AuthorWhite, Ahmed, 1970- author.
TitleThe last great strike : Little Steel, the CIO, and the struggle for labor rights in New Deal America / Ahmed White.
PublishedOakland, California : University of California Press, [2016]
©2016
Descriptionxi, 398 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
ISBN9780520285606
ISBN0520285603
ISBN9780520285613
ISBN0520285611
ISBNISBN (invalid) 9780520961012
ISBNISBN (invalid) 0520961013
Bib. NoteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 375-382) and index.
Formatted NoteContents: Labor, Little Steel, and the New Deal -- Like a penitentiary : steel and the origins of the open shop -- They should honor us : work and conflict in the open shop era -- Sure, we have guns : the open shop in the Depression era -- I never gave that guy nothin' : the New Deal and the changing landscape of labor relations -- To banish fear : the campaign to organize steel -- The spirit of unrest : from stalemate to walkout -- In the name of the people : the incident on Memorial Day -- What had to be done : the struggle at the mill gates -- A change of heart : corporate power and New Deal strikebreaking -- Let's bust them up : last struggles and defeat -- A steel strike is not a picnic : the anatomy of failure -- Kind of a victory : New Deal labor law on trial -- Unreconciled : war, victory, and the legacies of defeat -- Conclusion : These things that mean so much to us.
Summary NoteSummary: "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 ensued, 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. It was in many ways the last great strike in modern America. Traditionally the Little Steel Strike has been understood as a modest setback at most for steelworkers, 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"--Provided by publisher.
SubjectsFackliga organisationer.
Förenta staterna.
History.
Iron and steel workers -- Labor unions.
Iron and steel workers -- Labor unions -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Little Steel Strike (United States : 1937)
Little Steel Strike, U.S., 1937.
New Deal (1933-1939)
New Deal, 1933-1939.
New Deal 1933-1939.
United States.
United States -- History -- 1933-1945.
LC Card Number2015-18714
Call Number/Copies 
 WRHS Research Library: HD 5325 I52 1937 W582 2016
CA-1601850 c.1: LC class, closed stacks [status: NON-CIRCULATING]
[Record 38762]