A History of America in Ten Strikes

By: Erik Loomis

Narrated by: Brian Troxell

Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

A thrilling and timely account of ten moments in history when labor challenged the very nature of power in America, by the author called “a brilliant historian” by The Progressive magazine 

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)

©2018 Erik Loomis (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc. Published by arrangement with The New Press (www.thenewpress.com).

great read

as someone just getting interested in the labor movement I found this a useful introduction. I recently listened to the Richard White history of the Reconstruction and Gilded Age, which was VERY good and I think a worthy companion to this book.

Excellent recap of US labor history!

Wow! this book is simply awesome. Loomis masterfully recounts the incredible, painful, spectacular history that is the labor movement in the US and, most powerfully, points us to the exact moments where labor has failed tremendously to live up to its own lofty goals.

I am myself something of a militant unionist, active in my union, and having worked as a union staffer for five years, as well as being active in community organizing. I can tell you, having been involved in multiple "big labor" union locals - this book would serve EVERY union staff, elected, AND member well. In fact, I plan on buying several copies for my office and my closest union allies, maybe even for a shop steward or two. If we don't know our history, (and sadly, I'd say the majority of union staff and members don't) we will stumble again and again on the same obstacles which our forefathers may have already conquered.

This work gives us a clear picture of the real state of the labor movement. If you care about a better future for all workers and really about saving the earth from its inevitable demise if we don't seriously change course, or even just taking power and making change, I think this book is indispensable. HIGHLY recommend!

Historically Accurate, Engaging, Steering (biased)

I listened to this book with an open mind, and I was hoping that it would put the labor movement in context, provide evidence, and provide some context for both motivations of employers and employees and their unions.

The book is extremely interesting, appears to have really good factual information, and is written in a very straightforward way.

The information and context presented does seem to just be from the employee / union side. This appears a relatively minor bias in the first half of the book, and escalates as the book progresses. In the final minutes of the conclusion of the book, the author says (exact quote) “ while you might be the best worker your company has ever seen, you have no power to control your destiny without a union “. The general argument in that sentence is demonstrated many times throughout the book, it’s not a 1 off statement, it seems (in my opinion) the most concrete conclusion of the book.

Although I think this argument is clearly not accurate (as demonstrated by the fact most workers that do control their future and find professional success are NOT union labor, and based on so many people I know whose professional life contradicts that conclusion) it is also the case that the author appears not to think individuals are capable of bargaining better for their own rights than a union could.

Regardless of my opinion, I think it would be good for the author to update the book, either with a caveat as to this clear bias, or add in statistical evidence to show why what he is saying is true today (which I doubt it is). If a claim like that is going to be made in the conclusion of the book, summarizing everything, then it’s important to clearly show why Unions are better for all workers. I’m willing to bet that a statistical analysis will find that it’s probably better for many workers, but probably not better for the subset of highly effective workers that are able to negotiate their terms of employment effectively already. I think, and conclusion would be that union and labor negotiations have the most benefit for the most people in general (like most social programs), but hat there is always a price to pay for the outliers or high achievers.

Based on all this, I think the author is steering a conclusion with incomplete evidence, but that should not discount from the fact that the author has clearly well researched the labor movement, and makes excellent historical points about the classic inequality in the employee/employer working dynamic. The author also makes a lot of really good points about the role of government plays, and has excellent historical support for when government both supported employees and employers, and what the results were.

Definitely worth listening to.

This was not 10 strikes

Instead, it rambled all over the place, talking about 100 or more strikes. It failed to provide relevant details— like the name of the union that won the Ravenswood conflict— the USW. And it mischaracterized situations such as the decline of steel at the turn of the century.

Every school should have this book read!

I knew unions were important to pressure non-union corporations to pay better wages than the unions, but I did not fully understand to what extent America would be totally impoverished if it hadn't been for the fighting Union workers against the lustful greed of big business.

A must listen

Very important lessons are contained within, anyone who works for a living needs to hear this.

Should be required reading for all wage earners and voters

And if you’re a wage earner that’s eligible to vote, register and vote every chance you get.

I heard earlier today that wage theft cost American workers $50 Billion a year. We need to strengthen employee protections.

One hundred years ago too many people were working 10 hours a day, six days a week. Things like the weekend, overtime pay, and most importantly workplace safety did not come about from bosses benevolence; people worked, fought and died for them.

If you didn’t learn the history of the labor movement in school, or if you’re fuzzy on the details, this book is an eye opener.

Important history

Loved it
When the earth is ruled by labor what a beauty that will be.

a great intro to Unionism in the US

An expertly narrated, easy to follow and contextualize, overview of the importance of organized labor throughout US history and an indictment of the political and economic system that required these unions to exist in the first place.

Solid Book

Good Information
Very Informative and educational

Jumps around a little in each chapter when it talks about other strikes or examples.

Overall great for anyone looking to learn more about the labor movement and understand the unprecedented sacrifices workers made that we all benefit from today.