This is a concise yet wide-ranging and accessible synthesis of the experience of southern workers between World War II and the present. Linking his discussion to important debates in the field of southern history today, Timothy Minchin brings the story of southern labor up to date and places the workers' own experiences in the forefront. He considers the central question of whether the modern South is still distinctive, arguing that the region's lower wages, lower rates of unionization, and legacy of racial segregation continue to set it apart. He stresses that southern workers have a rich history of labor activism, despite the fact that establishing lasting unionism in the region has been difficult. Drawing on a broad knowledge of primary sources and his own extensive archive of more than 200 interviews with southern workers, Minchin offers an overview of the past 70 years of southern labor history in combination with a lively and intimate sense of the human experience. His oral histories include men and women, both black and white, who offer their insights not just on the workplace but also on their living conditions, political activities, and race relations. The book explores the experience of recent Latino migrants to the South and covers topical issues such as the decline of the textile industry, the catastrophic 1991 fire at a chicken-processing plant in North Carolina that killed 25 workers, and high-profile union efforts to organize Nissan's large factory in Smyrna, Tennessee.