Overview

Too often, observers and writers of Texas history have accepted assumptions about labor movements in the state—both organized and not—that do not bear up under the light of careful scrutiny. Offering a scholarly corrective to such misplaced suppositions, the studies in Texas Labor History provide a helpful new source for scholars and teachers who wish to fill in some of the missing pieces. Tackling a number of such presumptions—that a viable labor movement never existed in the Lone Star State; that black, brown, and white laborers, both male and female, were unable to achieve even short-term solidarity; that labor unions in Texas were ineffective because of laborers’ inability to confront employers—the editors and contributors to this volume lay the foundation for establishing the importance of labor to a fuller understanding of Texas history. They show, for example, that despite differing working conditions and places in society, many workers managed to unite, sometimes in biracial efforts, to overturn the top-down strategy utilized by Texas employers. Texas Labor History also facilitates an understanding of how the state’s history relates to, reflects, and differs from national patterns and movements. This groundbreaking collection of studies offers notable opportunities for new directions of inquiry and will benefit historians and students for years to come.

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9781603449441

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Reviews

These essays move us toward a more accurate picture by including the poor majority. It is high time Texas had a concentrated dose of labor history showing how very much like the rest of the country life here has been for the working class. --Kyle G. Wilkison, author, Yeomen, Sharecroppers, and Socialists

Author Information

BRUCE A. GLASRUD is the retired dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Sul Ross State University and a professor emeritus of history at California State University, Hayward. His most recent title for Texas A&M University Press is African Americans in South Texas History (2011). JAMES C. MARONEY taught for more than forty years at Lee College in Baytown. He served as writer, editor, and coordinator for articles on labor history for Texas State Historical Association’s New Handbook of Texas.

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