A Field Guide to Labor

Workin' 9 to 5

Field Guide Vol. 271

This Monday the US celebrates Labor Day, a federal holiday recognizing the country’s labor movement and honoring the achievements and contributions of workers. While organized labor has struggled in the US over the last several decades, the fight for workers’ rights has been an ongoing battle in countries around the world. This week’s Field Guide recognizes workers across the world as well as the labor movements that support them.

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Did you know?

(Karoshi protest) Nesnad, Wikimedia Commons

Karoshi is a Japanese term that means "death by overwork." It is a phenomenon that has been prevalent in Japan for decades, particularly among the country's salarymen (businesspeople), who are expected to fully commit themselves to their companies. Karoshi can be a sudden stress-induced heart attack or stroke, but it can also refer to any suicides resulting from overwork, which are called "Karojisatsu." The problem of overwork, or "burnout" as it might be called in the West, is global, but Japan has been particularly affected by it. Despite attempts by some firms to establish a better work-life balance, Japanese workers still spend long hours at work, leading to a high incidence of karoshi. The Japanese government accepts around 200 workplace injury claims for karoshi annually, but campaigners have put the toll at around 10,000 deaths.

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Alfredo. Meta. 2019. Photograph by Maria Gomez Cabrera.

An Artificial Peace

Farmers who once relied on coca struggle to survive

By Julian Isaza, translated by Katy Van Sant

Luis, a short, toothless man with long gray hair, shows us his hectare. He says it’s beautiful and smiles proudly. The coca plants are chest-high and the branches bear fruits that are deep red, like peppers. He pulls one off and examines it. He explains in a soft voice, little more than a whisper, that this one—pringa maría—gives the highest yield because it produces the most alkaloid. “One hectare produces about two kilos of paste. We process the paste ourselves,” he says. “You get two kilos from one and a quarter tons of leaves. You can sell two kilos for four million.”