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Today in Labor History 7/16/1877: The Great Railway Strike (Great Upheaval) began in Martinsburg, WV, with strikes spreading across the country, despite the unions, which tried to block it. Boatmen, steelers, miners & workers of all ages, genders & races joined in. Militias & national guards were deployed. For the 1st time ever, federal troops were used to crush a strike. Workers fought back with rocks & bricks. They sabotaged equipment. Dumped railroad cars. Rerouted engines. Many of the poorly paid soldiers went AWOL & joined the strikers. In Lebanon, PA, they mutinied. Karl Marx called it “the first uprising against the oligarchy of capital since the Civil War.”

In Chicago & St. Louis, strikes were led by the communist Workingmen’s Party, affiliated with the First International. In Chicago, future Haymarket martyr, Albert Parsons, gave a fiery speech. In St. Louis, workers took over & ran the city for a week in what became known as the St. Louis Commune (after the Paris Commune of 1871). At a huge meeting in St. Louis, a black man asked: “Will you stand with us regardless of color?” The crowd replied: “We will!”

The Great Upheaval ended after 45 days, with over 100 workers slaughtered. In Pittsburgh, the militia killed 20 workers in 5 minutes. In Chicago, they killed another 20. In Scranton, up to 50 were killed. In the aftermath, unions became better organized, particularly the new Knights of Labor, which mushroomed in size. But the bosses learned many lessons, too. Many of the old stone armories we see across the country today were built after the Great Upheaval to provide cities with greater fire power for the next great strikes.

My novel, "Anywhere But Schuylkill," is part of the "Great Upheaval" trilogy. You can get a copy from these indie booksellers:
keplers.com/
greenapplebooks.com/
christophersbooks.com/

Or send me $25 via Venmo (@Michael-Dunn-565) and your mailing address, and I will send you a signed copy!

You can read my full article on the Great Upheaval here: michaeldunnauthor.com/2024/03/

#workingclass #LaborHistory #strike #wildcat #GeneralStrike #railroad #union #marx #uprising #rebellion #KnightsOfLabor #chicago #pittsburgh #saintlouis #pariscommune #communism #police #policebrutality #books #fiction #historicalfiction #novel #write #author @bookstadon

subtoot

just saw an (interesting) article about climate change which used a clearly AI generated image -- oh the irony

stop it

if you #write, there are plenty of free stock image options which *encourage* you to mix and mash up your own. it is not hard. or pay someone

be like Cory @pluralistic and collage up your own stinger images from stock photos

I'll even link some resources in the reply to this for you ... others pls join in and post your fav CC or public domain image sources.

What if I went through life without questioning my every move? Without making myself smaller?

Without having my lived experience doubted, ignored, if not outright denied?

What if I didn't have to expend so much energy justifying my own existence?

What if I could #write, #create, be, exist with the confidence of a mediocre white man?

What if we all could?

...what a world

full thought: fromemily.com/feedbackless-fee

Instead of spamming the hell outta everyone here with my thoughts on stupid #videogames I decided to #write on my #blog about it so you can scroll over just one toot instead of several ones!

Here's what I played during June, some #retrogaming, and... Well, some less old retro graming maybe? I don't know, all games in the article are at least 15 years old at this point.

maxalmonte14.surge.sh/blog/stu

NowhereStupid Video Games Roundup June 2025
More from Max Almonte

Today in Labor History June 27, 1905: The Industrial Workers of the World (AKA IWW or the Wobblies) was founded at Brand's Hall, in Chicago, Illinois. The IWW was a radical syndicalist labor union, that advocated industrial unionism, with all workers in a particular industry organized in the same union, as opposed by the trade unions typical today. Founding members included Big Bill Haywood, James Connolly, Eugene V. Debs, Lucy Parsons, and Mother Jones. The IWW was and is a revolutionary union that sought not only better working conditions in the here and now, but the complete abolition of capitalism. The preamble to their constitution states: The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. It also states: Instead of the conservative motto, "A fair day's wage for a fair day's work," we must inscribe on our banner the revolutionary watchword, "Abolition of the wage system."
They advocate the General Strike and sabotage as two of many means to these ends. However, sabotage to the Wobblies does not necessarily mean bombs and destruction. According to Big Bill Haywood, sabotage is any action that gums up the works, slowing down profits for the bosses. Thus, working to rule and sit-down strikes are forms of sabotage. The IWW is the first union known to have utilized the sit-down strike. They were one of the first and only unions of the early 20th century to organize all workers, regardless of ethnicity, gender, nationality, language or type of work (e.g., they organized both skilled and unskilled workers). They also were subjected to extreme persecution by the state and by vigilantes working for the corporations. Hundreds were imprisoned or deported. Dozens were assassinated or executed, including Joe Hill, Frank Little, Wessley Everest and Carlo Tresca. And scores were slaughtered in massacres, like in McKees Rock railway strike, PA (1909); Lawrence Textile Strike, MA (1912); San Diego Free Speech Fight, CA (1912); Grabow, LA Lumber Strike (1912); New Orleans, LA banana strike (1913); Patterson, NJ textile strike (1913); Mesabi Range Strike, MN (1916); Everett, WA massacre (1916); Centralia, WA Armistice Day riot (1919) and the Columbine, CO massacre (1921). There was also the Hopland, CA riot (1913), in which the police killed each other, accidentally, and framed Wobblies for it.

