
On the Job
The Untold Story of America’s Worker Centers and the New Fight for Wages, Dignity, and Health
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Suzie Althens
About this listen
For over 60 million people, work in America has been a story of declining wages, insecurity, and unsafe conditions, especially amid the coronavirus epidemic. This new and troubling reality has galvanized media and policymakers, but all the while a different and little-known story of rebirth and struggle has percolated just below the surface.
On the Job is the first account of a new kind of labor movement, one that is happening locally, quietly, and among our country's most vulnerable - but essential - workers. Noted public health expert Celeste Monforton and award-winning journalist Jane M. Von Bergen crisscrossed the country, speaking with workers of all backgrounds and uncovering the stories of hundreds of new, worker-led organizations (often simply called worker centers) that have successfully achieved higher wages, safer working conditions, and on-the-job dignity for their members.
On the Job describes ordinary people finding their voice and challenging power: from housekeepers in Chicago and Houston; to poultry workers in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Springdale, Arkansas; and construction workers across the state of Texas. An inspiring book for dark times, On the Job reveals that labor activism is actually alive and growing - and holds the key to a different future for all working people.
©2021 Celeste Monforton and Jane M. Von Bergen (P)2021 KaloramaListeners also enjoyed...
-
Elizabeth Warren
- Her Fight. Her Work. Her Life.
- By: Antonia Felix
- Narrated by: Suzie Althens
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nevertheless, she persisted. These three words became an inspiring battle cry across the United States in 2017, but the woman to whom they refer has been fighting passionately all of her life. Raised in a tough working-class home in Oklahoma, Elizabeth Warren went on to become a revered scholar, a law professor, a US Senator, and an unlikely political star.
-
-
Compelling
- By Jean on 05-12-19
By: Antonia Felix
-
Shortest Way Home
- One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future
- By: Pete Buttigieg
- Narrated by: Pete Buttigieg
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once described by The Washington Post as "the most interesting mayor you've never heard of", Pete Buttigieg, the 36-year-old Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has improbably emerged as one of the nation's most visionary politicians. First elected in 2011, Buttigieg left a successful business career to move back to his hometown, previously tagged by Newsweek as a "dying city", and transformed it into a shining model of urban reinvention.
-
-
Reveals a Person Wise & Experienced & Literate
- By dbbks3 on 03-17-19
By: Pete Buttigieg
-
The Truths We Hold
- An American Journey
- By: Kamala Harris
- Narrated by: Kamala Harris
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of immigrants and civil rights activists, Vice President Kamala Harris was raised in an Oakland, California, community that cared deeply about social justice. As she rose to prominence as one of the political leaders of our time, her experiences would become her guiding light as she grappled with an array of complex issues and learned to bring a voice to the voiceless. In The Truths We Hold, she reckons with the big challenges we face together.
-
-
Great content, read if possible
- By TCamp72 on 03-07-19
By: Kamala Harris
-
Lessons from the Edge
- A Memoir
- By: Marie Yovanovitch
- Narrated by: Marie Yovanovitch
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time she became US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch had seen her share of corruption, instability, and tragedy in developing countries. But it came as a shock when, in early 2019, she was recalled from her post after a smear campaign by President Trump’s personal attorney and his associates—men operating outside of normal governmental channels, and apparently motivated by personal gain. Her courageous participation in the subsequent impeachment inquiry earned Yovanovitch the nation’s respect, and her dignified response to the president’s attacks won our hearts.
-
-
Heroic patriot's amazing story
- By Victoria Eriksson on 03-19-22
-
Inside Scientology
- The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion
- By: Janet Reitman
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Scientology, created in 1954 by a prolific sci-fi writer named L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world's fastest-growing religion, with millions of members around the world and huge financial holdings. Its celebrity believers keep its profile high, and its teams of "volunteer ministers" offer aid at disaster sites such as Haiti and the World Trade Center. But Scientology is also a notably closed faith, harassing journalists and others through litigation and intimidation, even infiltrating the highest levels of government to further its goals.
