"The primacy of labor over profits": Thomas Mahony, the Beet Field Workers of Colorado, and Visions for a Consumerist Democracy, 1902–1957.

This article focuses on the reform efforts of Catholic activist Thomas Mahony, who in the early twentieth century sought to improve the harsh conditions endured by ethnic Mexican sugar beet field workers in Colorado. Influenced by Catholic social justice teachings, Mahony advocated for fair wages, decent housing, and the integration of these marginalized laborers as empowered consumers within American society, while opposing radical labor movements and socialism. Despite his detailed knowledge of the beet industry and commitment to worker welfare, Mahony's intense fear of radicalism and reluctance to collaborate broadly limited the impact of his activism. The article situates Mahony's work within broader Progressive Era religious reform and labor activism, contrasting his approach with more radical contemporaries like Dorothy Day and later leaders such as César Chávez. Ultimately, Mahony's legacy illustrates both the potential and pitfalls of religiously motivated social reform in the U.S. West.