This past summer, I read the book Subterranean Fire by writer and activist Sharon Smith. The book dives into the deep history of labor organizing and working class radicalism in the United States. I can remember vividly being incredibly engaged with the work, because every bit of information I was receiving was entirely new to me. The history of labor unions is not taught within the U.S. public education system. If discussed at all, strikes and instances of working class solidarity to combat exploitative work environments are described as “bloody,” “disorderly,” and “violent.” What is often left out from the discussion is that strikes and demonstrations on behalf of improved work conditions were often peaceful, until armed governmental bodies like the National Guard were called in to repress the demonstration. The history of labor unions in the United States is an ideal example of a history being concealed due to the challenge it posed to corporate dominance, a concept the United States government proves itself to support quite frequently.
The history of labor in the United States has been recognized by some like Sharon Smith. An artist named Judy Taylor produced an eleven panel mural that displays the history of labor in Maine from colonial times to the present. The panels included two strikes, child laborers, and women working in a textile mill. The mural resided in the lobby of the Labor Department of Maine beginning in 2008. Paul LePage, the governor of Maine, decided to remove the mural, despite never seeing it in person. He stated that the mural was too “one-sided,” regardless of the fact that the events depicted actually occurred in Maine and elsewhere within the United States across industries. The mural memorialized the struggle of working class citizens in Maine. One would believe that the lobby of the Labor Department would be an ideal anchor for accurately telling the story of labor in Maine. Yet, this history is concealed due to the associations unions possess with communism and mass organization. To embrace such a history would illustrate to society that such working class organization against corporations and government repression is possible and acceptable.
Residing in Athens, OH, I have become increasingly aware of the rich labor history of southeastern Ohio and the remainder of Appalachia. New Straitsville, a village approximately 25 miles from Athens, was the birthplace of the United Mine Workers Union, a union representing coal miners that is still active today with approximately 80,000 members. Throughout the 19th and 20th century, struggles for livable working conditions and higher pay have occurred in the region I have come to call home. This history is not publicized, but is certainly worth examining. Workers of the world today could learn a lesson or two from historic labor struggles. However, that’s exactly why the story of working class radicalism in the United States is not memorialized or taught.
This article discusses the mural by Taylor:
A more concentrated discussion of labor in the context of Appalachia:
http://appvoices.org/2013/10/09/appalachias-contested-history/
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| A call to action upon a shuttered union hall. Source: Appalachian Voices. |
Emily, I love how you provide a concrete and descriptive example of the concealment of history. Your discussion here reminds me of a topic in a Women in History course I took last semester. We had a section regarding women's participation in the labor movement, and how their involvement is often excluded from many articles, along with the contributions that were made by unions composed by people of color. I feel like this is similar to the point you made at the end of the second paragraph about how embracing the labor movement history would mean living in a society where standing up to corporations is seen as acceptable because the exclusion of women and minorities from this part of history emphasizes the idea that we live in a society where the contributions made by white men are seen as the most valid.
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