Podcast appearances and mentions of farrell dobbs

For questions, comments or to get involved, e-mail us at audibleanarchist(at)gmail.com Text can be read here https://libcom.org/article/how-teamsters-quelled-fascist-thugs An excerpt from the book Teamster Politics by Farrell Dobbs describing how in the 1930s Teamsters Local 544 and other unionists formed a defense guard that pushed back the Silver Shirts, a fascist outfit that was spawned from the deepening capitalist economic crisis of the 1930s.

[originally published on Patreon Nov 17, 2023] Today I'm rejoined by Comrade Chad to discuss post-Trotsky Trotskyism in the US, especially their penchant for attacking communism 'from the left'. Comrade Chad walks us through some of the theory and vocabulary necessary. Then we zero in on James Cannon, Max Schactman and James Burnham in particular. We attempt to explain the theoretical positions this entailed within both Trotskyism. Marxism, and Cold War geopolitics before explaining their actions in the labor movement. Along the way we discuss Farrell Dobbs, Jimmy Hoffa, Joseph Hansen, Burnham's theoretical works, the Congress for Cultural Freedom, and much more. episode art by Robert Voyvodich @r.voy__ Songs: Teamster Power by Tex Williams After You've Gone by the Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio Moiritat (Mack the Knife) by Sonny Rollins

This month we discuss the 1941 Disney animators' strike before looking at workers' organisation in the contemporary video games industry. Our guests were Jamie Woodcock (@Jamie_Woodcock on Twitter) of Notes from Below (https://notesfrombelow.org/), whose new book 'Marx At The Arcade' looks at games workers' struggles, and Marijam Didžgalvytė (@marijamdid on Twitter), games worker, writer, and activist, who hosts the online show 'Left Left Up', and is involved in Games Workers, an internarional games workers’ platform. Check out Marijam's website here (https://www.marijamdid.com), and buy Jamie's book direct from the publishers (https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1319-marx-at-the-arcade) Information about the Organising at Work game “jam” Jamie mentions, co-hosted by Games Workers UK and Notes from Below, is online here: https://www.gwu-uk.org/2019/05/10/workers-game-jam/ Special thanks this time to our resident researcher Holly Smith for the presentation about the Disney animators' strike. Holly used the following sources in her research and recommends them as further reading: Kinney, Jack., 1988. 'Walt Disney and other assorted characters' Harmony Books: New York. Ostman, R.E., 1996. 'Disney and its conservative critics: Images versus realities'. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 24(2), pp.82-89. Peri, D., 2008. 'Working with Walt: interviews with Disney artists'. Univ. Press of Mississippi. Sito, Tom., 2006. 'Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson'. University Press of Kentucky. Smoodin, E.L. ed., 1994. 'Disney discourse: Producing the magic kingdom'. Psychology Press. Wasko, Janet., 2013. 'Understanding Disney: The manufacture of fantasy'. John Wiley & Sons. You can also check out a PBS-produced film about the strike on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSjX7S35mn0), and some of the excellent strike art we mention in the episode can be seen here: https://animationguild.org/about-the-guild/disney-strike-1941. We'd also recommend this Jacobin article by Mark Bergfeld and Kenneth Bergfeld, about the strike: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/11/disney-animators-strike-union-busting Finally, thanks to our correspondent JP for writing in to tell us our episode on Farrell Dobbs and the 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters' strike had inspired him and his comrades to run a reading group around Dobbs's 'Teamster Rebellion', which prompted them to organise flying pickets for a strike they were involved in, and produce a strike bulletin. The bulletin continues in digital format here, as a publication of the East Bay chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA): https://eastbaymajority.com. All the usual copyright disclaimers about our theme music apply. Subscribe, leave us a review, etc. etc.

