Labor historian, activist. Author of The Long Deep Grudge: A Story of Big Capital, Radical Labor, and Class War in the American Heartland.
Joined September 2017
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Sitdown strike at International Harvester's Twine Mill in Chicago, led by Farm Equipment Workers Local 141 in 1952. The story of this sitdown is told in my book #LongDeepGrudge from @haymarketbooks
"He is not to be saluted. He is no longer in command."
"Job just didn't work out, huh?"
Couldn't resist posting this on this momentous occasion.
youtu.be/hhGWxqj_bC0?si=LyB3…
A new must-read: Dana Frank's account of a 1937 strike by Black women in Chicago will change your perspective on the 1930s, the CIO & AFL, and union organizing, not to mention the class & race profundities of wet-nursing labor. @HammerandHope hammerandhope.org/article/bl…
Turns out that the recent @labornotes conference panel (with me, @NelsonLichtens1, @motormikeman, @NutsNBolts1937, & @chuang_3) on the meaning of Walter Reuther's legacy for today's @UAW was recorded. It was a lively & relevant discussion -- take a listen! kkfi.org/program-episodes/to…
Toni Gilpin retweeted
Our beloved colleague, Prof. Willoughy-Herard bravely speaking truth to power. Earlier she was thrown to the ground and violently arrested. Black feminist voices for justice in Palestine will not be silenced! @blkwomenradical @ScholarsForSJ
Toni Gilpin retweeted
let’s be very clear about what’s going on in this cover because I think it so aptly captures the incredibly subtle and strategic reactionary politics of the @NewYorker ⬇️
Remember when the refrain was that young people were too self-centered & apathetic? Yet when they stand up against war & genocide, this is how elite institutions respond. So disgusted by @UChicago & still so proud of @estherarugula & the students of the encampment. It's not over!
The New York Times nytimes.com/shared/comment/3…
Not surprisingly, my take on the UChicago encampment differs from the NYT. Our family portrait at the encampment. Very proud of @estherarugula & her friends for their compassion for the people of Gaza & their commitment to free speech.
Toni Gilpin retweeted
Let's get these testimonies out there and let's remember that, in many places, the movement for peace and justice in Gaza and the West Bank goes hand in hand with the movement for a living wage, child care and decent working conditions.
I spoke with Dartmouth history prof @AnneliseOrleck1 about getting manhandled by cops, barred from campus and singing 'Solidarity Forever' in the paddy wagon.
"This is a moment where we need to go back to thinking that protest is a part of campus life."
huffpost.com/entry/annelise-…
Echoes of a May Day long ago: last night distinguished labor historian @AnneliseOrleck1, standing with her students for the rights of the oppressed, was brutalized & arrested. But August Spies' words from 1886 ring out still: "this is a subterranean fire. You cannot put it out."
Toni Gilpin retweeted
Source: Strike for Respect.
ALT Book cover, yellow, black and white image of workers holding signs. Strike for Respect: The Clerical and Technical Workers’ Strike at Yale University, 1984-85.
Toni Gilpin retweeted
Our Fragile Juggernaut OC will be talking organizing all over the @labornotes conference. On Saturday night at 6PM, @gabrielwinant, @ToniGilpin, @_ericblanc and Ben Mabie will talk through the history of the CIO. Come say hi!
Toni Gilpin retweeted
If you're feeling invigorated by the UAW strike and want some radical labor history to keep that up, can I invite you to read The Long Deep Grudge by Toni Gilpin? haymarketbooks.org/books/138…
Toni Gilpin retweeted
article by E. Tammy Kim — on Glacier v. Teamsters ruling
‘Strikes are the ultimate expression of labor’s power…’ — historian @ToniGilpin
#1u newyorker.com/news/daily-com…
Got to add a little historical perspective to this piece. Our laws are designed to prohibit the effective use of worker power. History demonstrates that workers & their unions must be ready & willing to defy the law to make progress.
A recent Supreme Court decision raises an ominous question for the labor movement: How important a tactic will the strike continue to be? nyer.cm/I2U25B5
Toni Gilpin retweeted
Got to see @ToniGilpin talk about her book “The Long Deep Grudge” last night in a room full of Louisville labor leaders who are still fighting the same battle her book describes. – at Louisville, KY
Toni Gilpin retweeted
ORGANIZE THE SOUTH! We are so excited to hear from @ToniGilpin tomorrow! Join us! #UnionsForAll #1u – at Louisville, KY
Toni Gilpin retweeted
Toni Gilpin will be speaking June 8th at 6 PM at the IUE-CWA.
If you're lucky enough to have read "The Long, Deep Grudge" you know you have to be there. If you haven't, I promise that if you come through it'll be the next book on your reading list!
Use the QR code to RSVP 😊
Important🧵by @mattnichter & can't wait to read his article linked to here. It deals in part with Ajay Martin, who in 1946 was elected VP of the Farm Equipment Workers, making the CP-associated FE then exceptional in terms of such high-ranking Black union leadership.
Louisville area friends: join me, along with a host of KY labor & social justice activists, on June 8! The conversation will be awesome. @aflcioky @KentuckyLabor @LouisvilleSURJ @UFCW227 @ncfokentucky
