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A network dedicated to building a culture of human rights

Books – Work

Non-Fiction

Invisible Hands: Voices from the Global Economy
In their own words, the men and women in Invisible Hands reveal the human rights abuses occurring behind the scenes of the global economy. The narrators of this book – including phone manufacturers in China, copper miners in Zambia, garment workers in Bangladesh, and farmers around the world – reveal the secret history of the things we buy, including lives and communities devastated by low wages, environmental degradation, and political repression.  Free download of lesson plans for Invisible Hands available here.

  • Author: Corinne Goria (editor)
  • Publisher: Voice of Witness/McSweeney’s
  • Grade Level: middle school – college/adult
  • Subject Area: Social studies


Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
The author investigates the lives of the working poor in America by going under cover to work low-wage jobs across America, learning how difficult it is to eat, find shelter, and survive earning poverty-level wages.  Accompanying teaching guides available.

  • Author: Barbara Ehrenreich
  • Source: Metropolitan Books, 2001
  • Grade Level: high school – adult
  • Subject Area: social studies, economics


Sweatshop Warriors: Immigrant Women Workers Take on the Global Factor
Summarizes the histories of Chinese, Mexican, and Korean immigration, Sweatshop Warriors and examines the practices and policies that propel women, men, and children into dangerous and poorly paid jobs.

  • Author: Miriam Ching Louie
  • Source: South End Press, 2001
  • Grade Level: High school – adult
  • Subject Area: social studies, economics
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The core values of HRE USA and its partner organizations include transparency and critical thinking skills. We believe that human rights--and human rights education--belong to everyone, and that the full realization of human rights means that access to human rights education materials must never be conditioned upon the subscription to any particular religious faith, ideology, political affiliation, or membership in any particular organization and that any organizational connections should be openly acknowledged.