Abstract

Abstract

This is my abstract of my paper. This section covers main points of my arguments and my concluding assertions. general strike is an industrial action conducted by employees who make up a substantial proportion of a countries labor force thus such strikes are characterized by multitude of workers, they affect several industries and they involve a large number of people especially a region, city of the whole country. Historically, general strikes begun in the 19th century and they have since been significant in initiating economic, political and socio-cultural reforms among them being the Seattle General Strike. Dating some years back when the United States was adversely affected by the World War I, industrialists used recruiting agents to employ immigrants mostly blacks who had worked as slaves in the cotton plantations in Southern America between 1916 and 1924. Most of the employees were absorbed into meat packaging, iron and steel, automobile and railroad industries where most blacks were used as casuals performing unskilled and semiskilled jobs. The influx of black employees in Northern America coupled with post war effects created social issues which led to increased costs of living leading to the Seattle General Strike. Unfortunately the strike did not achieve its major objective of helping the working class gain more than they lost during the war and strike because the revolution failed. In conclusion, there is a lot to learn from the Seattle General Strike. Despite Claims that the strike failed, a lot has been achieved so far with workers around the world using it as the only tool to fight capitalism and preserve their rights.

  1. Historical content and background in the year 1919

In the making of the American history is the Seattle General Strike that resulted into partisan schisms in America. At this post war moment, the Seattle strike was ranked among the most widespread of the national strikes that happened in the years spanning 1919 and 1921. There is evidence to support the thesis statement because illustrations are rife that the labor versus capital battle affected industrialization and the whole idea behind unionization of employees. This is because the revolution was motivated by industrial employees and casual workers who wanted higher wages after the adverse economic implications that had exposed America to inflation. Industrialists and business elites were opposed to the strike because they believed that the ideas of unionization of their employees as well as their demand for higher wages would reduce their profitability indices. Worse still, the industrialists were convinced that the Seattle General strike has been motivated by foreign anarchies and agitators for communism (Murray 51). There being no action to salve the striking workers and employees, the public was angered thus inducing shortage of products thus collectively a dispute involving capital and labor was sparked.

  1. The Soviet October Revolution

The historical background behind the Seattle strike is believed to be tied to the Soviet October Revolution. As is has been fondly described using names such as the Red October, Bolshevik Revolution and October uprising, the Soviet October Revolution marked the seizure of instruments of state power among them being corporates that were believed to be used by the government to oppress people. This is because the Russian government had earlier on enacted capitalistic economies that were undermining fair labor practices. As a result the year 1917 experienced a revolution engineered by Lenin and other Bolshevik party leaders. This action was taken after a common vote that decreed the onset of an uprising, October 25, 1917 was selected to be the date for the revolution. Bolshevik troops took control of power stations, strategic bridges and highways, train stations, state run corporations among all the other communication channels as a way of paralyzing operations. The operation was seamless and no civilians were attacked or hurt. The then prime minister of Russia Alexander Kerensky fled and took exile in another country just before an attack was launched on Winter Palace where he resided.  The coup went through as planned with the Bolsheviks taking over Russia from the ruthless leadership of a capitalist leader (Service 25).

The October Revolution which was carried out in Petrograd led to the overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government and consequently gave the powers to the locals through the Bolshevik Party after which the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic was formed and this proclaimed Russia into being the world first socialist state. It is after the revolution that Russia was engulfed in a Civil war between 1917 and 1922 which is approximately the same time that the Seattle General Strike took place (Beckett 22). The civil war was contained after which the Soviet Union was created or formed in 1922. The Bolsheviks made use of their Red Guard Army men who were situated at Petrograd City which was then the capital city of Russia. Because of the solidarity and the spontaneity of the Soviet October Revolution, the American people who were following on the Russian events through media were motivated into becoming rebellious. The revolution marked the onset of the afterward effect of the October Uprising which was experienced across many cities in the world among them being Seattle.   The socialist mindset initiated by the Bolsheviks incited Americans into starting the Seattle General Strike.

