The Last Great Strike: Little Steel, the CIO, and the Struggle for Labor Rights in New Deal America

Ahmed White

Published by University of California Press 2016

The Last Great Strike

Little Steel, the CIO, and the Struggle for Labor Rights in New Deal America

Ahmed White

https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520961012

Overview
Contents

About this book

In May 1937, seventy thousand workers walked off their jobs at four large steel companies known collectively as “Little Steel.” 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 unfolded, 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. In many ways it was the last great strike in modern America.

Traditionally the Little Steel Strike has been understood as a modest setback 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.

Author / Editor information

White Ahmed :

Ahmed White is a Professor of Law at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction: LABOR, LITTLE STEEL , AND THE NEW DEAL Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
PART I. The Open Shop
1. Like a Penitentiary: STEEL AND THE ORIGINS OF THE OPEN SHOP Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	13
2. They Should Honor Us: WORK AND CONFLICT IN THE OPEN SHOP ERA Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	33
3. Sure, We Have Guns: THE OPEN SHOP IN THE DEPRESSION ERA Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
4. I Never Gave That Guy Nothin’: THE NEW DEAL AND THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF LABOR RELATIONS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	69
5. To Banish Fear: THE CAMPAIGN TO ORGANIZE STEEL Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
PART II. The Strike
6. The Spirit of Unrest: FROM STALEMATE TO WALKOUT Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
7. In the Name of the People: THE INCIDENT ON MEMORIAL DAY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	130
8. What Had to Be Done: THE STRUGGLE AT THE MILL GATES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
9. A Change of Heart: CORPORATE POWER AND NEW DEAL STRIKEBREAKING Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
10. Let’s Bust Them Up: LAST STRUGGLES AND DEFEAT Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	211
PART III. The Aftermath
11. A Steel Strike Is Not a Picnic. THE ANATOMY OF FAILURE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	229
12. Kind of a Victory: NEW DEAL LABOR LAW ON TRIAL Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	251
13. Unreconciled: WAR, VICTORY, AND THE LEGACIES OF DEFEAT Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	269
Conclusion: THESE THINGS THAT MEAN SO MUCH TO US Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	281
Appendix Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	289
ABBREVIATIONS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291
NOTES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	293
BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	375
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	383

Language: English
Publisher: University of California Press
Pages
- Main content: 416

eBook

Published: January 4, 2016
ISBN: 9780520961012