May 22, 2019
In 1919, what started as a dispute over how workers in a particular trade should negotiate with their employers became a generalized workers' revolt that we now know as the Winnipeg General Strike. Don't click skip just yet! It can be hard to see the relevance in things that happened so long ago, but how to build things that (a) generalize, and (b) actually threaten business as usual is a pressing question for a lot of us today, and while 2019 and 1919 are radically different contexts, they aren't separate planets. In this episode, I spoke with Sean Carleton, a professor of history and member of the Graphic History Collective about the strike and what lessons we can learn from its history, whether we are labour activists or not.
The Graphic History Collective's book about the strike - 1919: A Graphic History of the Winnipeg General Strike - is out on Between The Lines press and can be purchased wherever you buy books. They're also on a book tour right now - check social media (warning - facebook link!) or your local event listings for details.