service industry — Bunk History

A photograph of Anne Morrissy next to the cover of her book, "Street Fight."

The Chicago Taxi Wars of the 1920s

The turbulent history of an often forgotten moment that would leave blood in the streets and shape the modern landscape of Chicago.

by Anne Morrissy, Michael Welch via Chicago Review of Books on March 6, 2024

Black and white photo of a waitress serving patrons at a lunch counter.

Once Upon a Time, “Waitress” Was a Union Job. Could History Repeat Itself?

While unionization in the service industry is increasingly in the news today, it is important to recognize that this is not a new development.

by Haley Hamilton via Slate on September 20, 2022

The Racist History of Tipping

Employers pay tipped workers $2.13 an hour. Why? Reconstruction-era racial discrimination.

by William J. Barber II via Politico Magazine on July 17, 2019

William Howard Taft and Mark Twain

When Tipping Was Considered Deeply Un-American

Imported from Europe, the custom of leaving gratuities began spreading in the U.S. post-Civil War. It was loathed as a master-serf custom.

by Nina Martyris via NPR on November 30, 2015

Airplane tail with a bar code on it.

Who Gave Away the Skies to the Airlines?

In 1978, Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act. It gave rise to some truly miserable air travel—and neoliberalism.

by Elie Mystal via The Nation on March 11, 2025

Crowd marches against high inflation and unemployment in 1973.

What Would Studs Terkel Make of 'Essential Workers'?

What American workers have lost since 1974 — and how some are getting it back.

by Robert Hennelly via Village Voice on August 9, 2024

Drawings of protest sign reading "Workers of the world unite" with an asterisk, and another smaller one reading "Not You."

Redefining the Working Class

The diminished status of the non-white working class is not a matter of accident, but of design.

by Shamira Ibrahim via The Baffler on May 3, 2022

Robot with group of people at poker table

The Automation Myth

To what degree can we blame automation for deindustrialization and class decomposition?

by Clinton Williamson via The Baffler on April 6, 2022

The 1.25-million-square-foot USC Village residential complex in Los Angeles.

The Rise of the UniverCity

Historian Davarian Baldwin explains how universities have come to wield the kind of power that were once hallmarks of ruthless employers in company towns.

by Davarian L. Baldwin, Meagan Day via Jacobin on September 2, 2021

box of matches with faces drawn on the match sticks

Burnout: Modern Affliction or Human Condition?

As a diagnosis, it’s too vague to be helpful—but its rise tells us a lot about the way we work.

by Jill Lepore via The New Yorker on May 17, 2021

Postcard depicting the Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh

The Rise of Healthcare in Steel City

On deindustrialization, the care economy, and the living legacies of the industrial workers’ movement.

by Gabriel Winant, Nick Serpe via Dissent on March 18, 2021

When Restaurants Close, Americans Lose Much More Than a Meal

Restaurants have always been about more than feeding city residents. During the 1918 flu pandemic, they were kept open as sites of social solidarity.

by Rebecca L. Spang via The Conversation on March 20, 2020

Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia

How the Rise of Urban Nonprofits Has Exacerbated Poverty

While "meds and eds" have powered urban economies, they haven't been the gateway out of poverty that many hoped.

by Claire Dunning via Made By History on September 24, 2019

“A Place to Die”: Law and Political Economy in the 1970s

What the substandard conditions at a Pittsburgh nursing home revealed about the choices made by lawmakers and judges.

by Karen Tani via LPE Project on October 18, 2018

Living with Dolly Parton

Asking difficult questions often comes at a cost.

by Jessica Wilkerson via Longreads on October 16, 2018

Drawing of man with caption "MR R.R. Bowie, President of the Mixologist Club"

A History of Black Bartenders

In the late 19th century, Black bartenders gained esteem in the North and South. But their experiences were very different — in ways that may defy assumptions.

by David Wondrich via The Bitter Southerner on January 12, 2016

Barbering for Freedom

Segregation, separatism, and the history of black barbershops.

by Elias Rodriques via n+1 on September 28, 2015

Straight Razors and Social Justice: The Empowering Evolution of Black Barbershops

Black barbershops are a symbol of community, and they provide a window into our nation's complicated racial dynamics.

by Hunter Oatman-Stanford, Quincy Mills via Collectors Weekly on May 30, 2014

Magazine ad of raccoons playing computer games.

The Raccoons Who Made Computer Magazine Ads Great

In the 1980s and 1990s, PC Connection built its brand on a campaign starring folksy small-town critters. They’ll still charm your socks off.

by Harry McCracken via Technologizer on April 22, 2025

The entrance of Fischer Bros, a Jewish grocery store, with a line of people going out the door.

The Rise of the Jewish Grocer

From kosher butchers, fruit peddlers, and herring dealers on the Lower East Side to supermarket innovators across the country

by Jenna Weissman Joselit via Tablet on February 3, 2025

Costumed man and tourists in Colonial Williamsburg.

Where MAGA Granddads and Resistance Moms Go to Learn America’s Most Painful History Lessons

Welcome to Colonial Williamsburg, the largest living museum that is taking a radical approach to our national divides.

by Laura Jedeed via Politico Magazine on August 31, 2024

People seated at town hall meeting.

What We Get Wrong About White Workers

Deindustrialization has helped create a right-wing turn in many Midwestern towns. Long traditions of labor militancy can explain why it hasn’t in others.

by Chris Maisano, Stephanie Ternullo via Jacobin on July 9, 2024

How Public Opinion May Decide the FTC Amazon Antitrust Suit

In the 1920s, electricity monopolies survived an antitrust investigation because they had won over the public.

by Daniel Robert via Made By History on October 24, 2023

Cover of "Driving Force" book featuring a traffic cop directing automobiles.

L.A. and the Birth of Car Culture

On Darryl Holter and Stephen Gee’s “Driving Force: Automobiles and the New American City, 1900–1930.”

by Gary Cross via Los Angeles Review of Books on July 15, 2023

Flight attendant serving a full meal.

Remembering the Golden Age of Airline Food

Why were in-flight meals so much better in the past?

by Diana Hubbell via Atlas Obscura on May 8, 2023

Picture of a man mopping a gas station bathroom floor.

Believe It or Not, Gas Station Bathrooms Used to Be Squeaky Clean. Here's What Changed.

Spotless bathrooms used to be a crucial selling point for gas stations.

by Nathaniel Meyersohn via CNN on June 4, 2022

Artistic depiction meant to represent the global supply chain. At center is planet Earth, which has a hole in the middle. Earth is surrounded by 3 intersecting rings of various colors. The rings depict freight transport (transporting goods by rail, sea, and truck).

How We Broke the Supply Chain

Rampant outsourcing, financialization, monopolization, deregulation, and just-in-time logistics are the culprits.

by David Dayden, Rakeen Mabud via The American Prospect on January 31, 2022

Fast food with the seal of the president on the containers.

How the State Created Fast Food

Because of consistent government intervention in the industry, we might call fast food the quintessential cuisine of global capitalism.

by Alex Park via Current Affairs on January 25, 2022

An public work space

The Idea of Work, From Below

Ideas about working from the employee perspective.

by Joel Suarez via Journal of the History of Ideas Blog on September 6, 2021

Yuri Kochiyama holding a sign during a protest in support of waiters

Behind This Photo Is the Story of Two Asian American Folk Heroes

Remembering Asian-American activists Corky Lee and Yuri Kochiyama.

by Alice George via Smithsonian on May 20, 2021

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