What Would Studs Terkel Make of ‘Essential Workers’?

In 1973, Jesse Jackson's Operation Push organized a march to protest high inflation and unemployment. 

"It was half a century ago that labor radio broadcaster Studs Terkel published Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. The almost-600-page book was anchored in first-person accounts from 150 Americans, who spoke about their working life in just about every sector of the economy, as well as in several civil-service titles. A mix of labor journalism and anthropology, Working was informed exclusively by the voice of the workers, who demonstrate a disarming intimacy with Terkel (1912–2008), revealing much about each individual but even more about the society they labored in.  Each work/life account is its own universe. There are descriptions of how people came to be in their jobs, as well as what it took to hold onto them. There are names you might know, such as actor Rip Torn and jazz musician Bud Freeman. But mostly, it’s everyday folks that Terkel, who broadcast from WFMT, out of Chicago, brought into the spotlight. ..."

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