[Seattle-editorial] FP: General Strike anniversary

[sheri at speakeasy.org]

i love this story and am glad to see it being recognized.  

i have a book on this at home about this period of history and the real-life hero is a woman who is a journalist (her name is escaping me at the moment) and a strong leader during this time. she was critical to the starting and continuing of a daily labor newspaper.  many people said that it was a direct result of that daily labor paper that helped make the general strike happen.

i'd love to see something about that in this story for obvious reasons.

the other is just the fact that this was the only general strike in this country's history.  it may have spawned other strikes, but there has never been another general strike.  understanding what led up to this is critical and i believe (according to the book i read), the paper and the emphasis on labor issues and the fact that it was daily was critical.

i will try and track that down, but just wanted to share that.

sheri

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joseph Eisenschmidt [mailto:relayer at riseup.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 3, 2004 05:46 PM
> To: seattle-editorial at indymedia.org
> Subject: Re: [Seattle-editorial] FP: General Strike anniversary
> 
> yes, yes, 100,000 times yes.
> 
> And where this may lead, No one knows where!
> 
> Joseph
> 
> Quoting jonathan lawson <jonathan at indymedia.org>:
> 
> > subtitle: MILESTONE IN AMERICAN LABOR HISTORY
> > title: Feb. 6 Marks 85th Anniversary of Seattle General Strike
> > 
> > On the morning of February 6, 1919, Seattle, a city of 315,000
> > people, <a 
> > href="http://faculty.washington.edu/gregoryj/strike/"><b>stopped
> > 
> > working</b></a>. 25,000 union members had joined 35,000 already
> > on strike. 
> > Much of the remaining work force was idled as stores closed and
> > streetcars 
> > stopped running. The General Strike Committee, composed of
> > delegates from 
> > the key striking unions, tried to coordinate vital services and
> > negotiate 
> > with city officials, but events moved
> > quickly beyond their control. The <a 
> > href="http://www.tpl.lib.wa.us/cgi-
> win/fulltcgi.exe/General_Strike_of_1919|labor/genstrik.19"><b>histor
> ic,
> > 
> > city-wide strike</b></a> led off a tumultuous era of labor
> > conflict that 
> > saw massive strikes shut down the nation's steel, coal, and meat
> > packing 
> > industries and threaten civil unrest in a dozen cities.
> > 
> > <p><a
> > 
> href="http://faculty.washington.edu/gregoryj/pnwlabor/"><b>Northwest
> > 
> > Labor History Project</b></a> (Univ. of Washington)
> > 
> > <p><a 
> > 
> href="http://faculty.washington.edu/gregoryj/strike/images/nooneknow
> swhere.jpg">Union
> > 
> > Record editorial, 4 Feb 1919</a> | <a 
> > 
> href="http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/hist_texts/seattle1919_p2.htm
> l">General
> > 
> > Strike Committee account, March 1919</a>
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Seattle-editorial at lists.indymedia.org
> > http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/seattle-editorial
> > 
> 
> 
> Joseph Eisenschmidt
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