It’s easy to believe that labor exploitation is a relic of the past—a black-and-white photograph of coal-dusted miners and exhausted factory workers clocking twelve-hour shifts for pennies. Society loves to boast about progress, unions, and workplace protections, but the truth is more complicated. Beneath the sheen of modern HR departments and glossy corporate mission statements, many industries still lean on the same exploitative practices that wrung generations dry decades ago.
For countless workers, not much has changed since their grandparents’ time: low pay, long hours, and little respect remain the daily reality.
