From a series of battles by rail workers in 1877 to the West Coast longshoremen's strike in 1934, Samuel Yellen tells the story of ten historic confrontations pitting working men and women against the owners of mines, mills, and railroads.

On one side stand the Carnegies and Rockefellers, the press, police, courts, National Guard, and federal troops. On the other stand workers, driven by long hours, intolerable working conditions, and starvation wages to organize and fight back.

In the experiences and gains of these bitter strikes can be found the origins of today's unions. Yellen describes the different forces that come into play in each of these struggles, as well as the roles of the organizers and leaders—Eugene V. Debs, "Big Bill" Haywood, the anarchists, Wobblies, socialists, and communists.

Description by the publisher.

434 pages.

By Samuel Yellen

Pathfinder Press