General Discussion

Shutting It All Down: The Power of General Strikes in U.S. History

General strikes are rare in American social movements, because they are difficult to coordinate. On the other hand, few actions offer a more direct challenge to those in power. What can today’s protesters learn from their activist ancestors to help participants draw strength? How have general strikes affected long-term labor and social movements?

The two major general strikes in American history are the Seattle General Strike of 1919 and the Oakland General Strike of 1946. In 1919, the workers of Seattle engaged in a three-day mass action calling all city workers onto the streets. This was the first citywide collective action in American history known as a general strike.

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While Oakland remained a strong union city after this, the strikes of 1946 around the nation and especially the Oakland General Strike led to the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. Taft-Hartley was an open attack on the labor movement, limiting labor’s ability to strike, banning sympathy strikes (which could make it legally difficult for today’s unions to support Occupy Oakland’s general strike), and allow individual states to pass so-called ​“right to work” laws, meaning that just because there is a union at your workplace doesn’t mean you have to join it.

Soon after, the McCarthy era began and radical unionism of any kind became suspicious, with the CIO kicking the communist organizers and entire communist-led unions out of the federation, turning its back on its radical history.

https://inthesetimes.com/article/shutting-it-all-down-the-power-of-general-strikes-in-u-s-history