"A Living Wage," the rallying cry of union activists, is a concept with a revealing history, here documented by Lawrence B. Glickman. The labor movement's response to wages shows how American workers negotiated the transition from artisan to consumer, opening up new political possibilities for organized workers. At the same time, however, they created contradictions that continue to haunt the labor movement today.

Nineteenth-century workers saw wages as dangerous, Glickman reveals, because workers hoped to become self-employed artisans rather than permanent employees. In the decades after the Civil War, organized workers began to view wage labor differently. Redefining working-class identity in consumerist terms, unions demanded a wage that would reward workers commensurate with their needs as consumers.

Glickman brings the story of the living wage up to the present, clearly demonstrating how a historical perspective on the concept of a living wage can inform our understanding of current controversies.