-
-
My cup of tea.
- By MWMcCabe on 08-09-11
By: Janet Reitman
-
Give Work
- Reversing Poverty One Job at a Time
- By: Leila Janah
- Narrated by: Leila Janah
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When asked if they'd rather receive aid or work, the world's poorest people will always choose work. But the world's richest countries continue to send aid, targeting the symptoms, not the causes of poverty. Western countries have the best intentions, but charity-based aid often does more harm than good, and billions of people continue to suffer. According to Leila Janah, giving dignified, steady, fair-wage work is the most effective way to eradicate poverty.
-
-
Top of my list.
- By Sandra on 04-14-18
By: Leila Janah
-
Elizabeth Warren
- Her Fight. Her Work. Her Life.
- By: Antonia Felix
- Narrated by: Suzie Althens
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nevertheless, she persisted. These three words became an inspiring battle cry across the United States in 2017, but the woman to whom they refer has been fighting passionately all of her life. Raised in a tough working-class home in Oklahoma, Elizabeth Warren went on to become a revered scholar, a law professor, a US Senator, and an unlikely political star.
-
-
Compelling
- By Jean on 05-12-19
By: Antonia Felix
-
Shortest Way Home
- One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future
- By: Pete Buttigieg
- Narrated by: Pete Buttigieg
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once described by The Washington Post as "the most interesting mayor you've never heard of", Pete Buttigieg, the 36-year-old Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has improbably emerged as one of the nation's most visionary politicians. First elected in 2011, Buttigieg left a successful business career to move back to his hometown, previously tagged by Newsweek as a "dying city", and transformed it into a shining model of urban reinvention.
-
-
Reveals a Person Wise & Experienced & Literate
- By dbbks3 on 03-17-19
By: Pete Buttigieg
-
The Truths We Hold
- An American Journey
- By: Kamala Harris
- Narrated by: Kamala Harris
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of immigrants and civil rights activists, Vice President Kamala Harris was raised in an Oakland, California, community that cared deeply about social justice. As she rose to prominence as one of the political leaders of our time, her experiences would become her guiding light as she grappled with an array of complex issues and learned to bring a voice to the voiceless. In The Truths We Hold, she reckons with the big challenges we face together.
-
-
Great content, read if possible
- By TCamp72 on 03-07-19
By: Kamala Harris
-
Lessons from the Edge
- A Memoir
- By: Marie Yovanovitch
- Narrated by: Marie Yovanovitch
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time she became US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch had seen her share of corruption, instability, and tragedy in developing countries. But it came as a shock when, in early 2019, she was recalled from her post after a smear campaign by President Trump’s personal attorney and his associates—men operating outside of normal governmental channels, and apparently motivated by personal gain. Her courageous participation in the subsequent impeachment inquiry earned Yovanovitch the nation’s respect, and her dignified response to the president’s attacks won our hearts.
-
-
Heroic patriot's amazing story
- By Victoria Eriksson on 03-19-22
-
Inside Scientology
- The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion
- By: Janet Reitman
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Scientology, created in 1954 by a prolific sci-fi writer named L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world's fastest-growing religion, with millions of members around the world and huge financial holdings. Its celebrity believers keep its profile high, and its teams of "volunteer ministers" offer aid at disaster sites such as Haiti and the World Trade Center. But Scientology is also a notably closed faith, harassing journalists and others through litigation and intimidation, even infiltrating the highest levels of government to further its goals.
-
-
My cup of tea.
- By MWMcCabe on 08-09-11
By: Janet Reitman
-
Give Work
- Reversing Poverty One Job at a Time
- By: Leila Janah
- Narrated by: Leila Janah
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When asked if they'd rather receive aid or work, the world's poorest people will always choose work. But the world's richest countries continue to send aid, targeting the symptoms, not the causes of poverty. Western countries have the best intentions, but charity-based aid often does more harm than good, and billions of people continue to suffer. According to Leila Janah, giving dignified, steady, fair-wage work is the most effective way to eradicate poverty.
