Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Studs Terkel's "Working"

Today is the 40th anniversary of a work written by Chicago’s renowned author, television star, and radio host Studs Terkel.

The full title of the book is Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. When the book was released in 1974 and became a best seller, the nation got to hear the real voices of working people – what they did, how they were treated on the job, and what made their working lives meaningful. Studs made sure that working people were noticed, using his platform to start an important discussion within the United States.

Studs Terkel knew that the best way to convey the life and struggles of the working class was to have working men and women speak for themselves. So he handed the microphone to them and hit “record.” Working and his other work brought Studs Terkel a Pulitzer Prize, and it brought workplace issues to the nation’s agenda.

If Studs were alive today, he might write a different book, maybe titled, Not Working and Not By Choice. He might give the microphone to those who have been waiting for Congress to pass a jobs bill. Those unemployed workers would speak about the unmet needs they see around them – and ask why we aren’t debating bills like the Restore the American Dream Act or the American Jobs Act or other legislation that would put them to work rebuilding our infrastructure, restoring our communities, teaching children and providing health and long-term care services to those who need them.

He might let the long-term unemployed tell us – in their own words – what it meant to lose their emergency benefits on December 28 – 3 days after Christmas. I know that he would be providing an outlet for those who are facing foreclosures or eviction, delaying needed medical care or skipping meals because of Congressional inaction. And he, too, would be speaking out to help the nearly 2 million Americans who have lost their emergency benefits.

Studs Terkel was known for many things but, above all, he was known for his passion for working people and his commitment to improving their lives. His writing and his life should inspire us take action for working class Americans who sent each of us here.