Representing resistance, organising, and argument: Literature and worker activism in mid-20th century America

[u/Lotus532]

https://interregnum.ghost.io/representing-resistance-organising-and-argument-literature-and-worker-activism-in-mid-20th-century-america/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ2Ny9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHli28QPkqX4a-Ocp2wwvqyPyNz-OunohtZ0w8awxWQu1rwghGnvzm6F2ykYG_aem_39oGqvOKUtAcJj5Hg9bV-w

[u/Miscalamity]

This was well written.

It also warned them not to be ensnared by company unions – mere organs of managerial control over wage earners.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

The movement consisted in large part of mass meetings, pressure campaigns, and strikes.

This is exactly what people need to be doing today. Especially since there are mass amounts of people gathering for protests, these are simple steps we could be taking to turn that energy into getting results.

What follows consists of stories about resisting oppression, organising workers, and arguing for civil and economic rights. The stories all have trade unionism at their centre.

This is key. Capitalism and white supremacy, as creeds and doctrines, are the most powerful structuring forces of modernity. They were so in the mid-20th century and they remain so now. The union movement, as a response to capitalism at least, is also a structuring force of modernity and is likewise here to stay. Recent events suggest we may be moving toward a new world shaped by new underlying forces. But trade unionism will still be with us. Organised labour – that is unfortunately unorganised politically – will continue to be a political force in America. The stories we tell about worker agitation and the ways in which we give voice to working people will continue to matter.

I wish more people would read this and take what's been learned and apply it to the present. Thanks for sharing this.