Episode Notes One of the most explosive events of the 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters Strike: The Battle of Deputies' Run!Over the course of two days -- May 21-22 -- the Minneapolis City Market became a battleground of class war. Thousands of strikers, supported by crowds numbering over 10,000, fought with over a thousand policemen and special deputies (the private army of businessmen, professionals, and frat boys). As striker Jack Maloney said later, "the employers were ready and determined to kill if needed to maintain their control. I was determined to make them prove it and so it was with so many men at that time. They knew what to expect on Monday or the next day and they were ready to ‘go for broke.’ At Bearman’s the pickets had a sample of what to expect. The cops won that battle but on Monday the pickets gave their receipt for Saturday.”Look on the Facebook page for the podcast for photos and footage!Sources: Teamster Rebellion by Farrell Dobbs, American City by Charles Rumford Walker, The Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934 by Philip Korth, Revolutionary Teamsters by Bryan D. Palmer, and Union Against Unions by William Millikan.Support 1934: Mill City Revolt by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/1934-mill-city-revolutionFind out more on the 1934: Mill City Revolt website.This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes The May Strike begins!In this episode, we cover the first four days of 1934's second strike. We discuss Teamster Local 574's tactics and strike headquarters, Governor Olson's attempts to reconcile the two forces, the Mayor's hiring of 500 additional cops plus the Citizens' Alliance formation of a private army, a small battle on Saturday morning, and a treacherous ambush later that night. The next episode: The Battle of Deputies' Run.Sources: Teamster Rebellion by Farrell Dobbs. The Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934 by Phillip Korth. American City by Charles Rumford Walker. Revolutionary Teamsters by Bryan D. Palmer.Support 1934: Mill City Revolt by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/1934-mill-city-revolutionFind out more on the 1934: Mill City Revolt website.This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes In this episode we cover the events of February through May as the aftermath of the February Whirlwind Strike continues to take shape. Local 574 continued its impressive organizing campaigns, the unemployed led marches agaisnt the Roosevelt administration, Farrell Dobbs joins the Communist League, small strike within the city faced mixed results, and the Farmer-Labor Governor Floyd B. Olson returns (from Episode 3), endorsing the "union idea." Even when the Teamsters weren't striking, the Minneapolis working class remained in motion.For more on the unemployed movement, see Poor People's Movements by Frances Fox Piven & Richard Cloward and Impatient Armies of the Poor by Franklin Folsom.Support 1934: Mill City Revolt by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/1934-mill-city-revolutionFind out more on the 1934: Mill City Revolt website.This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Rob Williams, Socialist Party industrial organiser, talks about the importance of the trade unions, their potential role, and what’s necessary to transform them. Useful further reading: • ‘Trade unions and the gig economy’ by Rob Williams, October 2016: http://www.socialismtoday.org/202/gig.html • On the events of 2011 that Rob refers to: http://www.socialismtoday.org/187/unions.html • ‘1926 general strike – workers taste power’ book by Peter Taaffe available at leftbooks.co.uk • ‘Teamster rebellion’ book by Farrell Dobbs available at leftbooks.co.uk • ‘Marx and Engels on the trade unions’ book available at leftbooks.co.uk • ‘Unions and Labour – forged in struggle’ book review by Rob Williams: http://www.socialismtoday.org/179/silvertown.html

Episode Notes An accidental two-part episode! What I recorded came out to over 50 minutes and so I just had to split it in half. If the episode seems to end abruptly, that is why.This week: building towards the first strike throughout the year of 1933. We introduce Farrell Dobbs, the Teamsters and its national president Daniel Tobin, Local 574 and its president, Bill Brown, and their relationships with the Dunne Brothers and Karl Skoglund. We also bring back the Citizens' Alliance and their previous dealings with the Teamsters back in 1916 as well as their choice of mayor and police chief during the Depression, Buzz Bainbridge and Mike Johannes. There's a lot going on even in just preparing for a strike!I failed to note in the episode itself that Farrell Dobbs is one of the major historical sources for the podcast, particularly his book, Teamster Rebellion. So he is both a player in the story and one of its storytellers.Next week: The February Whirlwind Strike!Sources:Teamster Rebellion by Farrell Dobbs. Revolutionary Teamsters by Bryan D. Palmer. A Union Against Unions by William Millikan. The Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934 by Philip A. Korth. American City by Charles Rumford Walker.Support 1934: Mill City Revolt by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/1934-mill-city-revolutionFind out more on the 1934: Mill City Revolt website.This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

