Three Strikes: Miners, Musicians, Salesgirls, and the Fighting Spirit of Labor's Last Century

by Howard Zinn, Robin D.G. Kelley, Dana Frank

Three renowned historians present stirring tales of Howard Zinn tells the grim tale of the Ludlow Massacre, a drama of beleaguered immigrant workers, Mother Jones, and the politics of corporate power in the age of the robber barons. Dana Frank brings to light the little-known story of a successful sit-in conducted by the 'counter girls' at the Detroit Woolworth's during the Great Depression. Robin D. G. Kelley's story of a movie theater musicians' strike in New York asks what defines work in times of changing technology.

Genres: History, Labor, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, Economics, American

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Howard Zinn was an American historian, playwright, philosopher, socialist intellectual and World War II veteran. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a political science professor at Boston University. Zinn wrote more than 20 books, including his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United States in 1980. In 2007, he published a version of it for younger readers, A Young People's History of the United States.

Zinn described himself as "something of an anarchist, something of a socialist. Maybe a democratic socialist." He wrote extensively about the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement and labor history of the United States. His memoir, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train (Beacon Press, 1994), was also the title of a 2004 documentary about Zinn's life and work. Zinn died of a heart attack in 2010, at the age of 87.

Reviews

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was remarkably uneven. The first chapter, on the Ludlow Massacre is a remarkably compelling story but tediously written. The life is sucked right out of a story that should make trade unionists of us all. The section about the strike by the Woolworths workers is delightful and as full of life as the young women portrayed. The final chapter tells the story of musicians put out of work by technology trying to figure out their place in not only the labor force but also as a union. It's a most interesting tale for contemporary workers, most of whom don't see themselves as laborers who need representation. Clearly written but cloudy results. Worth reading.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was January 27, 2010 when I picked up the book Three Strikes to re-examine something that I’d started to study years before. I began reading in the morning, and only later in the day found out that one of the co-authors, the great Howard Zinn, had passed away. As I write this 5 days later, still struggling for a proper tribute to all the great work that Howard Zinn has accomplished in his lifetime, it is perhaps fitting to finish a book that embodies many of the great values for which he stood.
Three Strikes illustrates a number of the problems of the working class in its fight against capital both today and throughout the twentieth century. Dana Frank and Robin D.G. Kelley joined Zinn in this careful selection of three quite different yet equally important struggles in the act of solidarity in the working class.
Zinn’s examination of the Colorado Coal Strike of 1913-1914 shows the lengths to which capital will extend itself in order to enforce the exploitation of this class. The close ties between government and the titans of business were as obvious a century ago as they are today. Government realized that the very basis of American “democracy” depended upon the submission of the poor and working class to the demand and need for labor. Allowing these people to realize that it was really they who possessed the power in society was unacceptable. The struggle became and remains quite literally one of life and death. Rockefeller and his puppets in government resorted to the tactic of violence that has been utilized by tyrants throughout the centuries. The financial structure which people like Rockefeller had established was something towards which he was prepared to take life in order to defend. The resulting massacre was spun to reflect poorly upon the “unruly” miners and their families who were defying law and order to demand their rights. Today’s familiar refrain of “personal responsibility” for one’s financial situation is relatable in the sense that the “good citizen” will comply with the rules set forth by the system. This citizen will not upset the power structure at risk to their own livelihood and quite possibly, physical well-being. The only counter to this great structure of power is solidarity amongst the working class.
The effectiveness of solidarity extends even to the inexperienced. Dana Frank illustrated this fact in the great Woolworth’s strike of the 1930’s. The women who participated in this strike had no history whatsoever of standing up to capital. The beautiful thing about their solidarity is that they didn’t need to have experience. The very act of bringing work and therefore profits to a halt will also demand the attention of those who reap the financial gains of the exploited. All that is required is a will to better one’s situation, and the harvesting of a similar passion in the minds of one’s comrades.
Finally the problem of technology was addressed in Kelley’s examination of the New York Musician’s strike. Kelley takes the approach that technology will constantly alter the way that people work, but not the need for their labor. I found this to be a bit of an over-simplification, but agreed with him in the perfect example of the music industry’s lack of keeping pace with the times. Just as the musicians of the 1930’s and 1940’s struggled with the advent of recorded music, today’s artists compete with digital downloads for royalties and profits. My own industry, radio, has seen the elimination of the in studio operator or on-air personality as the advent of computerized distribution of music and voice requires fewer and fewer amounts of “flesh” as Kelley refers to it, or live bodies. Capitalism by nature will constantly look to increase technology to the point of eliminating the need for a human to do the labor. If there was one weakness in the book it is the examination of an answer to this problem. How do we employ an ever-expanding population when the NEED for their employment decreases as workers continue to be replaced by machines? The problem is monetary and is beyond the scope of this book and its review but is the central question left unanswered by this otherwise outstanding expose of the exploited. In reading this at the time of Zinn’s passing, it stands as a reminder and a tribute to him and all of the millions for which he struggled.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I was never going to finish this book.

