Labor History

The Occupy movement has many people looking to past movements to see what we can learn from them that can help us in today’s struggles.  The period of the 1960s and early 1970s was one of upheaval around the world: May 1968, the Tet Offensive, the revolution in Pakistan, etc. The USA was not exempt from these powerful social movements. In the 1950s, the movement to end Jim Crow segregation helped to spur on movements against the U.S. imperialist war on Vietnam, large strike movements by the working class, and the movements for equal rights for women and the LGBT community.

Minnesota’s Farmer-Labor Party was the most successful labor party in United States history. Starting in 1918, it was a labor party in the true sense, not just a “pro-labor” party. It was a political federation of labor unions. The Minnesota Farmer-Labor Association, a grouping of associated unions and farmers, provided the organic connection between labor and the party. Before the party merged with the Democrats in 1944, they had elected three governors, four U.S. Senators, and eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In this selection, taken from two days of discussion with Leon Trotsky and the leaders of the SWP, Trotsky explains the need for a non-sectarian approach to the Stalinist workers and criticizes a narrow trade union approach to the party.

New from Wellred USA!  The first US edition of Bolshevism: The Road to Revolution by Alan Woods.  This monumental 500+ page study of the history of growth and development of Bolshevism demolishes the myths of both Stalinist and pro-capitalist historians of the Russian Revolution.  Order your copy online from Wellred USA now and save $4 off the cover price.

The 1997 Teamster strike against UPS was not simply a victory, but a smashing victory for the US working class and therefore offers many valuable lessons for today’s labor militants, both with respect to the strategic orientation and the day-to-day tactics. UPS is a “Fortune 500” company, meaning it is one of the most profitable in the nation, boasting of a $1.15 billion profit margin prior to the strike.  In 1992, the workforce was evenly divided between full-time and part-time workers, but by 1996, part-timers had increased to 61 percent and were only paid between $8 and $9 per hour.

In 1997, Ron Carey, President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), led the union to a smashing victory against United Parcel Service (UPS) by waging a militant strike, wrenching at least $1 billion in concessions from the company for the duration of the 5-year contract.  The Teamsters estimated the real value of the gains, won entirely at the expense of UPS profits, ranged as high as $5 billion.  Particularly noteworthy is the fact that this monumental achievement was waged in the context of a series of devastating labor defeats on a national level, including one concessionary contract after another, where workers lost ground so that corporations could raise their profits.  And it was waged at a time when most of the high-ranking labor officials had signed off on the notion that “strikes don’t work anymore.”

Following the Great Depression and the mighty rise of industrial unions in the U.S., the capitalist class made some concessions to the labor movement because they were worried an all-out revolutionary situation could erupt. These concessions, in the form of the New Deal programs and the National Labor Relations Act were intended to save capitalism. But once the flood-tide of the class struggle ebbed, the bosses moved to take back those concessions, which U.S. capitalism could no longer tolerate.  Taft-Hartley was the first major example of this.

This song, written by Woody Guthrie in 1948, documents the treatment of several "illegal"deportees both before and after their death.

Many skeptics say that a socialist society could never exist in America. They say that the working class and poor, who make up 90 percent of the country, are too fragmented. They say that Americans are greedy and unwilling to join together in common struggle.   Some say human nature prevents a socialist system from ever being successful, but the truth is that it’s human nature to strike back against oppression and exploitation when men and women are pushed to the brink. Our own history is rich with examples of the heroism of the working class in their struggle for a better world.

Greg Oxley looks at the life of this labor pioneer and lifelong fighter for the working class.