The COVID-19 pandemic made clear the enormity of inequalities in the workplace and the value of essential workers, whose jobs put them at greater risk of being infected. Many workers left their jobs as part of the Great Resignation. Others are unwilling to give up the flexibility of working from home. Starbucks and Amazon workers voted to unionize. Carol Symes, a professor of history who specializes in medieval studies, said the Black Death plague of the mid-1300s led to workers realizing the value of their labor and protesting poor working conditions. She spoke with News Bureau arts and humanities editor Jodi Heckel about changes in the labor market that have historically followed a pandemic.