The Labor Wars: From the Molly Maguires to the Sit Downs

by Sidney Lens

The rise of the American labor movement was characterized by bloody and revolutionary battles. From the first famous martyrs, the Molly Maguires in the Pennsylvania coal fields in the nineteenth century, to the crucial workers’ victory of the 1930s in the sit-down strikes against General Motors, it has a history of pitched battles that frequently erupted into open warfare. This is also the story of the factional wars within the American labor movement itself and of the great leaders it Eugene Debs, Samuel Gompers, William Z. Foster, Bill Haywood, John L. Lewis, Walter Reuther, and many more—some of them Sidney Lens’ personal friends. There have been no revolutions in the United States since the first one in 1776. The closest America has come to revolution has been the Labor Wars, each one of which has been, in a sense, a revolution-in-microcosm. The strikers in these industrial fl are-ups confronted not only the power of their employers but, ultimately, that of the State . . . and in the process there was always the possibility of a widening and escalating conflict bordering on insurrection. Sidney Lens (1912–1986) was the author of many books about labor and radical movements in the United States, including The Forging of the American Empire (republished in 2003 by Haymarket Books and Pluto Press). He was a candidate for the Senate for the Citizens Party and an editor at The Progressive .

Genres: History, Labor, Nonfiction, The United States Of America, United States

372 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic history of the class struggle in the US between the end of the Civil War and the WW2 era Treaty of Detroit. Lens writes from a stirring, unabashedly pro labor view, seeking to remind us of the titanic struggles waged by earlier generations of workers. Great book, definitely see why it's cites by so many of the other labor histories I've read.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Molly Maguires may have been an Irish 19th-century secret society known for their activism among Irish-American and Irish immigrant coal miners in Pennsylvania. Or maybe they were the nonexistent basis for a folk devil. Either way they are a basis for the history of the roots of militant labor movements in America, sort of like rooting a story of Democracy on semi-legends. Through railroads and infection by communism to mass production, this tellings ends with the successful sitdowns largely in Michigan automotive plants, particularly GM. The author argues that with this transition from fighting in the streets to keep "blacklegs" (scabs) out to making an occupy movement of the strike, fininally unionism became a force to be reckoned with. From then, the "wars" disappeared as the National Guard was no longer called and the unions became established--part of the establishment. This 1974 work ponders an uncertain future by reviewing the Nixon era:

In the second half of 1971 President Richard M. Nixon took two steps which represented back-handed admissions that Pax Americana on the international scene and the synthetic prosperity at home might be in serious trouble. ...

The New Economic Policy, proclaimed at approximately the same time as the announcements regarding China, reflected an international trade and money crisis, and probably forecast the end of the international Pax Americana. ...

Against this background President Nixon elaborated a much tighter control of business and labor than Washington had exercised since the Second World War. It was not, as many believed, a carbon copy of what happened during World War II. It began, first of all, with a freeze of all wages and almost all prices. For ninety days all raises were prohibited, even those provided for in previously negotiated union contracts, the first time any practice of this sort has ever occurred. In effect, collective bargaining agreements were abrogated. And though the period of the freeze was short, it was a major extension of presidential power. Future Presidents doubtless will use it as a precedent for executive reversal of labor-management relations on a broader front.

Debates over the "Nixon Shock" have persisted to the present day, with economists and politicians across the political spectrum trying to make sense of the Nixon Shock and its impact on monetary policy in the light of the financial crisis of 2007–2008.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another quality labor history with much more on the organization of the auto industry than I have previously read. The author wrote the book to show the student/anti-war movement that it held much in common with Labor.

[Dina Maio · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book with so much information about the labor movement and the struggles faced by that early immigrant generation. It also serves as a cautionary tale: "the possibility of executive capitalism or forms of a corporate state in which the government regiments the economy and the people to an extent unknown before, cannot be ruled out."

[Noah Cote · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real good story and reference of labor struggles in the 1800s and 1900s. Clearly Unions have been pushed around by capital a ton and this book has a scary amount of parallels to our current time.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

History that's a page-turner for those that care about the struggles of working people for justice.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was written by a woman 🙈🙈🙃

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

An expansive history of labor’s struggles and triumphs from the 1870s-1930s.