WZF - American Trade Unionism - Part 1: 6. The Post-War Attack on Labour

During World War I, American trade union bureaucrats embraced full class collaboration, accepting no-strike agreements and aligning with employers, which left unions ill-prepared for the post-war offensive. Following the war, strengthened American imperialism and militant employers launched a ruthless attack on labour between 1919-1922, provoking massive strikes across steel, railroad, mining, and other industries that workers were ultimately unable to win. The result was labour's most catastrophic defeat in history, with unions losing over one million members and being annihilated in key industries, while left-wing calls for industrial unionism and a labour party were systematically crushed by conservative, class-collaborationist leadership.