Workers' Rights (WHAT DO WE MEAN BY HUMAN RIGHTS)

Gr 4-7--This slim title just skims the surface of its very broad subject. Short chapters focus on various labor issues and include case studies from around the globe. Topics are explored with varying degrees of depth and accuracy. The case of miners in South Wales who bought their coal mine rather than see it close seems to be well researched and fits well into the chapter on the right to be employed. The explanation of the difference between equal pay for equal work and equal pay for equal value is clear and succinct. Other sections, however, lack clarity and authority. In a brief discussion of the differences between skilled and unskilled labor, Prior states, "The more skilled a worker is, the more he or she may be paid by an employer." (Guess she didn't interview any librarians in her research, did she?) "Equal Access to Jobs" includes a discussion of quotas but says nothing about Affirmative Action. The discussion of trade unions is stunted and choppy. "How Does a Trade Union Work?" offers only the example of apple-picking families in Kashmir who decide that instead of undercutting one another's prices, they will all charge the same rate. This example will be of limited usefulness to students studying American labor. Full-color photos and archival reproductions are plentiful, but are often unrelated to the text.

Rebecca O'Connell, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

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