The first essay was on a mining strike-turned-apocalypse. I'd never heard of the Ludlow Massacre before, and with good reason: this is the kind of history that is SHAMEFUL. The government sweeps it under the rugs, erases it from general history books, and the world is none the wiser after a few decades. I mean, the government only supported a corporate genocide. No biggee.

The scary thing is, people really do forget tragedies that they aren't reminded of, if stories aren't retold over and over. Hence why there are so many educational programs about concentration camps and memorials to 9-11: there are some things too big to forget. But everything else, the medium-sized tragedies? They wilt away to the side of history's path, like flowers bouquets at a roadside drunk-driver memorial. Tragic but temporary.

It makes me wonder what corruptions we're overlooking today, what future generations will uncover and say, "how could they not have known?"

This essay invoked the first pinch of patriotism I've ever felt. Turns out that to my definition doesn't even touch the government. It means loving the people I don't know who fight to live decent lives. I can deal with that concept. But don't expect me to pledge my allegience to a flag anytime soon :)

The second essay was on the first Woolworths sit-in, it was a cool peek at what women were capable of doing when their wages depended on how pretty and young they were. Not as moving as Howard Zinn's essay, but he's hard to top.

The third essay dragged on and on and on and on and is why it took me so long to finish the book. Honestly, don't bother reading it unless the subject touches near and dear. The ending just peters off and leaves you asking, "wha happen?" with a trail of drool hanging from the side of your mouth because your brain has fallen asleep, like a limb that's been inactive too long. The topic is musicians who used to play for movie theatres and how their world changed with the advent of "talkies" and what they did to fight against it. This is not a lovely essay because it covers how a union failed, and pretty miserably at that. So I suppose it's important after all. However, unlike the other two essays, there are little to no references to specific musicians who lived & worked through the dramatic reduction of jobs that happened at the same time that the Depression struck. The essay spent a lot of time summarizing and telling, not showing.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

2/3rds of this book were quite enjoyable and illustrated two labor disputes that I had never heard of before.

To be fair, it's not necessarily that the final strike discussed wasn't well researched or that the author does not write well about the topic. The issue I found was with the strike, and those involved with it. Unlike the other two, there was no consistency and no fighting spirit as with the others. The author even starts by bringing up the strike efforts of a related field before detailing musicians efforts, and the first group was far more dedicated to their fight.

In any case, Zinn hits all the right notes when discussing the mining strike and it's terrible outcomes. And having the presence of the shopgirls strike and their overwhelming success really makes this book shine, though using their image as the cover misleads the reader into thinking you'll read three strikes worth of success, rather than just one.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zinn's account is a pretty straight-forward history of the strike that led to the Ludlow massacre, as well as the massacre and aftermath of it. Frank's is probably the best chapter, presents more of an argument that the others, demonstrates importance of sit-in strike and other organizing happening.

[Brynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, quick beach/commute reading about three pivotal strikes-- not to be confused with Steve Franklin book by the same name, about Decatur in the 1980s (which I hear is also good). Read it-- it's good for you.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much of American History is either not taught or is glossed over in elementary and secondary education. The authors discuss three strikes: The Ludlow miners strike in Colorado which resulted in the massacre of women and children by National Guardsmen and company thugs. One of the many instances in which government sided with corporate profiteers to break up unions and keep wages and benefits low (as well as prevent safety regulations from being enacted and/or enforced). A salesgirl strike in Detriot wherein salesgirls staged a successful sit-in that forced Woolworth Five and Dime to improve wages and working conditions. The third strike was of musicians displaced by technology when 'talkies' came into existence, i.e. when technology took over the jobs of people.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three different essays by three different writers. The second, the Woolworth's strike in Detroit, was easily the most interesting to me. The other two had some interesting information but I slogged through it mainly so I could count it in my reading challenge. :)

[TV · Rating 4 out of 5]

love me some labor rights

[Ryan Abbott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that the Ludlow Massacre is almost unknown and only 100 years ago is a shame. An America where these people were killed because they fought to improve their lot. I am thankful for the struggles the labor movement made, and in many cases the ultimate sacrifice.

[Summer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had interesting subject matter, but it was very poorly written.

[Paige Layno Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I've read this year. Reads like a novel but sadly, it's fact (with a liberal slant--I'm sure conservatives could poke holes in it).

[Ahndrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a page turner. The workers gave their blood for the working people.