In addition to the background information that incited the Seattle General Strike which was a social war that became a model the working class in Seattle, the Soviet October  Revolution was ignited by the essence of change that was brought about by the February Revolution in Russia. The February revolution had led to the fall of Nicholas II which was replaced by the Russian Provisional Government. The weak provisional government was incapacitated by internal wrangles. At this time the world war one which had been fought between July 1914 and November 1918 had already weakened the Russian economy and government as well therefore the February revolution weakened the government further exposing the citizens to economic, social and political problems. Moreover the industries and transport systems were majorly affected which led to the closure of 50% of the industries in Russia (Robert 33). The Gross Domestic Product which is an economic parameter for measuring a countries economic development decreased by 36% as more and more people were losing their jobs leading to mass unemployment. Industries in the Urals and Donbas were closed which further increased the cost of living while wages fell by 50% between 1912 and 1913. Therefore the risk of financial bankruptcy resulting from huge foreign debts motivated the Bolsheviks into staging a revolution.

In October and September, 1917, Russia experienced by workers in both Moscow and Petrograd Cities, the miners, metal workers and oil workers at Donbas, Urals and Baku respectively were among the workers employed. In the Central Regions of Russia which were dominated by textile industries, the industries were closed down because of persistent industrial unrest. Also employees at railway stations working for 44 railway lines joined in the strikes. Within the two months, millions of workers were actively involved in mass strike actions around Russia. The revolution October revolution led by the Bolshevik Party encouraged people into a social revolution where production and distribution activities were paralyzed among factories and industries.  In connection to the Soviet October revolution, the Seattle General Strike borrows a lot in the model used by the Russians industrial workers thus making the model applicable to the working class in Seattle (Figes 44).  In the same October, an estimated four thousand famers also revolted against oppressive landowners and the Provisional Government failed to contain the situation leading to more opposition from Northern and Western fronts despite there being occurrence of violent demonstration after the Provisional Government declared war against protesters, the protests and the Soviets October Revolution was peaceful which gave credit to the model as the best way to present their grievances to the American government regarding low wages and unemployment.

  1. The causation of the Seattle General Strike.

In answering the question on the causation of the Seattle General Strike, several factors come into consideration. First is the political atmosphere caused by the Soviet October Revolution and second is the fact that the world war had weakened economic structures and thirdly United States was experiencing social problems caused by disparities in the distribution of resources which was termed as capitalism. Looking at the political factors that were causal to the strike include alleged radicalization of many Americans especially in the Pacific North-West. Most leaders in the North-West had shown support for the Russian October Revolution and were working towards staging one in America. This action is evidenced by the refusal of ship loaders at the Seattle port to load arms which were meant to be transported to the White Army. The white army was opposed to the Bolshevik Part which had caused the revolution in Russia (Kitchen 11). The second reason causative of the strike is the weak economic structure in the U.S which resulted into pay cuts and mass unemployment. Thirdly social issues where motivated by leaders who were opposed to capitalism and its oppression of the working class in America. The formation of unions to protect employees was objected by industrialists who were continuously oppressing employees especially the black immigrants from Southern America. To end the reign of capitalism, the activists resorted to inciting people by use of pamphlets and newspapers. Workers in Seattle were increasingly becoming aware of their rights which increased the talk relating to worker power.

The Seattle General Strike in 1919 was the first general strike to hit Seattle which happens to be a Port City in Washington. During the strike, shipyard workers left their duties unattended as they went out in protest against law wages, capitalism and racism. The trigger for the unrest was the rising costs of living which could barely be sustained by their meager income and poor economy caused by the World War 1 (Westwell 192). Since low wages had become a social problem among most immigrants and settlers in Seattle City, thousands of workers from other industries around the city joined in the strike that was started by shipyard workers. The labor press urged laborers to be orderly in their unrest and hold onto the strike until the government resolved their issues. On the other hand newspapers were speculating for chaos which led to their condemnation of the revolts terming them as communistic and as being motivated the Soviet Societies which were a threat to the attainment of American freedoms. The close connection between the 1919 Seattle General Strike and the 1917 communist revolution in the Soviet Union of Russia emanated from the timing and the enmity that had existed between United States and Russia.

