Cal Winslow’s latest book is Radical Seattle, the General Strike of 1919. His books include E.P. Thompson and the Making of the New Left and Labor’s Civil War in California.
One hundred seven years ago today, the labor troubadour Joe Hill was executed by a Utah firing squad for a crime he almost certainly didn’t commit. His real crime: singing and agitating on behalf of the working class.
Corporate logging has destroyed much of California’s once vast and majestic redwood forests. As environmental crises collide, the imperative to save the remaining trees is stronger than ever. That means challenging those who profit from the trees’ destruction.
The 1970s were a high-water mark for the US labor movement, with work stoppages, wildcat strikes, and sit-downs spreading up and down the country, involving workers in all industries.
The destruction of California’s once vast and magnificent redwood forests is entwined with American expansion westward, violent dispossession, and the ravenous commodification of nature. The remaining redwoods demand our protection.
The first major general strike in the United States coincided with the last major pandemic. Here’s the full story.
This year marks a century since the First Red Scare, which decimated the ranks of the US left. One of the worst episodes was the Centralia incident — where a reactionary mob tortured and killed a group of IWW members to drive them out of the Washington town.
Mineworkers and their families in Harlan County, Kentucky, have blockaded the railroad tracks of a deadbeat employer. It’s a reminder of the county’s heroic history of struggle and solidarity.
The Seattle General Strike of 1919 is a forgotten and misunderstood part of American history. But it shows that workers have the power to shut down whole cities — and to run them in our interests.
Decades before Amazon dominated the city, Seattle was the fiery site of labor unrest, radical action — and the US’s only true general strike.
Picasso’s “Guernica” still stands as a searing protest against the brutality of war and fascism.