Books and films
Books and films that help us understand collective action.
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걷고 보니 역사였네 / As I walked, I realized it was history.
Author Yang Gyu-heon began his career in local labor unions and grew into a labor activist. He served as chairman of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions (KFTU), and has since dedicated himself to the irregular workers' movement and working-class politics.
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퇴사 대신 노조 만들기 / Don’t Quit — Organize a Union
However, if you were to throw such a book at someone just starting out in a union, they might hesitate to jump right in. High-level resolutions can wait.
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History of Resistance to Discrimination by Koreans Living in Japan: Focusing on the Labor Movement in the 1920s and 1930s / 1920~30년대 일본 거주 조선인의 노동운동과 차별 저항사
This book examines the social movements undertaken by Koreans who migrated to Japan from the Korean Peninsula to seek employment or study before August 1945, resisting discrimination there, focusing on the labor movement of the 1920s and 1930s. In August 1945, just before the end of World War II, the population of Koreans living in Japan¹⁾ was…
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울산 노동운동사 / History of the Ulsan Labor Movement
Volume 1 broadly describes the labor movement before industrialization, including the Japanese colonial period; the labor movement during the industrialization period after liberation and before the 1987 Labor Struggle; the period of the 1987 Labor Struggle; and the labor movement during the neoliberal era of the mid-1990s. Furthermore, separate chapters…
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노가다가 아닌 노동자로 삽니다 / Living as a Worker, Not a Day Laborer
"Strictly crack down on the rule of law until the dry force is completely eradicated." After the remarks at the State Council on February 21, 2023, the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the conservative media joined forces to push…
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금형사상공 나의 삶 나의 꿈 ‘노동자 정갑득’의 노동운동 역정과 시대의 회고록 / Mold Industry, My Life, My Dream: A Memoir of the Labor Movement and the Times
Former Chairman Jeong joined the mold department of Hyundai Motor Company in 1984, went on a hunger strike to protest dismissal in 1988, was arrested in 1992 for his struggle for profit distribution, led the self-immolation protest in memory of martyr Yang Bong-su in 1995, served as the 6th chairman of the Hyundai Motor Company labor union in 1995, lost…
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사회운동과 역사주기 / Social Movements and Historical Cycles
Social Movements and Historical Cycles is a comprehensive sociological study of Korean social movements from the April 19 Revolution to the present. Drawing on more than 600 pages of analysis, Cho Dae-yeop traces recurring patterns, ruptures, and transformations in collective action.
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노동운동과 지식인: 역사와 현대의 대화 / The Labor Movement and Intellectuals: A Dialogue Between History and the Present
This book explores the complex relationship between the labor movement and intellectuals through a dialogue between historical experience and contemporary realities. It examines how intellectuals have engaged with labor struggles, social movements, and political participation, and reflects on their roles and responsibilities in confronting social…
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만국의 노동자여 글을 쓰자 / Workers of the World, Let’s Write
The book documents the lived experiences of workers through firsthand narratives, showing how labor is shaped by exploitation, precarity, and resistance. It treats writing not as literature in the narrow sense, but as a form of labor and political action.
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작가노동 선언 / Writers’ Labor Declaration
Writers active in various genres, including poetry, novels, web novels, columns and essays, translation, reviews and critiques, humanities and social sciences, children's and youth writing, playwriting, screenplays and screenplays, reportage, comics and webtoons, and drawings and illustrations, have come together to form a "union." Beginning with a small…
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北京工人运动史 / A History of the Beijing Workers' Movement
"A History of the Beijing Workers' Movement" is divided into four parts, totaling more than 390,000 words. It takes history as its axis, combines historical analysis with theoretical discussion, and is rigorous, pragmatic, and richly illustrated.
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工人运动与中国现代文学 / The Workers' Movement and Modern Chinese Literature
This book focuses on the significance and influence of the workers' movement on modern Chinese literature, bringing the extremely important working class and workers' movement in modern Chinese history into the scope of literary studies.
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楊浦工人運動大事記 / Yangpo Artisans Movement Diary
The entire book is over 26,000 characters, and spans time.Started in 1863, entered the Yangshupu area, entered the concession area, and stopped in 2023.Convened the 18th national representative conference of the China Industrial Association. A 160-year history of Changhe's chronology, a chronological and lunar diary.
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Narodziny Solidarności na Dolnym Śląsku / The birth of Solidarity in Lower Silesia
The first volume of the new popular-science series “Solidarity in Lower Silesia,” published by the Wrocław branch of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) and Ossolineum, is devoted to a breakthrough event in Poland’s postwar history—the strikes of August 1980. It was then that genuine solidarity was born, giving rise to a great mass social movement.
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Od aplauza do sindikata: Priručnik o radu u kulturi / From Applause to Unions: A Handbook on Cultural Work
We proudly and joyfully invite you to the presentation of the book From Applause to Unions: A Handbook on Work in Culture . It is intended for all underpaid and precarious cultural workers and artists who need a reminder of labor law issues, but also encouragement to organize together and fight for better working conditions .
