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Labor History: Home

Labor History

This guide will assist Wayne State students and faculty in navigating both library resources and free online resources. This includes not only resources offered through the Wayne State library system but those offered by other libraries and independent organizations. Happy researching!

Databases

Online Resources

Books and Ebooks

Periodicals

Here you can find some of the collections of periodicals offered by unions or other organizations concerned with labor issues and workers' rights. 

  • The Detroit Sunday Journal. The Detroit Sunday Journal was a weekly paper, published by striking union workers from the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press. The strike began in July, 1995; spanning four years and just over 200 editions, the Sunday Journal was published from November 19, 1995, through November 21, 1999. The newspaper strike formally ended in February, 1997 and the dispute continued until 2000. This collection includes the full run of the paper, which was published for the duration of the strike.
  •  Industrial Worker - A database of periodicals produced by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). This collection includes publications dating from 1999 to the present day.
  • The Agitator - A monthly socialist magazine, part of the Purdy/Kressge Library's microfiche collection. Explore the microfiche collection yourself to find resources that haven't been digitized yet.

Librarian

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Brian z_Will

Welcome!

Welcome to the Wayne State University labor history libguide! 

I hope you will find this page to be a helpful starting point to your research on the history of organized labor and workers' rights movements. On this page you will find highlighted resources belonging to the Wayne State University library system as well as free online resources. This page is an ongoing process to make research easier for both students and faculty and is a collaborative effort that will change and grow in order to accomplish that. 

Feel free to reach out if you need assistance or have a question. 

Brian Will

MA/MLIS Student