E79 Los Angeles Labor War p. 1

Gladio Free Europe

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On September 30, 1910, the L.A. Times declared that anarchism has been defeated in California. The city of Los Angeles would be rid of trade unionists. Less than 12 hours later, these same anarchists and trade unionists would strike back in the grandest act of terror thus committed in the United States. This deadly bombing launched a nationwide manhunt and one of the most publicized trials in American history, while also pushing both capital and labor in increasingly radical directions.

Though not well-known today, this event in 1910 is an essential element of the prehistory of California politics and the formation of the American radical left. In this episode of Gladio Free Europe, Liam and Russian Sam delve into the brutal world of turn-of-the-century class struggle to learn what drove the labor movement to carry out this cataclysmic attack and how the captains of industry responded.

On one side of the labor war was the militant trade union movement, dominated by the radical Ironworkers. Their allies included radical allies like Emma Goldman and passionate liberals such as famed lawyer Clarence Darrow. At the front lines were working men and women who had taken too much for too long. Los Angeles meanwhile was occupied by the most viciously reactionary economic elite of any American city. Colorfully repellant robber barons like General Harrison Otis fought organized labor with tooth and claw while spending their free time promoting white supremacy and eugenics.

Ultimately, this labor war would end with capital triumphant. But the cinders of 1910 would not cool. This explosive Los Angeles night would foreshadow a turbulent century of further class struggle, posing painful questions that are still not resolved.