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Solidarność cukrowników. Zarys historii NSZZ „Solidarność” pracowników przemysłu cukrowniczego w Polsce w latach 1980–1990 / Sugar Workers' Solidarity: An Outline of the History of the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" of
In the history of the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity,” sectoral sections played an important role alongside the regional structure, especially those bringing together enterprises of key importance to the economy of the Polish People’s Republic. In the food industry, a particularly significant role was played by workers from 79 sugar…
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U taboru anarhista: Život Ivana Zeppa / In the Camp of the Anarchists: The Life of Ivan Zeppa
Far from anarchist circles and discussions with Swiss comrades, Ivan Zepp (1889–1967) spent his final years on the banks of the Drava River. Describing him as “the last anarchist in Osijek,” for the publicist and chronicler of the labor movement Lavoslav Kraus, Zepp represented an unusual kind of man after World War II.
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Zápotocký: Příliš mnoho životů / Zápotocký: Too Many Lives
Antonín Zápotocký was one of the most prominent figures of the communist movement. He was connected with the party from its very beginnings and remained at the highest levels of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) until his death in 1957.
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Соціалістичний активіст на промисловому підприємстві в умовах української буржуазної демократії / Socialist activist at an industrial enterprise in the conditions of Ukrainian bourgeois democracy
“Socialist Activist at an Industrial Enterprise under Ukrainian Bourgeois Democracy” is a memoir by Oleg Dubrovskyi that highlights the activities of a socialist activist and factory worker in the plants of Dnipropetrovsk between 1998 and 2003. The book describes attempts to organize socialist education and to fight for workers’ rights against delayed…
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La Fabrique des insurgées / The Factory of Insurgent Women — 1869: la première grève d’ouvrières
A black-and-white graphic novel about the first strike by women workers in France. Lyon, 1869: in a silk-spinning mill, the ovalistes work twelve-hour days for miserable wages, live in unhealthy lodgings and are poorly fed.
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The August Uprising, 1924: The Georgian Anti-Soviet Revolt and the Birth of Democratic Socialism
For three years after the Russian Revolution, Georgia was a democratic republic, until Stalin ordered the Red Army to invade and restore Russian rule. Communist attacks on political opponents, trade unions, cooperatives and even the church sparked resistance, culminating in an armed uprising across the country in August 1924.
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Arbeiten um zu leben! / Work to live! On the history and current relevance of the struggle over working hours
Time has always been a contested territory, and its distribution is often understood as a "measure of freedom." How much time is spent on paid and unpaid work, and how much is available for personal use? This edited volume examines the trade union demand for reduced working hours since the 1970s from a sociological and historical perspective, drawing on…
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Arbeitskämpfe an die Hochschulen! / Labor disputes at the universities! Employment conditions and strategies of trade union counter-power
The authors of this book combine academic analyses of working and employment conditions with strategic perspectives for trade union work at universities. More than 70 activists share their experiences in building counter-power in this difficult yet strategically crucial field for the renewal of trade unions, making it clear: labor struggles at…
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Bottroper Kommunistenprozess vot dem Essener Schwurgericht 1919 / Bottrop Communist Trial before the Essen Assize Court 1919
In November 1918, following the Kaiser's abdication, the Weimar Republic and the Soviet Republic were proclaimed in Berlin. Workers' and soldiers' councils also formed in the western Ruhr region.
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Der Streik hat mir geholfen, als junger Mensch Kraft aufzubauen / The strike helped me build strength as a young person.": Migrant struggles against exploitation and racism
The migrant struggles for humane working conditions and fair wages are also a courageous fight against the injustices of capitalism and racism since the early 1960s. A high point of these struggles was a series of migrant strikes in the summer of 1973.
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Die Fahrenden Gesellen: Junge Angestellte zwischen Gewerkschaft und Jugendbewegung (1909–1933) / The Traveling Journeymen: Young Employees Between Trade Union and Youth Movement
This study examines the development of the "Traveling Journeymen" within the German National Association of Commercial Employees (DHV). The organization was founded in the style of the Wandervogel movement.
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Die Krise der Repräsentation in Gewerkschaften / The Crisis of Representation in Trade Unions: A Case Study on the Assessment of the Right-Wing Alternative Trade Union Center
In the context of/ increasing class disparities and the erosion of traditional political and trade union organizations, Sophie Schlingmann examines how right-wing populist movements strategically exploit these developments to mobilize segments of the workforce. The growing polarization of the political spectrum is further intensifying the perception of a…
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Dieses verdorbene Herz / This Corrupted Heart: A Novel | The must-read of the year and the most captivating novel of the moment
Suddenly, Nayan Olak sees the mysterious Helen Fletcher back in town. Since the tragic death of his son, he hasn't risked love.
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Focusing or Fragmenting Representation at Work?
Focusing or Fragmenting Representation at Work? reflects on how existing forms of workplace representation have changed in recent years and how new forms have developed.
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Gewerkschaften in der Zeitenwende / Trade unions at a turning point in history
As a consequence of a redistribution of resources from the social to the military, attacks on the welfare state are to be expected. A social climate characterized by inflation, deindustrialization, and the dismantling of social welfare does not strengthen the demands of the trade unions.