Description
Book SynopsisIn the newest in the Historical Materialism series, Bryan Palmer tells the compelling story of how a handful of revolutionary Trotskyists, working in the largely non-union trucking sector, led the drive to organise the unorganised and build an industrial union. What emerges is a compelling narrative of class struggle, a reminder of what can be accomplished, even in the worst of circumstances, with a principled and far-seeing leadership.
Trade Review“Palmer's superb micro-history of the Minneapolis General Strike provides readers with an unprecedented view of a Depression-era class struggle from the inside out. Revolutionary Teamsters offers invaluable 'dancing lessons' — still relevant today — for labour radicals and protest organizers." —Mike Davis, author of Ecology of Fear, Planet of Slums, and Buda's Wagon "A stirring study worthy of the epic struggles it describes. Palmer's account situates the creativity, seriousness, and heroism of revolutionaries and rank-and-filers in an historical moment while trusting that they speak to our moment as well." —David R. Roediger, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and co-author of The Production of Difference "Revolutionary Teamsters … is not only a fresh look at a critical set of historical events in the history of both the left and the labor movement, but also an invitation to engage in a creative reconsideration of the relationship between the past and the present. Like any really good historian, Palmer reveals himself to be more interested in the future than in the past." —Peter Rachleff, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota “An informative and well-researched book,Revolutionary Teamsters: The Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934, by Bryan D Palmer, deserves to be read widely by anyone interested in the contemporary labour movement – in North America or anywhere else.” —Richard Allday, Counterfire
Palmer's superb micro-history of the Minneapolis General Strike provides readers with an unprecedented view of a Depression-era class struggle from the inside out. Revolutionary Teamsters offers invaluable 'dancing lessons' still relevant today for labour radicals and protest organizers." Mike Davis, author of Ecology of Fear, Planet of Slums, and Buda's Wagon "A stirring study worthy of the epic struggles it describes. Palmer's account situates the creativity, seriousness, and heroism of revolutionaries and rank-and-filers in an historical moment while trusting that they speak to our moment as well." David R. Roediger, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and co-author of The Production of Difference "Revolutionary Teamsters
is not only a fresh look at a critical set of historical events in the history of both the left and the labor movement, but also an invitation to engage in a creative reconsideration of the relationship between the past and the present. Like any really good historian, Palmer reveals himself to be more interested in the future than in the past." Peter Rachleff, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota An informative and well-researched book,Revolutionary Teamsters: The Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934, by Bryan D Palmer, deserves to be read widely by anyone interested in the contemporary labour movement in North America or anywhere else.” Richard Allday, Counterfire
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements 1. Revolutionary Trotskyism and Teamsters in the United States: the Early Depression-Years 2. The Mass Strike 3. Combined and Uneven Development: Class-Relations in Minneapolis 4. Trotskyists Among the Teamsters: Propagandistic Old Moles 5. January Thaw; February Cold Snap: the Coal-Yards on Strike 6. Unemployed-Agitation and Strike-Preparation 7. The Women’s Auxiliary 8. Rebel-Outpost: 1900 Chicago Avenue 9. The Tribune Alley Plot and the Battle of Deputies Run 10. May 1934: Settlement Secured; Victory Postponed 11. Interlude 12. Toward the July Days 13. A Strike Declared; a Plot Exposed 14. Bloody Friday 15. Labour’s Martyr: Henry B. Ness 16. Martial Law and the Red-Scare 17. Governor Olson: The ‘Merits’ of a Defective Progressive Pragmatism 18. Standing Fast: Satire and Solidarity 19. Mediation’s Meanderings 20. Sudden and Unexpected Victory 21. After 1934: the Revenge of Uneven and Combined Development 22. Conclusion: The Meaning of Minneapolis Appendix: Trotskyism in the United States, 1928–33 References Index