  1. The final results of the Seattle General Strike

After a persistent fight for social rights led by activists and union leaders, three movements merged their efforts into ending the strike. Despite being peaceful protests and demonstrations, Mayor Hanson introduced military forces and police officers into Seattle city as a way of enforcing order. The officers were collectively known as the National Guard (Henry 353). The introduction of the National Guards was a threat to union officials and activists who feared that organizers of the General Strike would be apprehended by the government of the United States. The union leaders further feared that the use of strikes would fail because their efforts of organizing the people were being frustrated. The leaders began open campaigns encouraging people to go back to work because the unrests had failed to bear desirable results. The General Strike Committee in particular made a statement attributing the end of the strike to talks and coercion from international unions which were encouraging the working class in Seattle to resume work.

On 7th February, 1919, Mayor Hanson had called upon 950 marines, 600 army offices, and 2400 police offices. In addition the mayor issued statements threatening that the striking workers would be replaced by police officers and troop officers until new people were trained for their jobs. The mayor further alleged that the general strike was a complete replica of the revolution that was staged in Petrograd but the government of United States had done everything to take charge of the striking working class. With the increasing international pressure on the American Federation of Labor (AFL) to restructure its leadership forced more people to return to work. The AFL in return threatened the General Strike Committee which started making proposals to finish the strike that had taken five days. The strike ended on the 11th of February 1919 and everybody went back to work. Immediately after ending the strike, 39 members of the Industrial Workers of the World abbreviated as IWW were arrested for their alleged active participation and support of the general strike (Melvyn 90). The IWW headquarters was raided with more prominent officers being arrested. The headquarters for the Socialist Party was also raided and some of the aspirants for the city council positions arrested. Additionally Equity Printing Plant which is a joint business run by various worker organizations was raided and senior manager arrested. The plant was closed down and reopened under close surveillance which later led to the collapse of the Equity Printing Press because it was sanctioned to operate for only eight hours during the day.

This step followed the realization that the printing press had been used to publish pamphlets and leaflets that were used by I.W.W. and socialists to promote the industrial unrest in Seattle (Foner 44). The American government needed to persecute the perpetrators of the Seattle General Strike as a restrictive measure and warning to anyone who attempted to initiate similar strikes in future. At the heat of detentions and arrests, the Central Labor Council made attempts to defend some of the people alleged for inciting the strike on the ground that the National Guard was infringing human rights of the socialists and worker activists involved.

  1. Unions and people who devoted into the Seattle General Strike
  2. W.W. (Industrial Workers of the World)

The I.W.W was an independent organization that was working again the government and in support of the working class in Seattle. Their attitude is presented by their active involvement in spreading socialistic messages which later came to be associated with the Bolshevik Revolution. In the view of the I.W.W. they wanted a work force that was paid well and that the government made bills in their favor at the expense of the industrialists who were becoming capitalistic and oppressing the working class in most cities around United States. The I.W.W. was essential in funding the operations of the General Strike Committee which made schedules of operations and incited the working class into shunning work (Hagedorn 51).

  1. F.L. (American Federal Labor)

The A.F.L provided a supportive attitude towards the strike because if played underground roles of supporting the unionization of employees. The A.F.L played an equal role just like the I.W.W even though the later was more active. This is because A.F.L is a union supporting fairness in employment practices thus they actively collaborated with activists to stage the general strike. Their role was essential in ensuring that the post war effects that had to lead to poor wages were corrected. The union also ensured that racial bias among industrialists was curbed after the strike ended.

