I need to know a little history on whether there were violent clashes between union and management members, along picket lines during the 1920's and 1930's.
Also, was there a communist connection to the general labor unrest in that time period...a la the AFL-CIO?
It is a well-established fact the early days of the Labour Movement was marked by a violence that, were it to occur today, would be called by its rightful name, "terrorism." The three most popular incidents which worked to turn public attention against the Labour Movement were the Homestead Riots, the Haymarket Massacre and the Pullman Strike. The only incident in which the government took proactive measures to address the problem involved the Pullman Strike lead by Eugene V. Debs (founder of the Communist Party USA). Grover Cleveland used the forces of the US Army and Navy to ensure that this rail-workers' strike was brought to an end. This however did not end the violence of the Movement. The US government did not take specific legislative and enforcement measures to end Labour violence until the 1970's.
The Labor Movement unofficially began with the Freemasons. The Freemasons however spawned two offshoots shortly after the Civil War: The Knights of Labour and the Knights of the Imperial Klan (KKK). Both were secretive social organizations whose membership was limited to white males and neither was opposed to the use of violence to achieve its objectives. The primary differences between them is that the KOL did not exclude Catholics from its ranks and at times defended the rights of Jewish and Italian immigrant workers. KOL was founded by a Marxist named Uriah S. Stephens. Another Marxist, Samuel Gompers, interested in bringing the Labor Movement into the mainstream sought to organize the official labour unions under a single umbrella. This was the beginning of the American Federation of Labour.
It is important to point out here that many encyclopedias euphemistically refer to the Communist Party USA as the Socialist Party USA. These were actually two separate organizations. The Socialist Party was formed by Communist Party members dismayed over the party's support for and loyalty to Joseph Stalin. The two groups remained bitter enemies for most of the 20th century. This relationship was strained even further by certain members of the Socialist Party's support for HUAC and the McCarthy hearings.
Also, was there a communist connection to the general labor unrest in that time period...a la the AFL-CIO?
It is a well-established fact the early days of the Labour Movement was marked by a violence that, were it to occur today, would be called by its rightful name, "terrorism." The three most popular incidents which worked to turn public attention against the Labour Movement were the Homestead Riots, the Haymarket Massacre and the Pullman Strike. The only incident in which the government took proactive measures to address the problem involved the Pullman Strike lead by Eugene V. Debs (founder of the Communist Party USA). Grover Cleveland used the forces of the US Army and Navy to ensure that this rail-workers' strike was brought to an end. This however did not end the violence of the Movement. The US government did not take specific legislative and enforcement measures to end Labour violence until the 1970's.
The Labor Movement unofficially began with the Freemasons. The Freemasons however spawned two offshoots shortly after the Civil War: The Knights of Labour and the Knights of the Imperial Klan (KKK). Both were secretive social organizations whose membership was limited to white males and neither was opposed to the use of violence to achieve its objectives. The primary differences between them is that the KOL did not exclude Catholics from its ranks and at times defended the rights of Jewish and Italian immigrant workers. KOL was founded by a Marxist named Uriah S. Stephens. Another Marxist, Samuel Gompers, interested in bringing the Labor Movement into the mainstream sought to organize the official labour unions under a single umbrella. This was the beginning of the American Federation of Labour.
It is important to point out here that many encyclopedias euphemistically refer to the Communist Party USA as the Socialist Party USA. These were actually two separate organizations. The Socialist Party was formed by Communist Party members dismayed over the party's support for and loyalty to Joseph Stalin. The two groups remained bitter enemies for most of the 20th century. This relationship was strained even further by certain members of the Socialist Party's support for HUAC and the McCarthy hearings.
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