The ten essays in this book explore the intersection of race and class in the study of labor on three continents. Leading scholars examine the way in which working-class identities took shape and changed over time in a variety of settings from the sea ports of southern Africa to the copper mining region of the American southwest. Engaged with debates in current scholarship yet accessible to a general audience, these essays deepen an understanding of the international dimension of labor history.

This book provides a significant revision of South African labor history and makes an important contribution to the debate about apartheid's genesis. Using a range of untapped sources, it shows that there was far more strike action during World War II than has been officially acknowledged. A new working class, sometimes organized into multiracial unions, won improved wages and softened racial prejudice among white workers.
Contradicting earlier accounts, this study demonstrates that wartime mechanization and black advance ment into semi-skilled positions were limited and cannot explain...