If and when thousands of Wal-Mart hourly workers make it clear, to their store managers as well as the public, that collectively they want a more predictable work life, then Wal-Mart’s famed “culture” will indeed begin to change, and much for the better.

Labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein sheds light on the new surge of Walmart protests.

Some Americans are resigned to the idea that the dominance of dead-end jobs is an inevitable fact of our economy. We believe it’s important to take a brief look back at the decline of the hourly career, and the bright spots in our past and recent history that offer hope for a turnaround in job standards.

Historian Nelson Lichtenstein discusses the impact of Wal-Mart on both the American and the global economy in his new book, The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business.

As even a casual glance at the newspapers and television makes overwhelmingly clear, Wal-Mart is an inescapable touchstone for so many of the social, urban, labor, and global issues that confront 21st century Americans.

An interview with Nelson Lichtenstein.

In this research brief, we utilize the Living Wage Calculator of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to evaluate the adequacy of Walmart’s wage increase in supporting workers and their families.

Walmart workers have been fasting in the weeks leading up to Black Friday, demanding a living wage.

If Walmart redirected the $6.6 billion spent on share repurchases in 2013 toward investment in human capital, it could give its 825,000 low-wage employees a raise of $5.13 per hour, boosting productivity and sales.

Retail salesperson is the most common job in the country, and the industry’s low pay and erratic scheduling leaves employees — especially the 7.2 million women who disproportionately fill these low-wage jobs — in poverty.

Here are 10 ways Walmart has facilitated America’s industrial decline. 

Richard French spoke with Amy Traub of Demos about what Walmart and other companies could do to help their minimum wage employees who are having a hard time making ends meet during the holiday season.