-
-
Top of my list.
- By Sandra on 04-14-18
By: Leila Janah
-
We've Got to Try
- How the Fight for Voting Rights Makes Everything Else Possible
- By: Beto O'Rourke
- Narrated by: Beto O'Rourke
- Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In We’ve Got To Try, O’Rourke shines a spotlight on the heroic life and work of Dr. Lawrence Aaron Nixon and the west Texas town where he made his stand. The son of an enslaved man, Nixon grew up in the Confederate stronghold of Marshall, Texas before moving to El Paso, becoming a civil rights leader, and helping to win one of the most significant civil and voting rights victories in American history: the defeat of the all-white primary. His fight for the ballot spanned 20 years and twice took him to the U.S. Supreme Court.
-
-
Powerful, Sobering Raw Truth that inspires
- By Amazon Customer on 09-09-22
By: Beto O'Rourke
-
Mission-Driven Leadership
- My Journey as a Radical Capitalist
- By: Mark Bertolini
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Mission-Driven Leadership, Mark Bertolini, the long-time chairman and CEO of Aetna, the Fortune 500 health insurance company, reveals that genuine leadership is not about dollars and market share, but about improving lives and communities.
-
-
Amazing!
- By Andre on 08-24-20
By: Mark Bertolini
-
Black Titan
- A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire
- By: Carol Jenkins
- Narrated by: Susan Spain
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A.G. Gaston, the poor grandson of slaves, was born in the Deep South in 1892. Over the course of his extraordinary life, he amassed a fortune of over $130 million and a vast business empire. The story of his remarkable life is written with eloquence and grace by his niece, an Emmy¿ Award-winning journalist and her daughter, who holds degrees from Yale and Harvard.
-
-
Black Gold = Standing Ovation
- By 2Fresh on 01-20-16
By: Carol Jenkins
-
We Are Market Basket
- The Story of the Unlikely Grassroots Movement That Saved a Beloved Business
- By: Daniel Korschun, Grant Welker
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What if a company were so treasured and trusted that people literally took to the streets - by the thousands - to save it? That company is Market Basket, a popular New England supermarket chain. After long-time, CEO Arthur T. Demoulas was ousted by his cousin Arthur S. Demoulas, the company's managers and rank-and-file workers struck back. Risking their own livelihoods to restore the job of their beloved boss they walked out, but they didn't walk far. At huge protest rallies, they were joined by loyal customers - leaving stores empty.
-
-
Engaging business book
- By Lauren Stuart on 09-09-15
By: Daniel Korschun, and others
-
The New Trail of Tears
- How Washington Is Destroying American Indians
- By: Naomi Schaefer Riley
- Narrated by: Christa Lewis
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tragedy of our Indian policies demands reexamination immediately - not only because they make the lives of millions of American citizens harder and more dangerous - but also because they represent a microcosm of everything that has gone wrong with modern liberalism. They are the result of decades of politicians and bureaucrats showering a victimized people with money and cultural sensitivity instead of what they truly need-the education, the legal protections, and the autonomy to improve their own situation.
-
-
From a Native American
- By Cal L on 03-09-19
-
Ice Cream Social
- The Struggle for the Soul of Ben & Jerry's
- By: Brad Edmondson, Jeff Furman - epilogue, Annie Leonard - foreword
- Narrated by: Brad Edmondson
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ben & Jerry's has always been committed to an insanely ambitious three-part mission: Making the world's best ice cream, supporting progressive causes, and sharing the company's success with all stakeholders: employees, suppliers, distributors, customers, cows, everybody. But it hasn't been easy. This is the first book to tell the full, inside story of the inspiring rise, tragic mistakes, devastating fall, determined recovery, and ongoing renewal of one of the most iconic mission-driven companies in the world.
