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Society's 'good people' delegate morally compromised but necessary work to an invisible class of disadvantaged 'dirty workers,' perpetuating a system of profound moral and economic inequality.

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What it’s about

In 'Dirty Work,' journalist Eyal Press exposes the uncomfortable truth that our clean consciences and comfortable lives are built upon the suffering of others. Through immersive reporting from the nation's prisons, remote drone bases, industrial slaughterhouses, and offshore oil rigs, the book reveals the unseen labor that upholds the social order. It introduces us to the 'dirty workers'—prison counselors grappling with rampant abuse, drone operators suffering from moral injury, immigrant laborers facing brutal conditions on kill floors—who perform society's most ethically troubling tasks. Press masterfully weaves their stories with sociological insight, arguing that we, the 'good people,' have given an 'unconscious mandate' for this work to be done, all while remaining conveniently ignorant. This powerful and deeply unsettling book forces a reckoning with our own complicity in a system of moral inequality that is just as stark and damaging as economic disparity.

The through-line

Who it’s for: The reader is a conscientious citizen, a 'good person,' who benefits from the comforts of modern society but feels a growing unease about the hidden inequalities and moral compromises that sustain their way of life. They want to understand the full human cost of the world they inhabit.
The problem: Our society relies on morally questionable and physically harmful labor—in prisons, wars, slaughterhouses, and energy extraction—but this work is intentionally hidden from view. The reader feels passively complicit, uneasy, and guilty about their potential role in these systems, yet feels uninformed and powerless to grapple with this reality.
The plan: Read the book to journey 'behind the scenes' of the systems that support your life.
Grasp the powerful concept of 'dirty work' and understand society's 'unconscious mandate' for it.
Witness the profound human cost of this work through the unforgettable stories of the people who perform it.
Recognize your own connection to these systems and begin to question your role as a 'good person'.
The payoff: The reader gains a clear-eyed, unforgettable understanding of the moral and human costs of their lifestyle and society. · They are empowered to move from passive complicity to active, conscious citizenship, ready to engage in more informed discussions about systemic inequality. · The hidden world of dirty work becomes visible, and with it, the potential for accountability and change.

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Additional reading

The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business · Alfred D. Chandler, Jr.
Provides the historical account of the rise of the large, vertically integrated corporation in the 20th century, which serves as the 'pre-fissured' model that the book contrasts with the modern economy.
The Economic Institutions of Capitalism · Oliver Williamson
Lays out the transaction cost economics framework that helps explain why firms decide to perform activities internally versus outsourcing them, a core theoretical underpinning of the decision to fissure.
The State of Working America · Lawrence Mishel, Josh Bivens, Elise Gould, and Heidi Shierholz (Economic Policy Institute)
The book frequently cites data from this ongoing research project to document the macro-level trends of wage stagnation and rising inequality that form the backdrop for the fissuring phenomenon.
What Do Unions Do? · Richard B. Freeman and James L. Medoff
Provides the classic analysis of the role of unions in the workplace, which is relevant to the book's discussion of how the decline of unions contributed to the vulnerability of workers in a fissured environment.
Income Inequality in the United States, 1913–1998 · Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez
This seminal work on income inequality provides the data showing the 'Great Divergence' in incomes, which the author argues is exacerbated by the fissuring of the workplace.
Gendered Transitions: Mexican Experiences of Immigration · Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo
The author frequently cites this foundational work to analyze how gender shapes the migration process, family dynamics, and the different ways men and women participate in work and community politics, which are central themes of this book.
The Devil in Silicon Valley: Northern California, Race, and Mexican Americans · Stephen J. Pitti
This book provides the essential historical background of the Mexican and Mexican American presence in the Santa Clara Valley, contextualizing Zlolniski's contemporary ethnography within a longer history of labor, community formation, and racial politics in the region.
Organizing Immigrants: The Challenge for Unions in Contemporary California · Ruth Milkman (ed.)
This collection provides a broader context for the unionization efforts described in the book, situating the 'Justice for Janitors' campaign within a wider trend of labor organizing among immigrant workers in California in the 1990s.
Strawberry Fields: Politics, Class, and Work in California Agriculture · Miriam J. Wells
This study of labor control and unionization among Mexican farmworkers offers a valuable comparative case from a different sector (agriculture), allowing for a richer understanding of the common challenges and strategies of immigrant labor organizing in California.
Turfgrass: Science and Culture · J.B. Beard
This is a foundational, comprehensive text often cited for its in-depth coverage of the scientific principles underlying turfgrass management.