contents -- illustrations -- tables -- acknowledgments -- introduction -- Houston's Working Class and the Origins of Organized Labor in the Bayou City -- How It All Began -- Labor at Hughes Tool, 1929-1934 -- Industrial Democracy Comes to the Monarchy of Hughes Street -- Jim Crow Wearing Steel-Toed Shoes and Safety Glasses -- The Battle for Union Security and Civil Rights -- The Independent Metal Workers Union Era, 1946-1961 -- No Gold Watch for Jim Crow's Retirement -- conclusion -- notes -- bibliography -- Index.