Synopses & Reviews
andldquo;The history deftly told by Ahmed White inand#160;
The Last Great Strike isnand#39;t really historyandmdash;the fallout from the 1937 andlsquo;Little Steelandrsquo; strike lingers. This book should be a must-read for anyone interested in todayandrsquo;s labor issuesandmdash;from efforts to break public workersandrsquo; unions to the push for a $15 minimum wage.andrdquo;andmdash;Dale Maharidge, author of
Journey to Nowhere, which inspired Bruce Springsteenandrsquo;s andldquo;Youngstownandrdquo;
andldquo;The Last Great Strike is a brilliant, incisive, always intriguing, sometimes heartbreaking account of a critical moment in Americaandrsquo;s labor history. Professor Whiteandrsquo;s work is more important than ever today, as working men and women struggle to make a living and hang on to their rights. A fascinating read.andrdquo;andmdash;Kevin Baker, author of The Big Crowd
andldquo;The Last Great Strike is a superb piece of scholarship about a critical event in modern American labor history. It sheds light on a pivotal moment in the creation of the modern labor movement and the origins of industrial unionism in America, and it has much to teach us about the evolution of labor law. Ahmed White does us a real intellectual and even political service in reminding us that the New Deal coalition that rested so heavily on the organizational muscle of that eraandrsquo;s new labor movement entailed crippling constraints only fully visible later on in the 20th century.andrdquo;andmdash;Steve Fraser, author of The Age of Acquiescence: The Life and Death of American Resistance to Organized Wealth and Power
Synopsis
In May 1937, seventy thousand workers walked off their jobs at four large steel companies known collectively as andldquo;Little Steel.andrdquo; The strikers sought to make the companies retreat from decades of antiunion repression, abide by the newly enacted federal labor law, and recognize their union. For two months a grinding struggle ensued, punctuated by bloody clashes in which police, company agents, and National Guardsmen ruthlessly beat and shot unionists. At least sixteen died and hundreds more were injured before the strike ended in failure. The violence and brutality of the Little Steel Strike became legendary. It was in many ways the last great strike in modern America.
Traditionally the Little Steel Strike has been understood as a modest setback at most for steel workers, one that actually confirmed the potency of New Deal reforms and did little to impede the progress of the labor movement. However, The Last Great Strike tells a different story about the conflict and its significance for unions and labor rights. More than any other strike, it laid bare the contradictions of the industrial labor movement, the resilience of corporate power, and the limits of New Deal liberalism at a crucial time in American history.
About the Author
Ahmed White is a Professor of Law at the University of Colorado.