Labor History

This is the 517th Xerox model 917 ever made, donated to the Smithsonian in 1985.

Watch the Original 1959 Ad for the First Office-Ready Xerox Machine

When the Xerox 914 entered offices, the working world changed forever

The crew of Skylab 4 in August 1973. From left to right: astronaut Gerald Carr, who commanded the mission; scientist-astronaut Edward Gibson; astronaut William Pogue.

Mutiny in Space: Why These Skylab Astronauts Never Flew Again

In 1973, it was the longest space mission — 84 days in the stars. But at some point the astronauts just got fed up

France Says "Au Revoir" to After-Hours Work Email

A new "right to disconnect" law lets employees negotiate communication rules in order to reduce stress and exhaustion from work

Martha, a farmworker in California, says a group of white locals often harass her, yelling that immigrants take U.S. jobs. “Why don’t they work in the fields?” she asked.

A Photographic Chronicle of America's Working Poor

<i>Smithsonian</i> journeyed from Maine to California to update a landmark study of American life

The low wages in the neighborhoods around Hull House can be seen in these maps, which illustrate income based on household. Each square shows an apartment building, and incomes are shown on the legend below. Black squares earned just $5 a week or less.

These Early Infographics Illustrated the Plight of America’s Poor

Florence Kelley used hard numbers to effect change

These Little-Known Photographs Put an Eerie Face on Child Labor

Unpublished photos taken by Lewis Wickes Hine make a haunting case against the conditions experienced by many working children in the early 20th century

Americans Used to Really Hate Tipping

Are gratuity's days numbered?

Teen Schools Professor on "No Irish Need Apply" Signs

Armed with a Google search and a theory, a 14-year-old enters the fray on a longstanding historical debate

Entrance to the new "American Enterprise" exhibition at the National Museum of American History.

How Curators Wrestled With the Complex Story of American Business

The broad and sometimes difficult history of business in the U.S., its rogues, heros, successes and failures, is the dynamic story in a new exhibition

Michael Peña portrays farmworker turned activist Cesar Chavez in a new biopic.

What the New Cesar Chavez Film Gets Wrong About the Labor Activist

Despite the good intentions, the biopic misleads and distorts his role in the farm workers movement

Lunch Atop a Skyscraper Photograph: The Story Behind the Famous Shot

For 80 years, the 11 ironworkers in the iconic photo have remained unknown, and now, thanks to new research, two of them have been identified

The family of Cesar Chavez donated this jacket to the National Museum of American History shortly after the labor leader's death.

When Union Leader Cesar Chavez Organized the Nation's Farmworkers, He Changed History

Cesar Chavez' black nylon satin jacket with the eagle emblem of the United Farm Workers is held in the Smithsonian collections

Page 3 of 3