There are lots of great books about the IWW artwork and music. The Little Red Songbook. The IWW, Its First 50 Years, by Fred Thompson. Rebel Voices: An IWW Anthology, by Joyce Kornbluth. But there are also tons of fictional accounts of the Wobblies, too. Lots of references in Dos Passos’, USA Trilogy. Red Harvest, by Dashiell Hammett, was influenced by his experience working as a Pinkerton infiltrator of the Wobblies. The recent novel, The Cold Millions, by Jess Walter, has a wonderful portrayal of Elizabeth Gurly Flynn, during the Spokane free speech fight. And tons of classic folk and protest music composed by Wobbly Bards, like Joe Hill, Ralph Chaplin, Haywire Mac and T-Bone Slim.

To learn more about the IWW and its organizers you can read the following articles I wrote:
michaeldunnauthor.com/2024/03/
michaeldunnauthor.com/2021/03/
michaeldunnauthor.com/2024/04/
michaeldunnauthor.com/2021/05/
michaeldunnauthor.com/2024/05/
michaeldunnauthor.com/2024/04/

#workingclass #LaborHistory #IWW #union #strike #generalstrike #sabotage #bigbillhaywood #freespeech #scabs #pinkertons #eugenedebs #motherjones #lucyparsons #assassination #prison #deportation #anarchism #socialism #books #fiction #folkmusic #author #write @bookstadon

Today in honor of Black History Month, we remember Frederick Douglass, who died on this date, February 20, 1895. In an 1857 address Douglass said, "If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."

After escaping slavery, Douglass became a national leader of the abolition movement. He also supported the women’s suffrage movement and ran for vice president as running mate to Victoria Woodhull on the Equal Rights Party ticket. In addition to being a brilliant orator, writer and social justice activist, Douglass was also the single most photographed man of the 19th century. He sat for over 160 portraits, always taking a dignified pose. He considered photography a tool for creating a positive image of black men. (Check out the graphic novel about Frederick Douglass by comic book artist extraordinaire, David Walker).

I’ve released 5 #selfpublished books and today I’m feeling hit with severe #impostersyndrome . I #write as a #hobby mostly because I’ve got these stories floating around in my head that need to get out. But once out there I never know if I’ve found “my people” who enjoyed the book. Maybe they’re out there. But I’ve not met them or had any interactions. Not even an email. Ugh. Just ugh. #writingcommunity #amwriting #author #authors #yalit #authorsofmastodon

Replied in thread

@thalassophobic
Welcome!
I hope you don't delete this account.
Anyway, there are lots of #writers of all sorts on Mastodon and other parts of the fediverse. You could actually try #writing posts on an instance like #hometown that does not have the 500 character limit.

I don't quite know what to do about WordPress at this time. I have a couple accounts there. Do you often #write on Tumblr?

You might join groups for writers such as #writerscoffeeclub #writerscommunity or #writersofmastodon

I need to update my intro post!

I'm Jo, I like to #read (most things), and do #knitting, #sewing & #crotchet. I also like to #write (fantasy) (1 book now out! The Raindrop Ramblers age 7 +. For your wildlife-loving kids)) mybook.to/RaindropRamblers

I do deep dives on rabbit holes #books
have taken me down : youtube.com/@jrbee

I have PLANS to learn other crafts.

I have one cat- Perdy.

Thanks to everyone who made me welcome, I look forward to getting to know you all better!

mybook.toThe Raindrop Ramblers : Bee, J.R.: Amazon.de: BücherThe Raindrop Ramblers | Bee, J.R. | ISBN: 9798328676625 | Kostenloser Versand für alle Bücher mit Versand und Verkauf duch Amazon.