Strike! A 50th Anniversary Symposium

Since its original publication in 1972, no book has done as much as Jeremy Brecher’s Strike! to bring U.S. labor history to a wide audience. Strike! tells the dramatic story of repeated, massive, and sometimes violent revolts by ordinary working people in America. Told from the point of view of rank-and-file workers Involved in nationwide general strikes, the seizure of vast industrial establishments, and nonviolent direct action on a massive scale, Strike! reveals a dimension of American history rarely found in the usual high school or college history course. Fifty years later, the book still captures the imagintaions of students, workers, and organizers alike, who continue to struggle for progressive social change to improve the lives of working people.

To consider the legacy of Strike!, including lessons for the current political-economic moment, we are joined in conversation by a panel of respected labor leaders, scholars, and journalists, including an opening keynote by Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.

Opening Keynote

Sara Nelson, International President, AFA-CWA

Panelists

Valarie Long, International Executive Vice President, SEIU
Kim Kelly, Freelance writer and organizer
Rebecca Kolins Givan, Associate Professor of Labor Studies, Rutgers SMLR
Jeremy Brecher, Policy Director, Labor Network for Sustainability, and author of Strike!

Panel Moderator

Javier Morillo, fellow, Center for Innovation in Worker Organization

Host

Todd E. Vachon, faculty coordinator, Rutgers LEARN