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Seattle’s General Strike 100 Years Ago Shows Us Hope for Today: Labor Notes reviews Cal Winslow’s book

Seattle Strike 1919 Women workers B&W for web

Radical Seattle: The General Strike of 1919
280 pp, $26 pbk, ISBN 978-1-58367-852-7
By Cal Winslow

Reviewed by Jeff Johnson

“For five days in 1919, union members took control of the city of Seattle. They arguably ran it better, and certainly more justly, than it had ever been run before. ¶ Thousands of workers volunteered to keep Seattle’s essential services operating. People were fed at 21 different locations; on February 9, volunteers served more than 30,000 meals. Milk distribution was organized at 35 locations. Garbage was picked up. No crime was reported during these five days…. ¶ Contrast Seattle 1919 with today’s unfolding horror. We’re all witnessing what it looks like when a shutdown and the provision of essential services are administered by capital and a pro-corporate government. ¶ The Seattle General Strike was not just an event in labor history. It was a testament to what workers can achieve when they organize, and it has sharp lessons for today….”

Read the review at Labor Notes

Radical Seattle: The General Strike of 1919

Monthly Review Press
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