-
-
Great insight into the history of Ben and Jerry's
- By California Dreaming on 07-08-15
By: Brad Edmondson, and others
-
The Chain
- Farm, Factory, and the Fate of Our Food
- By: Ted Genoways
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Interviewing scores of line workers, union leaders, hog farmers, and local politicians and activists, Genoways reveals an industry pushed to its breaking point. Along the way, he exposes alarming new trends: sick or permanently disabled workers, abused animals, water and soil pollution, and mounting conflict between small towns and immigrant labor.
-
-
A Tour, de Force
- By Barbara Richards on 02-18-25
By: Ted Genoways
-
The Fall of Wisconsin
- The Conservative Conquest of a Progressive Bastion and the Future of American Politics
- By: Dan Kaufman
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Fall of Wisconsin is a deeply reported, searing account of how the state’s progressive tradition was undone and turned into a model for national conservatives bent on remaking the country. Dan Kaufman, a Wisconsin native who has been covering the story for several years, traces the history of progressivism that made Wisconsin so widely admired. Kaufman reveals how the “divide-and-conquer” strategy of Governor Scott Walker and his allies pitted Wisconsin’s citizens against one another, so powerful corporations and donors could effectively take control of state government.
-
-
Excellent story, some minor pronunciation issues.
- By MegWaltz on 01-02-19
By: Dan Kaufman
-
My American Life
- By: Congresswoman Lauren Boebert
- Narrated by: Congresswoman Lauren Boebert
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lauren Boebert is the gun-toting Republican Congresswoman from Rifle, Colorado, who overcame difficult life circumstances to be a leading voice for personal freedom and our 2nd Amendment rights. Raised on welfare in a Democrat household, young Lauren learned from her first job at McDonald’s that she could provide for herself better than the government ever could. My American Life describes in vivid detail why Lauren dropped out of high school, the success of Shooters Grill, and how she came to be a United States Congresswoman.
-
-
GREAT PATRIOT
- By terry butler on 07-20-22
-
Greedy Bastards
- One City’s Texas-Size Struggle to Avoid a Financial Crisis
- By: Sheryl Sculley
- Narrated by: Sheryl Sculley
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Greedy Bastards tells the story of Sheryl and her new team’s uphill battle to turn around San Antonio city government. She takes you behind closed doors to share the hard changes she made and the strategies she used to create mutually beneficial solutions to the city’s biggest problems. Many of the issues Sheryl found in San Antonio are present in cities across the US. Packed with wins and losses, lessons learned, and pitfalls encountered, Greedy Bastards is a guidebook for any city official tasked with turning around a struggling city.
-
-
Great story
- By Robert Sturns on 03-04-25
By: Sheryl Sculley
-
Trust
- Creating the Foundation for Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries
- By: Tarun Khanna
- Narrated by: James Gillies
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Entrepreneurial ventures often fail in the developing world because of the lack of something taken for granted in the developed world: trust. Over centuries the developed world has built up customs and institutions like enforceable contracts. This is not the case in the developing world. Using vivid examples from Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and elsewhere, scholar and entrepreneur Tarun Khanna shows how entrepreneurs can build on existing customs and practices instead of trying to push against them.
-
-
Very theoretical and not much practical knowledge
- By Al on 01-24-25
By: Tarun Khanna
-
Putin Country
- A Journey into the Real Russia
- By: Anne Garrels
- Narrated by: Anne Garrels
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Putin Country: A Journey into the Real Russia, Garrels crafts an intimate portrait of the nation's heartland. We meet ostentatious mafiosos, upwardly mobile professionals, impassioned activists, scheming taxi drivers with dark secrets, and beleaguered steel workers. We discover surprising subcultures, like the LGBT residents of Chelyablinsk who bravely endure an upsurge in homophobia fueled by Putin's rhetoric of Russian "moral superiority" yet still nurture a vibrant if clandestine community of their own.
-
-
Interesting dive into Russia today
- By Keith on 03-25-16
By: Anne Garrels