The third Minneapolis truckers' strike of 1934 reached its second climax on August 1st: Governor Olson's raid of Local 574's headquarters and the arrest of several strikeleaders. But even without them, the rank-and-file of Local 574 raised the ante and defied martial law in city streets. Was Olson still a friend of the working class or was he now o…

Episode Notes In this episode, we discuss the events immediately following Bloody Friday through to Governor Olson's declaration of martial law. We cover the working class' and ruling class' responses to the massacre, the settlement negotiations that soon begin, as well as take some time to analyze why cops would murder strikers in the first place.…

Episode Notes 85 years ago today the Minneapolis Police Department, in collusion with city businessowners, shot 67 men who were demanding their union be recognized. The cops killed two men: Henry Ness and John Belor. This is Bloody Friday. This episode covers the first few days of the third strike, provides a brief recap in case this is the first e…

Episode Notes In this episode, we cover the events between the May and July strikes. Local 574 had the upper hand in the immediate aftermath, but employers chiseled at the contract due to the intentional ambiguity negotiated by Governor Olson. In the run up to the July strike, leading members of the Communist League arrive in Minneapolis to help th…

Episode Notes And we're back! Apologies for the extended break between episodes 11 and 12. I had a lot on my plate. We should be returning to a regular schedule of episodes from here on out! In this episode, we wrap up the explosive May strike, covering the negotiations between the truckers union Local 574, the employer-based Citizens Alliance, and…

Episode Notes One of the most explosive events of the 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters Strike: The Battle of Deputies' Run! Over the course of two days -- May 21-22 -- the Minneapolis City Market became a battleground of class war. Thousands of strikers, supported by crowds numbering over 10,000, fought with over a thousand policemen and special deputies…

Episode Notes The May Strike begins! In this episode, we cover the first four days of 1934's second strike. We discuss Teamster Local 574's tactics and strike headquarters, Governor Olson's attempts to reconcile the two forces, the Mayor's hiring of 500 additional cops plus the Citizens' Alliance formation of a private army, a small battle on Satur…

Episode Notes In the last episode, we discussed the aftermath of the February Whirlwind Strike and the run-up to the May strikes. In this episode, we discuss the negotiations and preparations each side took in the first weeks of May. We finish with a reading from Ray Dunne's article in Militant, the Communist League's newspaper, in which he assesse…

Episode Notes In this episode we cover the events of February through May as the aftermath of the February Whirlwind Strike continues to take shape. Local 574 continued its impressive organizing campaigns, the unemployed led marches agaisnt the Roosevelt administration, Farrell Dobbs joins the Communist League, small strike within the city faced mi…

Episode Notes We have finally arrived! The first strike of 1934! This episode is technically the second part of what I wrote for episode 6, but to save you from a 50 minute episode, I split it in half. We discuss the Labor Boards, Local 574 organizers' maneuvering around conservative labor bureaucrats, their strategies for timing the strike, and th…

Episode Notes An accidental two-part episode! What I recorded came out to over 50 minutes and so I just had to split it in half. If the episode seems to end abruptly, that is why. This week: building towards the first strike throughout the year of 1933. We introduce Farrell Dobbs, the Teamsters and its national president Daniel Tobin, Local 574 and…

Episode Notes One last pre-strike episode! In this very short episode, we patch up a glaring hole so far in the narrative: President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. Rather than a full-blown analysis of the New Deal, we discuss his impact specifically on labor law. It's very much a mixed bag. Next episode: The February Whirlwind Strike! Supp…

Episode Notes After a longer than intended delay, here is Episode 4, the last of the long background episodes! Today we take on quite a lot: Who was Karl Marx, why did he criticize capitalism and want to overthrow it for socialism? Why did our strikeleaders take on Marx's philosophy? And anyway, who are the strikeleaders? Following an introduction …

Episode Notes This episode we cover the crucial political developments that form the background of the strike: Minnesota's unique second party, the Farmer-Laborites and its moderate/rebellious gubernatorial leader, Floyd B. Olson. If you can, please consider donating via the tip jar link below or via Venmo @Kele-Cable. Any amount is appreciated! Ma…

Episode Notes Thank you all for your support! Please check the link to the 'tip jar' below if you would like to support my work! This episode covers the story's major antagonist, the Minneapolis Citizen's Alliance, and its thirty-year war on organized labor. We cover the reasons for its founding, its capitalist ideology (and a Marxist critique of i…

Episode Notes My first podcast ever! Hi all, welcome to 1934: Mill City Revolt, a podcast that explores the context, lessons, and play-by-play of the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike. In this episode, I compare the situations of 1934 and today, introduce my Marxist perspective, and layout the roadmap for the rest of our story. This is a totally new exp…