  1. Anna Louis Strong

Anna Louis is a woman who is believed to have built legends during the Seattle General Strike.  She played the role of an activist while publishing editorials for the Seattle Union Records which was a newspaper press run by the labor unions. Activist Ana Louis wrote revolutionary ideas on the closure of Seattle’s industries. Most of her articles were calling for more strikes across the United States especially in the North-Western cities (Henry 355). She further described the industrialists as being capitalists who enjoyed most of the profits at the expense of the working class who devoted their physical and mental energy to working at the industries. She was advocating for public peace and better healthcare through the establishment of social amenities and adequate infrastructure. Her radical thoughts were slowly infused into the people of Seattle as the left-wing journalist educated the working class on the adverse effects of capitalism.

  • The occurrence of events during the Seattle General Strike
  1. The duration of the Seattle General Strike.

Just days before the Seattle General Strike, business men and industrialist had been made aware that the working class in Seattle was planning on an industrial strike. As a result most of the industrialists who have also been associated with the rise of capitalism insured their businesses for fear of looting or other losses that could arise from the strikes. The atmosphere was tense as the economic progress of the city had diminished following the post war effect caused by the First World War. Unionized employees in the shipbuilding industry in Seattle were preparing for a strike to demand for pay rise for the unskilled workers. The yard owners had previously increased the wages for the skilled workers but failed to consider the unskilled and the semiskilled. The union rejected the offer and called upon a strike among the 35000 employees working at the shipyard. The strike which was to be started on 21st January 1919 was postponed because of controversies erupting from the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC). Before the strike kicked off, the EFC had sent a telegram demanding that the conflict needed to be resolved in favor of the employees or else their contract would be revoked (Jones 33).

The message was mistakenly delivered to the Metal Owners Union instead of the Metal Owners Association to whom it was intended. The shipyard workers appealed to the Seattle Central Labor Council for support from all workers in the city. Various unions polled together and decided on February 6, 1919 at exactly 10.00 Am. On that Thursday morning, the Seattle Union Records had a captivating article that was calling upon mass action in form of a strike (Jones 34). The article written by an activist Anna Louis Strong was a revolutionary article that marked the first day of the Seattle General Strike. The general Strike Committee was formed to oversee the strike and act as a counter government to run the city. The committee organized and ensured that essential services were provided such as garbage collection. Hospitals, firemen and police officers remained on duty during the strike. The first day of the strike was marked with shipyard workers who left their duties unattended as they went out in protest against law wages, capitalism and racism. During the second day of the strike, other working class employees in the city joined in the strike after sympathizing with the striking shipyard workers. The last day was marked with beefed up security and arrest of suspected activists and union leaders who planned the strike. Mayor Hanson introduced military forces and police officers into Seattle city as a way of enforcing order. The officers were collectively known as the National Guard. The introduction of the National Guards was a threat to union officials and activists who feared that organizers of the General Strike would be apprehended by the government of the United States.

  1. Non-violent action of the Seattle general Strike

The shipyard employees declined to report to their duties on the morning of 6th February 1919 as the union had agreed upon. It had also been decided that the striking workers conduct peaceful demonstrations and protests by enchanting the slogan ‘together we win’ while walking on the streets (Friedheim 55). This action was supported by the need to preserve peace and prevent unnecessary damage to property which would jeopardize the development and growth of the city.

  1. Whether this labor movement is a successful movement of a failed movement
  2. Wage increase.

The labor movement coded as The Seattle General Strike was a failed movement. As newspapers reported, Seattle General Strike was a failed activity because the working class did not gain more than what they wanted. The workers themselves were disappointed that they had not triggered the increase of wages as they crept back to work. In fact, the workers were advised on appointing new leaders to lead their unions. On the other hand, the workers themselves felt that their concerns had been passed across. On the part of the government, they termed the five day strike as a Bolshevik Revolution and even started investigations to establish the link between the Soviet October Revolution and the Seattle general Strike (Jonathan 166). The best part of the strike was that the employees felt that they had not lost the five days wages but strongly believed that they had gained a lot more than the wages they had lost. In my opinion, the strike was a win because despite their being order after the five day strike and some workers who lost their jobs the industrials were more aware of the repercussions of failing to adequately upraise their employees by paying them adequately. Moreover the activists were happy despite being arrested prosecuted and charged that the condition of workers in the City of Seattle would improve in future.

