• In 1926, the US had almost no comprehensive federal labor protections, starkly contrasting the heavily regulated employment landscape of 2026.
• Core modern rights, such as a federal minimum wage, a standard 40-hour workweek, workplace safety mandates, anti-discrimination laws, and a universal right to unionize, did not exist.
• Employers could pay whatever the market dictated and demand unlimited hours without extra pay.
• Federal attempts to ban child labor were repeatedly struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. Today, federal law heavily regulates the ages, hours, and industries in which minors can work.
• Workers faced grim, dangerous conditions with no federal oversight or safety standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces comprehensive safety protocols.
• Only railroad workers gained protections under the Railway Labor Act of 1926. Other sectors faced violent union-busting and "yellow-dog" contracts. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) guarantees private-sector workers the right to organize without retaliation.
• Employers could openly discriminate or terminate workers based on race, gender, religion, or age. Comprehensive civil rights laws protect employees from discrimination and harassment based on protected classes today.
• The universal safety nets and baseline worker rights Americans rely on today were not built until the New Deal era of the 1930s.
• In 1926, women were paid roughly 56-62% of what men earned. Women typically brought home less than 60 cents for every dollar a male worker earned.
•  Fewer than 1% of factories in the US had air conditioning in 1926.
•  53-54% of US workers lived in cities. Today, around 83% of workers live in cities.
•  The air quality in U.S. industrial cities was dramatically worse in 1926, heavier, and more toxic with raw soot and sulfur, with reliance on burning coal. The water quality was catastrophic. Antibiotics did not exist yet.
•  In 1926, industrial cities in the U.S. largely discharged untreated sewage and raw factory effluents directly into local waterways
•  In 1926, only 50%-60% of US manufacturing was electrified. Today, most labor utilizes machines, mechanization, robotics and/or computerization. Today 52% is exposed to advanced automation.
•  In 1926, 90-95% of goods in the US were made domestically, compared to roughly 65% to 66% today.
•  Immigrants made up roughly 21% to 22% of the U.S. labor force in the 1920s, compared to approximately 18% to 19% today.
•  Only 17 of the 50 states have mandated paid sick leave, and only Illinois, Maine and Nevada require paid days off including vacations.
•  American workers work around 1,800 hours per year, amongst the most in the world, and measured by GDP produced per hour worked, U.S. labor productivity frequently outranks major peer economies like the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

PS: While some still imagine opening doors is the primary work I do, real estate agents are considered part of the US labor force, and while these days it's become fashionable amongst politicians to use the term 'working people' to divide us, in reality, the vast majority of Americans of all income brackets are known for one thing: hard work!