the Center. 

Our Partners

For more information on the Center's partners, please click below for their organizational websites:

At the Royter Poyer (Red Farmer) collective: the family of stable-man I. Tsygan on the way to a May First demonstration, Fastov, USSR (now Fastiv, Ukraine), 1930. (RG 120)

General Scholarly Sources

When searching a database for United States Labor History related articles, make sure to use specific search terms or search modifiers.

Suggestions for Search Terms:

  • Labor Unions
  • Labor Movement
  • Working Class
  • Unionism

Useful Articles on Historical Inquiry