A-Infos (en) France, Monde Libertaire - Ideas and Struggles: Working (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Working, for whom, for what? ---- A subtitle, "People talk about what 
they do all day and how they feel about what they do." This is the 
essence of the book Working, written by radio personality, author of 
numerous works of oral history, and a prominent figure of the American 
radical left, Louis "Studs" Terkel. In this book, richly illustrated 
with recorded and transcribed testimonies, complete with the laughter 
and reactions of the men and women who share their daily lives, the 
author erects a monument to those for whom work is not a source of joy 
or pleasure, a comprehensive overview of working life in the United 
States. As I read, I am reminded of David Graeber's study, Bullshit 
Jobs. ---- Studs, his radio name, interviewed people from all 
backgrounds and professions, engaging them in conversations and taking 
an interest in what they had to say. One day, publisher André Schiffrin 
suggested he compile some of the interviews into *Division Street: 
America*, an immediate success. In 1974, he published *Working*, 
translated in modern times by Denise Meunier and Aurélien Blanchard for 
Éditions de l'Ogre.

One word: captivating!

Dozens of professions, from jockey to bricklayer, including farm laborer 
and bus driver 82 in all. I imagine the selection process was tough. His 
method? "No questionnaire, no explicit methodology, but an extraordinary 
ability to allow people to tell their stories, without judgment, to put 
into words experiences they hadn't always thought about so explicitly." 
A lighthearted tone, a friendly atmosphere in the exchange, and so 
people open up. It's their story seen from below. Everything is there: 
income, the fear of unemployment, humiliation, racism, sexism, but also 
their children, religion, "the desire to dance," the violence of 
workplace relationships. The reader will eventually forget that they are 
discovering American life, drawing parallels with the "jobs" in France. 
A form of internationalism of the working class, to borrow Simone Weil's 
phrase. "The political and economic history of the United States is 
omnipresent," seen from below. "Material inequalities are compounded by 
inequalities related to health, safety, the interest and meaning of the 
task, as well as the life one can have outside of work." Ultimately, 
it's very harsh.

"Violence done to the mind as well as the body"

Studs begins his book by saying that "the very nature of work is 
violence done to the mind as well as the body." One witness emphasizes 
that his work, the fatigue he experiences, prevents him from devoting 
himself to his children as he would like, let alone to reading. "It's 
hard, but that's life," they say. The work ethic is being lost, as is 
the know-how. Sometimes a profession possesses a person, even when 
they're home. "There are cases where the obsession with their work 
affects the individual's attitude toward all of life. And art." A 
terrible observation. Just look at those exhausted faces on public 
transport, even in the morning. Yet they seek recognition, which is 
normal, but they are experiencing downward mobility.

The interviews are organized into nine main chapters or books. In 
addition to the three prefaces composed of testimonies, let's read those 
about working the land (the farm laborer, the miner), about precedence 
(the flight attendant, the prostitute), about cleaning (the garbage 
collector, the maid), about the rank and file (the cashier, the 
waitress), about bureaucracy, about cradle to grave...

And this final cry. A former bank employee turned firefighter: "I worked 
in a bank. Just paperwork. It's not real. Nine to five and shit!" You 
look at numbers. I can look back and say, "I helped put out a fire. I 
helped save someone." That shows I've done something on earth.

* Louis "Studs" Terkel
Working
Ed. de l'Ogre, 2026

https://monde-libertaire.net/?articlen=8948
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