The General Strike and How Revolutionary It Was Seventy eight years ago an earthquake shook the very foundations of British capitalism. In the greatest display of militant power in its history the British working class moved into action in the General Strike of May 1926. For 9 days not a wheel turned nor a light shone without the permission of the working class. In this essay I argue that it was not revolutionary or better it was not designed to be revolutionary. From one minute to midnight on Monday 3 May, the TUC called out the railwaymen, dockers, road transport workers, printers and gas and electricity workers. Engineering and ship-building workers were asked to strike a week later. In all, some 80 unions were affected and about two and a half million men and women went on strike, in addition to the miners. Although the response to the strike was not uniform throughout the country, the degree of worker solidarity shown was very remarkable. The General Strike was in fact the most complete stoppage in British history. The TUC, however, did not call for a universal strike. Workers in the health and sanitary services were excluded from the strike call, as were those who transported food. It was also hoped -naively - that power workers, while cutting off the supply of heat, would be able to maintain lighting. Therefore the TUC actually tried to minimise the inconvenience to the general public. The term 'general strike' was not used. Instead the TUC preferred calling it a national strike. Having entered the strike very reluctantly, the General Council was anxious to show that it was not revolutionary and that it was involv... ... middle of paper ... ...t that they were merely supporting the miners in a just cause, the fact was that their action was designed to coerce not the owners but the government. It was easy therefore, to present the General Strike as a contest between an elected government and a trade union organisation that did not represent the mass of the people. The General Strike was therefore presented to be revolutionary and admittedly in seemed that if it would last longer, and power would slip away from the TUC, indeed it might have developed into a real revolution. However, the actual aim of the strike, from the general council's point of view, was absolutely not revolutionary. There is no evidence that they were planning to overthrow the government and in the British Workers all their articles argued that they were not challenging the Constitution.
“Reds Plotted Country Wide Strike Arrests Exceeded 5,000, 2,635 Held; 3 Transports Ready For Them” New York Times 4 Jan 1920: 1
There were several specific labor unions and strikes that affected the general public. In 1866, the National Labor Union was formed. Their main goal was the 8-hour work day. The National Labor Union did have some setbacks in achieving this goal; one in partic...
The organization of IWW was the first of many strikes brought up by Zinn. The IWW’s strike may have been one of the biggest and most fearful strikes of the time period. The strike started in February 1919 in Seattle, WA. The walkout of nearly 100,000 workers brought the city to a substantial halt for five days. The strike was quiet and orderly, citizens handled it quite well. The strikers organized milk
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This type of strike would be similar to something unions would embrace today. Things changes when it seemed the Carnegie Steel was going to try and bring in replacement workers for those on strike. The company was within limits of the law if they brought non-union members in to work. The first official battle occurred on July 6 because it was discovered that 300 Pinkerton detectives were coming ashore from up the river to the Carnegie Mills. The union workers were then going to seize the mills and keep out all people working for Carnegie. They were going to take control of the facility in order to try and persuade management to agree to their terms. The union members were aware of replacements coming in and planned to stop them at all costs. At this point gunfire began from parties on either side; both the strikers and the detectives. It was never clearly recorded who took the first shot, but more union members were in trouble than anyone else. About 11 men died, two from the Pinkertons and 9 from the union. An incredibly large number of men on both sides were also injured from the battle. In the days following the battle, it was discussed between the AA and the company to end the rioting that had begun yet there were no signs of the strike stopping. Militia was called in and remained for a while, and troops were given warrants to arrest members of the strike for murder and other crimes. However, the
In the mid-1880s, groups across the country went on strike in an effort to persuade employers to shift to eight hour workdays. On May 4, 1886, thousands of people gathered in Chicago to meet in a peaceful protest regarding an event that occurred the previous day in which some strikers were killed by police. The group met at a place known as the Haymarket Square. The event turned violent. Police fired into the crowd and someone set off a bomb. However, it is unclear as to which incident occurred first. What is known is that several people were killed and hundreds were injured.
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On August 19, 1916 the balance changed, after an episode of violence hit the Jamison Mill. On that day at the start of the shift, strike-b...
The 1920s was an era of great cultural, technological, and economic expansion. It was a prosperous time for the upper and middle classes. This time period named the “New Era” because the United States seemed to be on the cusp of great change and fortune. The 1920s seemed to be a prosperous time for America but looks can be deceiving.
The demand for no taxation without representation was the primary force motivating the American revolutionary movement, and for many it became a symbol for democracy. Throughout the late 18th century, the British colony of America was oppressed by Parliament from "across the pond". This oppression included unequal rights compared to English citizens that lived on the mainland, unneeded taxation, and no representation in Parliament, which resulted in many laws that were unfavorable to the American colonists. It was this "taxation without representation" that was a powerful catalyst in firing up the American revolutionary movement. America was "all grown up", and no longer needed to be monitored on by Britain.
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, which began on July 16th 1877, was the first national labor strike in the United States. The strike spread along the network of American railroad lines. Unorganized railroad workers, reacting to pay cuts and a loss of control to their company bosses demanded a work stoppage that was meant to halt all railroad traffic. Railway officials attempted to keep the trains running with militia and replacement workers but failed at the outset because of increasing popular support of the striking railroad workers. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 ended by August 1st with the strikers really no better off. The workers did not gain an immediate pay raise or improved working conditions. They had successfully overthrown the control of the railroad officials but they were unable to sustain the momentum they needed to make the strike effective. Even though the strike had been unsuccessful, the action itself was significant because it highlighted a growing division between capital and labor in American society. The Great Strike had important repercussions; a rise of national labor unions, an escalation in labor conflicts, a rethinking of the role of state and federal governments in labor conflicts and the establishment of labor rights as a continuing political issue.
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calendar They never went on strike without permission They worked ten days a week and were
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