“One of the best works of oral history produced by radical historians. . . . For readers who want to see an alternative view to social trade union history, in which labor leaders take the center stage, Rank and File is the place to begin. These personal histories of rank-and-file organizers show how ordinary working-class men and women made their own history.”
—The Nation

“The stories, which are replete with heroism, double-dealing, hope, and su ering, make a vital contribution to an understanding of American labor’s struggle for recognition and united strength.”
—Library Journal

“A skillful compilation of interviews with working-class organizers . . . not just an oral history, but a chronicle of modern political events ignored in mainstream labor history and journalistic commentary. e value lies in what it will tell future generations about today.”
—History Workshop Journal

“The first serious installment in . . . radical labor history.”
—Labor History

Jessie Wilkerson is a writer and historian from East Tennessee. She is an associate professor of history at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and is the author of To Live Here, You Have to Fight: How Women Led Appalachian Movements for Social Justice, winner of the H.L Mitchell Award for distinguished book on the history of the southern working class. In 2021, she was awarded a Carnegie Fellowship