Full version A History of America in Ten Strikes For Free
- 3 years ago
https://goodideas22.blogspot.com/?book=1620976277
Powerful and accessible, acclaimed labor historian Erik Loomis's eye-opening retelling of American history features ten critical strikes in American labor history that everyone needs to know about but that are not part of the standard narrative. From the Lowell Mill Girls strike to Justice for Janitors, these ten strikes were not only acts of monumental bravery but also reflected the times in which they occurred. In crystalline narratives, Loomis lifts the curtain on workers' struggles and gives us a fresh point of view on American history from the boots up.These ten strikes, Loomis argues, marked inflection points in the country's history when people questioned the very nature of power in America. 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 General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, in 1937 to remind us that small groups of people can create radical change. 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.A History of America in Ten Strikes will be the starting place for everyone who wants to understand workers' power in America and will be essential reading for anyone who wants to stand up to corporate power today.
Powerful and accessible, acclaimed labor historian Erik Loomis's eye-opening retelling of American history features ten critical strikes in American labor history that everyone needs to know about but that are not part of the standard narrative. From the Lowell Mill Girls strike to Justice for Janitors, these ten strikes were not only acts of monumental bravery but also reflected the times in which they occurred. In crystalline narratives, Loomis lifts the curtain on workers' struggles and gives us a fresh point of view on American history from the boots up.These ten strikes, Loomis argues, marked inflection points in the country's history when people questioned the very nature of power in America. 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 General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, in 1937 to remind us that small groups of people can create radical change. 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.A History of America in Ten Strikes will be the starting place for everyone who wants to understand workers' power in America and will be essential reading for anyone who wants to stand up to corporate power today.