A history of America in ten strikes / Erik Loomis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Loomis, Erik, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Strikes and lockouts--United States--History.

Strikes and lockouts.

Labor disputes--United States--History.

Labor disputes.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (301 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

History of America in 10 strikes

Place of Publication:

2018.

New York, New York ; London : The New Press, [2018]

Summary:

Recommended by The Nation, the New Republic, Current Affairs, Bustle, In These Times An "entertaining, tough-minded, and strenuously argued" (The Nation) account of ten moments when workers fought to change the balance of power in America "A brilliantly recounted American history through the prism of major labor struggles, with critically important lessons for those who seek a better future for working people and the world." —Noam Chomsky Powerful and accessible, A History of America in Ten Strikes challenges all of our contemporary assumptions around labor, unions, and American workers. In this brilliant book, labor historian Erik Loomis recounts ten critical workers' strikes in American labor history that everyone needs to know about (and then provides an annotated list of the 150 most important moments in American labor history in the appendix). From the Lowell Mill Girls strike in the 1830s to Justice for Janitors in 1990, these labor uprisings do not just reflect the times in which they occurred, but speak directly to the present moment. For example, we often think that Lincoln ended slavery by proclaiming the slaves emancipated, but Loomis shows that they freed themselves during the Civil War by simply withdrawing their labor. He shows how the hopes and aspirations of a generation were made into demands at a GM plant in Lordstown in 1972. And he takes us to the forests of the Pacific Northwest in the early nineteenth century where the radical organizers known as the Wobblies made their biggest inroads against the power of bosses. But there were also moments when the movement was crushed by corporations and the government; Loomis helps us understand the present perilous condition of American workers and draws lessons from both the victories and defeats of the past. In crystalline narratives, labor historian Erik Loomis lifts the curtain on workers' struggles, giving us a fresh perspective on American history from the boots up. Strikes include: Lowell Mill Girls Strike (Massachusetts, 1830–40) Slaves on Strike (The Confederacy, 1861–65) The Eight-Hour Day Strikes (Chicago, 1886) The Anthracite Strike (Pennsylvania, 1902) The Bread and Roses Strike (Massachusetts, 1912) The Flint Sit-Down Strike (Michigan, 1937) The Oakland General Strike (California, 1946) Lordstown (Ohio, 1972) Air Traffic Controllers (1981) Justice for Janitors (Los Angeles, 1990)

Contents:

Strikes and American history

Lowell Mill girls and the development of American capitalism

Slaves on strike

The eight-hour-day strikes

The Anthracite strike and the progressive state

The Bread and Roses Strike

The Flint Sit-Down Strike and the New Deal

The Oakland General Strike and Cold War America

Lordstown and workers in a rebellious age

Air traffic controllers and the new assault on unions

Justice for janitors and immigrant unionism

Take back power

Appendix: 150 major events in U.S. labor history.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-289) and index.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781620971628

1620971623

OCLC:

1055655953