The Forgotten Labor Movement (Annotated Bibliography)

Banks, Nina. “Black Women in the United States and Unpaid Collective Work: Theorizing the Community as a Site of Production.” The Review of Black Political Economy, vol. 47, no. 4, Oct. 2020, p. 003464462096281. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034644620962811.

This article explores how Black women's unpaid collective labor during the Great Depression was vital to community-based economic production. It argues that such work was essential for survival and a form of resistance to systemic racial and gender exclusion from wage labor. The source is highly credible, appearing in a peer-reviewed journal focused on political economy and authored by a recognized scholar in Black feminist economics. Expanding the definition of labor to include unpaid community efforts challenges mainstream narratives that overlook women of color in labor history. I will use this article to highlight how women's unpaid and community-based contributions expanded the scope of organizing during the 1930s, showing that grassroots labor extended far beyond union halls and factories.

Bellou, Andriana, and Emanuela Cardia. “Great Depression and the Rise of Female Employment: A New Hypothesis.” Explorations in Economic History, vol. 80, Dec. 2020, p. 101383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2020.101383.

This article examines how the economic turmoil of the Great Depression reshaped women's roles in the workforce. The authors hypothesize that women's employment rose not as a temporary response but as a lasting transformation in U.S. labor patterns. Its credibility stems from rigorous quantitative analysis of historical economic data and a peer-reviewed publication in a respected economic history journal. By connecting economic necessity to broader labor force participation, the article provides a structural explanation for why women became more active in labor organizing. I will use this source to explain the economic backdrop that increased women's visibility as workers and organizers, showing how the Depression created opportunities for women to assert greater influence within the labor movement.

Betti, Eloisa, et al. “Introduction Thinking the History of Women’s Activism into Global Labor History.” Central European University Press EBooks, Aug. 2022, pp. 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1515/9789633864425-004.

This article introduces a global framework for understanding women’s activism in labor history, calling for women’s contributions to be integrated into mainstream labor narratives. It shows how women, often excluded from traditional accounts, were central in shaping labor struggles across regions and historical moments. Its authority lies in its collective authorship by respected scholars and its publication by Central European University Press, a recognized academic institution. The article's global perspective situates U.S. women organizers of the 1930s within a broader transnational context, offering comparative insights that enrich the American experience. I will use this source to situate my discussion of women labor organizers within global labor history, demonstrating how U.S. women's activism paralleled and contributed to international movements.

Marino, Katherine M. “Rosa Rayside and Domestic Workers in the Fight against War and Fascism.” Pacific Historical Review, vol. 93, no. 3, University of California Press, 2024, pp. 332–60. https://doi.org/10.1525/phr.2024.93.3.332.

This article investigates the activism of Rosa Rayside, a domestic worker who linked labor struggles with anti-fascist and anti-war campaigns in the 1930s. It demonstrates how Rayside and other women organizers bridged workplace concerns with larger political causes, challenging systems of race, gender, and class oppression. The source is credible because it is published in a leading peer-reviewed history journal and written by a historian specializing in women's and transnational activism. Centering on a lesser-known figure highlights the hidden contributions of women whose work has been marginalized in traditional labor histories. I will use this article to illustrate how women organizers of the 1930s connected labor rights with broader social justice issues, showing the intersectional dimensions of their activism.