  1. It is a successful movement because their spirit will inspire all working class to keep fighting for their rights

Basing on the aftermath of the Seattle general Strike, several other strikes have been experienced in most parts of the world. Many employees and the working class find it easier to voice their concerns through strikes in the event they unions or their employers failed to attend to them. Most of the general strikes around the world have been conducted in the past as a way of seeking democratic redress, provision of basic infrastructure such as healthcare and education, political representation, racism, nepotism among other things. For instance in 1947, Japan banned a general strike of over 2,400,000 civil servants and government workers terming strikes as a deadly social weapon capable of impoverishing economies (Zinn 8). France also experienced a two week strike in May 1968 involving more than eleven million workers. The impact of the strike could have caused the collapse of the French government under de Gaulle. In addition are the Indian General Strike which occurred in September, 2012 and also the China Shenggang General Strike. These illustrations indicate that the spirit of solidarity among workers and labor unions has helped working classes fight for their rights. Besides several labor unions and movements emerged in the United States after the 1919 in order to protect the rights of workers who were being oppressed by industrialists and capitalistic economies.

  1. The labor situation of present world after the Seattle General Strike

The working classes are still fighting for their rights revolving around capitalism and labor rates or wages. These statement louds the reason why workers have had to cause industrial unrest, go slows and strikes in order to fight capitalism. The historic two Indian General Strike which occurred in September, 2012 and the longest time of general strike: China Shenggang General Strike illustrate these statements. Labor situations have changed through the mobilization of worker unions and labor movements. For instance the Indian General Strike that happened between February 20th and 21st 2012 received much support among workers from vital sectors of the economy which led to an economic standstill. Among the trade unions demands were the need for the government to contain increasing prices, unemployment and enforcement of labor laws, improved security and unionization of employees. Such a general strike is a big boost for laborers towards fighting capitalism.

Brecher (19) states that the China Shanggang General Strike represents the longest industrial unrest in history. The strike believed to have been planned by Marxist intellectuals happened between 1925 and 1926. The strike made a big contribution to the leadership of China as a country because leaders and influential business people were being targeted for reforms. Apparently the view that China is a socialist helped drive the agenda and shape the leadership of the country. Economists have accredited the economic success enjoyed by China today as being the beginning of good leadership that has shaped the economic landscape of China. The strike worked against capitalism which was invading the Chinese economy because of malicious industrialists.

B.          The war between working class and capital.

With the increased levels of disparities between the rich and the poor, the middle class and the industrialists in modern economies and all capitalist countries across the globe, general strikes provide the only tool of expression among workers especially in the industrial sector. Even though the Seattle General Strike might have been seen as a failed industrial unrest, the experience provided by the solidarity of the workers has changed the way people look at labor movements. Many workers have fought capitalism using general strikes. This is because paralyzing economic activities in a country has an adverse effect on the publicity of the government in the eyes of the people. For instance, the fight against corruption has been spearheaded by general strikes which have motivated leaders into being ethical, responsible and accountable (Bass 23).

There is still war between the working classes and the oppressive capitalist’s economies. The Seattle general strike is among organized strikes that have been used by workers to reach out to industrialists and governments on their rights (Brecher 43). Specifically the Seattle General Strike has had a big impact on the world by the way it changed and influenced on the change of perspectives among the working class, employers, governments and labor movements. This is because the strike giver unions ideas on what happened or triggered industrial unrests in the past and the problems that the workers were being faced with. Governments have used the Seattle strike scenario to enforce order during strikes while most industrialists have learnt to appreciate their employees by rewarding and remunerating them properly to avoid loses and other uncertainties that could result from strikes. Secondly, the strike has encouraged industrialist, governments and labor movements on the need for labor management both in theory and in practice. Owing to the negative publicity associated with companies paying low wages or whose employees are constantly striking, such companies end up losing customers and personnel who search for alternative employment. Also the increased competition and job hunt has taught industrialist and employers to value their customers.

