Stan Weir's oral history of the 1946 Oakland general strike
This is the transcription of a 1990 interview with Stan Weir for the Virtual Aural/Oral History Archive at California State University Long Beach (the audio is available here interview #3, section "3 of 9 items" ). In this segment Stan talks about his involvement in the 1946 Oakland General Strike.
Pat McAuley: What I meant to ask was: a lot of these short, wildcat-type strikes, like the sit-down strike that you led, did these contribute to the General Strike that occurred in 1946 or 1947 in Oakland?
[b]
Effects of automation in the lives of longshoremen
Submitted by IDP on Oct 23 2012 06:16
This chapter in Stan Weir's Singlejack Solidarity tells the history of how, from the victory in the 1934 General Strike through the first Mechanization & Modernization (M&M) Agreement in 1961, longshore workers in San Francisco had 27 years of near-total control of the labor process on the waterfront in the "largest, longest, and most successful formal experiment in workers' control ever conducted in the United States."
With the M&M the ILWU negotiated those gains away, exchanging huge individual pay-outs for containerization and a 90% reduction of the workforce. The 134-day longshore strike in 1971 was the last attempt to reverse this.
---
For a new workerism: Glaberman, Weir and Lynd
Alex Erikson reviews “Punching Out” by Marty Glaberman, “Singlejack Solidarity” by Stan Weir, and “Wobblies and Zapatistas” by Staughton Lynd and Andrej Grubacic.
“Politics is millions.” So says Comrade Lenin. And for once, I agree with Lenin. Politics begins not with hundreds, not with thousands of people but with millions.
I Am Lonely - Stan Weir
Written around 1981, Stan Weir on feeling isolated.
I am lonely.
I have a wife and family, relationships with them that would hit median on most scales.
I have a number of friends, yet, I am enshrouded by a sense of isolation.
I do not dwell on it, but it overtakes me daily.
American labor on the defensive: A 1940’s odyssey - Stan Weir
Submitted by Juan Conatz on May 27 2012 08:39
An article by Stan Weir surveying the effects World War II and the post-war years had on CIO unions and the American working class.
American Labor on the Defensive: A 1940’s Odyssey 3 Stem Weir
It is impossible to discuss the condition of American labor in the 40's without brief mention of international working-class developments during the quarter century prior to the World War II decade and without some examination of the formative period of the CIO in the 30's.
Work in America: encounters on the job - Stan Weir
Some work stories from Stan Weir, a socialist who worked a variety of manual labor jobs during the 1950s-1970s.
Original version included 'Just A Matter of Gloves'.
"THE MEXlCAN”
In Memoriam: Stan Weir, 1921-2001
US socialist group Solidarity's obituary of Stan Weir.
STAN WEIR was a dear friend and inspiration to many of the new generation of socialists that arose in the mid-1960x, particularly in the Independent Socialist (later International Socialist) current. His pamphlet on "The New Rank and File Revolt" was a particularly valuable contribution in that period.
Voices from the rank and file: remembering Marty Glaberman and Stan Weir
Staughton Lynd remembers two socialists who wrote extensively about life on the job and struggles at work, Martin Glaberman and Stan Weir.
have been asked to say a few words about Marty Glaberman and Stan Weir. It may be that the request is prompted in part by recent events on the West Coast waterfront. I have followed those events with interest, but I am not there and I have not had an opportunity to talk with participants.
Singlejack solidarity - Stan Weir
Collection of writings by Stan Weir, a socialist who worked as a seaman, teamster, longshoreman, house painter, and auto assembler (among other things) and wrote about his experiences.
Rediscovering Two Labor Intellectuals - Steve Early
Steve Early reviews collections of writings by Martin Glaberman and Stain Weir, while tying their experience and outlook to the emerging split within the AFL-CIO in 2004.
Singlejack Solidarity. By Stan Weir. (Edited and with an afterward by George Lipsitz. Forward by Norm Diamond.) Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2004. 369 pp. $19.95, paperback.
Punching Out & Other Writings. By Martin Glaberman. (Edited and introduced by Staughton Lynd.)Chicago, Ill: Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company, 2002. 229 pp. $15 paperback.
Can comment on articles and discussions