Industrial Workers of the World

Some 20th century examples of worker's direct action

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1998: Danish private sector strike - A short history of the massive private sector strike that gripped Denmark for 10 days in 1998. Although ending after negotiations between the government and union leaders left workers demands largely unmet, the strike, involving about 10% of the Danish population was nonetheless a spectacular show of workers' strength.

1995: The French pensions strikes - A short history of the massive strike movement against welfare reform in France in 1995. During November and December of 1995 France was gripped by the largest strike movement the country had seen in recent years. After three weeks of strikes workers forced a government climbdown over the issue of changes to pensions of public sector workers.

1987: The Great Workers' Struggle A short account of the South Korean strike wave of 1987 known as the Great Workers' Struggle. Affecting most major industries and involving over a million workers, the strikes and militant tactics used won significant gains in pay and conditions for many.

1986-1987: Wapping printers strike - A short history of a strike by printers in the London borough of Wapping which began in the winter of 1986 and ended just over a year later. The strike marked one of the last major confrontations of the 1980s between workers and employers. 1

984-1985 - Notes on the strike of UK mine workers against closures and to save their union, the NUM. The article contains interesting information about the strike, its background, the aftermath and its importance to all workers in Britain.

1978-1979: Winter of Discontent - A short history of the of the widespread strike movement that occurred during the winter of 1978-1979 in Britain. The 'Winter of Discontent' marked the largest stoppage of labour since the 1926 General Strike.

1970-71: Uprising in Poland A short history of the

1970-71 uprising by workers in Poland which saw strikes and occupations at workplaces across the country. Although suffering savage repression, the uprising forced the government to back down over plans to increase prices of basic consumer goods.

1970: US national postal strike - A short account of the illegal nationwide postal strikes that spread across America in 1970. After two weeks, during which time the army was called out to break the strike, workers eventually won increases in pay and the right to negotiate on contracts with bosses.

1962-1973: Worker and student struggles in Italy - A history of the wave of strikes and occupations that gripped Italian factories and universities during the 1960s. Coming to a head with the Hot Autumn of 1969, independent forms of struggle used by workers represented a significant attempt to break from restrictive trade unions.

1951: Barcelona general strike - A brief description of social conditions in post-Civil War Spain followed by an account of the Barcelona general strike of 1951. The events in Barcelona led to strikes across the country and signalled the potential for a return to working class combativity in Spain after over a decade of rule under the Franco regime.

1941: Disney cartoonists strike - A short history of a strike by Disney animators in 1941 and the organisation in the years building up to it.

1935: Battle of Ballantyne Pier - A short history and background of the 1935 dockers' strike and subsequent bloody confrontation with police in Vancouver that became known as the Battle of Ballantyne Pier.

1934: Minneapolis Teamsters strike - A history of the 1934 strike of Teamsters in Minneapolis and the organising of workers of trucking companies across the city prior to it. 1934: The Asturias Revolt - An account of the 1934 uprising by Asturian miners in Spain. Beginning as part of a nationwide general strike, the revolt grew into one of the most widespread rebellions of the pre-revolution era.

1931: The Invergordon mutiny - A short account of a strike by a thousand sailors of the Royal Navy that occurred in Northern Scotland in 1931 against proposed wage cuts.

1927: Colorado miners strike and Columbine Mine massacre - Short history of a strike by miners in Colorado in 1927 and the massacre of strikers at the Columbine mine by the state militia. The strike lead to an almost complete shut down of the mining industry in the state.

1919: La Canadiense and Barcelona general strike - A short history of the Barcelona general strike of 1919 which began after the sacking of eight workers, and ended up as one of the most successful working class actions in history. 1

919: Winnipeg general strike - A short history of Canada's Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. Throughout the spring of 1919, Winnipeg had been buzzing with the fervour of militant unionism among the working class. The city had witnessed a general strike the year previously, which had ended with partial gains for workers. Unemployment was high, wages were low and conditions poor.

1914: The Ludlow Massacre - The history of the Ludlow Massacre of striking coal miners, which was one of the most brutal attacks on organised labour in North American history.

1913: Wheatland Hop Riot - A brief history of the riot that occured at Wheatland in Northern California after a meeting of farm labourers of the radical union the IWW was broken up by police.

1912: The Lena Massacre - A short history of the brutal suppression of a strike by Russian gold miners protesting low wages and inhumane working conditions in 1912. 1

912: The Lawrence textile strike - A short history of the strike of 20,000 textile workers, mostly women and girls who included native and immigrant workers, which won big concessions over wages, conditions and hours for the entire textile industry 1911: Liverpool general transport strike - A short history of the strike movement that took hold of Liverpool during the summer of

1911. Culminating in a massive general strike of all transport workers, the movement displayed some of the most extraordinary scenes of class solidarity seen in Britain.

1910: Cambrian Combine miners strike and Tonypandy Riot - A short history of a strike by miners in South Wales in 1910 which led to a series of confrontations between workers and police, culminating in what became popularly known as the Tonypandy Riot.

1900: The assassination of King Umberto I of Italy A short account of the assassination of King Umberto I of Italy in revenge for the brutal suppression of a workers' demonstration in Milan which left hundreds dead.

Bresci, Gaetano, 1869-1901 - A short account of the life of Gaetano Bresci, who in 1900 assassinated King Umberto I of Italy in response to a massacre of workers in Milan.