In relation to the general strike in Seattle, some corporations have put restrictive measures to avoid unionized strikes by forbidding their workers from being unionized. Such tactics have been used by companies providing essential services such as postal corporations, shipping companies and hotels in the hospitality industry. For example the postal strike of the 1970 letter carriers continued to work because they had pledged to deliver letters even when other employees were on strike. Such an action is only possible when employees are not unionized. In conclusion, there is a lot to learn from the Seattle General Strike. Despite claims that the strike failed, a lot has been achieved so far with workers around the world using it as the only tool to fight capitalism and preserve their rights.

 

Works Cited

Bass, Jonathan. Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2002

Beckett, Ian. The Great war (2nd Ed.). New York; Longman, 2007

Brecher, Jeremy. Strike. Revised edition. Michigan: South End Press, 2007.

Figes, Orlando. A People’s Tragedy. Illinois: Pimlico Press, 2002

Foner, Philip. History of the Labor Movement in the United States, v.8 Postwar Struggles, 1918-1920. New York: International Publishers, 2008.

Friedheim, Robert. The Seattle General Strike. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2004.

Hagedorn, Ann, Savage Peace: Hope and Fear in America, 1919 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007

Henry, Slobodin. The General Strike: International Socialist Review, vol. 17, no. 6 (December 1916), pp. 353–355.

Jonathan, Schell. The Mass Minority in Action: France and Russia. In The Unconquerable World. London: Penguin, 2003, pp. 167–185.

Jones, Howard. Crucible of Power: A History of U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1897, Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources Books, 2001

Kitchen, Martin. Europe between the Wars. New York: Longman, 2000

Melvyn, Dubofsky. We Shall Be All, A History of the Industrial Workers of the World. University of Illinois Press Abridged, 2000, pp. 90

Murray, Robert. Red Scare: A Study in National Hysteria, 1919-1920. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1955.

Robert, Servo. A history of modern Russia from Nicholas II to Vladimir Putin. Harvard University Press. Ret 1 September 2010.

Service, Robert. A history of twentieth-century Russia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2001

Westwell, Ian. World War I Day by Day, St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2004, pp. 192

Zinn, Howard. Self Help in Hard Times: A People’s History of the United States. Rev. and updated ed. NY: HarperCollins, 2005

 

Notes

  1. Seattle strike was ranked among the most widespread of the national strikes that happened in the years spanning 1919 and 1921. There is evidence to support the thesis statement because illustrations are rife that the labor versus capital battle affected industrialization and the whole idea behind unionization of employees. This is because the revolution was motivated by industrial employees and casual workers who wanted higher wages after the adverse economic implications that had exposed America to inflation[1].
  2. There is a connection between the Soviet October Revolution and the Seattle General Strike because political factors that were causal to the strike include alleged radicalization of many Americans especially in the Pacific North-West[2]. Most leaders in the North-West had shown support for the Russian October Revolution and were working towards staging one in America.
  3. Many workers have fought capitalism using general strikes. This is because paralyzing economic activities in a country has an adverse effect on the publicity of the government in the eyes of the people. The fight against corruption has been spearheaded by general strikes which have motivated leaders into being ethical, responsible and accountable[3].
  4. There is still war between the working classes and the oppressive capitalist’s economies[4]. The Seattle general strike is among organized strikes that have been used by workers to reach out to industrialists and governments on their rights. Specifically the Seattle General Strike has had a big impact on the world by the way it changed and influenced on the change of perspectives among the working class, employers, governments and labor movements.

[1] Murray, Robert. Red Scare: A Study in National Hysteria, 1919-1920. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1955.

 

[2] Kitchen, Martin. Europe between the Wars. New York: Longman, 2000

 

[3] Bass, Jonathan. Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2002

 

[4] Brecher, Jeremy. Strike. Revised edition. Michigan: South End Press, 2007.

 

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