The History of Strikes In America: We Control Our Labor And Our Wallets
When push comes to shove, a general strike might be our best way to halt tyranny
A general strike, where labor is halted by laborers en masse, has brought about wide-ranging change throughout the history of the U.S. and worldwide. Large swaths of unified citizens refusing to work, pay bills, or engage in commerce, paired with withdrawing their cash from banks, will negatively impact businesses and corporations immediately.
One of the most significant strikes in U.S. history was the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 (sometimes called the Great Upheaval). It involved over 100,000 people, 1,000 of which were jailed and some 100 or so died. All told, over 50% of U.S. freight was stopped, diverted, or delayed.
It led to political gains for the Populist Party, the Workingmen’s Party, the Knights of Labor, and the Greenback-Labor Party. Republican and Democratic legislatures joined forces to address injustices in labor rights, ultimately resulting in the formation of the Bureau of Labor in 1884.
Federal troops were used throughout the Great Upheaval against striking workers. The Posse Comitatus Act was passed with immense bipartisan support in 1878. It enacted restraints on the President’s powers to use federal troops in domestic law enforcement actions.
Perhaps the most poignant moment of the Great Upheaval was the Haymarket Affair. During a demonstration on May 4th, 1886 at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a bomb was thrown at police who had been called in to disperse the crowd. Protestors were organized to call for the formation of an eight-hour workday. Gunfire erupted and the result was four dead citizens and dozens more wounded. Seven police officers also died.
We commemorate that day, and workers in general, on the first Monday of each May, better known as International Worker’s Day or Labor Day here in the United States.
In 2013, a historical marker was installed to memorialize the strike with the following inscription:
The first national strike began July 16, 1877, with Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland. It spread across the nation halting rail traffic and closing factories in reaction to widespread worker discontent over wage cuts and conditions during a national depression. Broken by Federal troops in early August, the strike energized the labor movement and was precursor to labor unrest in the 1880s and 1890s.[47]
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There was another wave of labor strikes after World War II. This one included businesses across the economy, from public works to movie studios. Before it was over, more than 5 million workers would be involved. It was the largest wave of strikes in U.S. labor history.
Large strikes in 1945 included:
10,500 film crew workers (March 1945)
43,000 oil workers (October 1945)
320,000 United Auto Workers (November 1945)
In 1946, strikes increased:
174,000 electric workers (January 1946)
93,000 meatpackers (January 1946)
750,000 steel workers (January 1946)
340,000 coal miners (April 1946)
250,000 railroad engineers and trainmen (May 22–25, 1946)
120,000 miners, rail and steel workers in the Pittsburgh region. (December 1946)
Others included strikes of railroad workers and general strikes in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Stamford, Connecticut; Rochester, New York; and Oakland, California. In total, 4.3 million workers participated in the strikes. According to Jeremy Brecher, they were "the closest thing to a national general strike of industry in the twentieth century."
The reasons workers chose to strike varied but most were about discipline and firing rules, though wages were also a prominent cause. Millions of workers had returned home from the war a few years before and this realignment of the workforce was causing strife.
Congress’ response was to pass the Taft-Hartley Act which greatly restricts how labor unions can strike and what they’re allowed to strike for. Wages and hours are allowed, but unions are prohibited from striking in favor of political change. The act is still in effect today.
Among the practices prohibited by the Taft–Hartley act are jurisdictional strikes, wildcat strikes, solidarity or political strikes, secondary boycotts, secondary and mass picketing, closed shops, and monetary donations by unions to federal political campaigns. The amendments also allowed states to enact right-to-work laws banning union shops. Enacted during the early stages of the Cold War, the law required union officers to sign non-communist affidavits with the government.
That’s why occasionally when individual unions strike, other unions then choose to join, but there is no direct coordination between them.
The downside for those involved is how general strikes unavoidably bring the focus of government authorities on those who organize and participate. There have been cases of strike organizers who have been jailed and even executed for organizing and supporting large-scale strike efforts in some countries.
That’s because strikes are so devastating to economies. When people refuse to go to work and refuse to spend money, it brings everything to a screeching halt.
In March of 2020 when everything shut down due to COVID, the economy hit a brick wall. It took years, and a lot of government spending, to revive it afterward
A general strike would set out to cause the same kind of stoppage. Corporations and governments don’t look kindly on that.
I believe a strike like this is not only one of our best tools to stop a fascistic takeover of the U.S. but is also likely inevitable if atrocities are committed. The workers of this country understand how vital their labor and their consumption is. They saw it firsthand only a few years ago when a pandemic forced them to stay home. It’s been something I’ve seen many people discussing on multiple social media channels after the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. People feel exploited and an exploited workforce is an unhappy workforce.
Those in power know it, too, and rest assured they will do all they can to restrict organizing by repressing discussions and intimidating those who try.
I haven’t seen any direct calls for action but I expect them if things continue to deteriorate.
If one is called, I’ll be happy to participate.
In the end, the people have real power, if they can muster the will to wield it. Corporations need workers to make them money, which gives the workers power. The greatest con ever done on the proletariat was to convince them they were small and those at the top were large. By the numbers, we are greater and without our labour, they have nothing.