For readers of Stamped and An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People, Albert J. Mann’s Shift Happens: The History of Labor in the United States is an accessible and comprehensive YA history of the way the labor movement has shaped America and how it intersects with many of the major issues facing modern teens.

“Mann explores the often oppressive, abusive, and bloody history of labor conditions and the merciless rise of capitalism with wit, snark, and comprehensive context.... Riveting, enlightening, infuriating, and timely: compulsory reading.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Its edgy title may attract attention, but it’s the compelling narrative and enlightening content that will keep readers engaged from cover to cover." —SLJ (starred review)

"In other hands, the snarky, conversational tone might feel like an adult’s overreach, but Mann’s simmering anger and clear passion for the working class will inspire readers just as much as the union leaders and organization efforts she covers." —BCCB (starred review)

“Mann’s introduction to the history of labor is full of sharp, galvanizing points that will keep readers engaged and help them look critically at some of our entrenched systems.” —ALA Booklist

“The narrative’s laser focus on organizing heroes and essential employees, and the power of unions and striking workers to enact change, results in powerful storytelling.” —Publishers Weekly

You need to work to live.

That’s the truth for most people, and plenty of people in power have been abusing that truth for centuries.

Long before the first labor unions were formed, workers still knew what exploitation looked like. It looked like the enslavement of Black people. It looked like generations of children dying in dangerous jobs. It looked like wealthy people hiring private militaries to attack their employees.

But workers have always found a way to fight back. Lokono tribespeople resisted Columbus and his colonizers. Enslaved people led walkouts and rebellions. Textile workers demanded a wage that would let them have fun, not just survive. Miners died for the right to unionize. From 30,000 young seamstresses striking in the early 1900s to Uber drivers organizing for change today, people have learned we’re stronger when we are united.

Shift Happens is a smart, funny, and engaging look at the history of the worker actions that brought us weekends, pay equality, desegregation, an end to child labor, and so much more.

From enslaved people leading rebellions to today's gig economy workers, the fight for fairness has always been brutal. So how did a riotous mob of workers manage to build the world we live in?

Worker Rights: Discover the hidden history of the actions that brought us weekends, pay equality, and an end to child labor.
Unions and Strikes: From 30,000 young seamstresses walking off the job in the 1900s to the modern gig economy, explore the power of collective bargaining.
Social Justice for Teens: Connect the dots between the past and present, seeing how the enslavement of Black people and the resistance of Indigenous tribes shaped the fight for fairness today.
Accessible YA Nonfiction: Told with the wit, snark, and simmering anger that earned starred reviews, this is the riveting, compulsory history you were never taught in school.