A History of America in Ten Strikes

Powerful and recommended by The Nation and The New Republic, Erik Loomis’s A History of America in Ten Strikes hurls readers into the fiery looms of 1830s Lowell, Massachusetts, where daring Mill Girls banded together to refuse unsafe working conditions, then to the rain-drenched forests of the Pacific Northwest where Wobblies planted seeds of solidarity among loggers, lifting the curtain on ten epic battles in the fight for Economic Justice and Labor Rights. Spanning the Civil War—when enslaved people marched out of bondage by simply withdrawing their labor despite President Lincoln’s proclamation—through the tense assembly lines of General Motors in Lordstown, Ohio, in 1972, where autoworkers pressed for dignity and better conditions, to the Justice for Janitors campaign of 1990, sweeping city sidewalks in bright vestments and picket signs, each strike pulses with raw courage and urgent relevance. Loomis traces triumphs that reshaped power—and crushing defeats that still echo in today’s union halls—offering educators, students, and faith communities a vivid, actionable blueprint for solidarity. Will today’s workers learn from these trailblazers and spark the next great rebellion, or will lessons of the past slip silently away? Tap the Save to List button to bookmark this title, or tap the External Link button to view purchase and rental options.