This is the last in a series of four lectures, presented by The Call, which we're titling “Farrell Dobbs: Lessons from the Teamster Rebellions.” In this lecture, socialist labor organizer Farrell Dobbs describes the years of heightened labor struggle before, during, and after World War II. He finishes by bringing listeners up to the present day, which was 1964, discussing the Cold War, the wars in Korea and Vietnam, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Civil Rights movement. Many leaders of Teamsters Local 574, now called Local 544, were imprisoned at the start of the war. This was part of an all-out assault led by the combined forces of Teamsters international president Tobin, the trucking bosses, a new Red Scare, and the federal government. After the war, a massive strike wave swept the country. At the height of the wave in early 1946, two million workers were out on strike at one time. Ultimately, the employers were successful, and passed the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act. But the 1945 and 46 strike wave demonstrated for Dobbs that there is no crisis in the capacity of the working class to struggle. Instead, he tells us, there is only a crisis of leadership in the labor movement — one which can be overcome by militant, class-struggle unionism led by socialists and rank-and-file workers. Please enjoy these lectures, and also be sure to check out The Call at socialistcall.com. Thanks to the Holt Labor Library — HLL.org, and the Marxist Internet Archive — marxists.org.

This is the third in a series of four lectures, presented by The Call, which we're titling “Farrell Dobbs: Lessons from the Teamster Rebellions.” The 1934 strikes established Teamsters Local 574 as one of the most effective and militant “instruments of class struggle” in US history. In this lecture, socialist labor organizer Farrell Dobbs tells us about the battles that came afterward. Most significantly, Dobbs and Local 574 had to fight against International Teamsters President Daniel Tobin, who unsuccessfully attempted to destroy the militant local union in order to achieve a union-management arrangement. Throughout this period, Local 574 succeeded in organizing over-the-road truck drivers across the whole Great Plains and Midwest region. Please enjoy these lectures, and also be sure to check out The Call at socialistcall.com. Thanks to the Holt Labor Library — HLL.org, and the Marxist Internet Archive — marxists.org.

This is the second in a series of four lectures, presented by The Call, which we're titling “Farrell Dobbs: Lessons from the Teamster Rebellions.” This lecture picks up where the first one left off, covering the 1934 general strike. Dobbs talks about the unique role of class conscious and socialist leadership in union struggles. As you'll hear, the trucking bosses teamed up with the politicians, the newspapers, and international Teamsters union bureaucrats to attempt to suppress, discredit, and disorganize the strikers. Dobbs describes the conflict as a “virtual civil war”. There were shootings, bloody brawls, long standoffs, surprise attacks, sieges, and tense negotiations. But the strikers, led by socialists, were successful thanks to heroic mass action, democratic organization, and strategic planning and execution. Please enjoy these lectures, and also be sure to check out The Call at socialistcall.com. Thanks to the Holt Labor Library — HLL.org, and the Marxist Internet Archive — marxists.org.

This is the first in a series of four lectures, presented by The Call, which we're titling “Farrell Dobbs: Lessons from the Teamster Rebellions.” Farrell Dobbs was a leader in the legendary 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters strikes and in the Socialist Workers Party, or the SWP. These four lectures are from 1964, delivered to a gathering of the youth section of the SWP. These lectures are an incredible window into the history of the US labor movement. The 1934 strikes marked a turning point when the defeats of the 1920s and the early years of the depression were overcome by heroic, militant worker struggles. There were mass strikes in Minneapolis, San Francisco, Toledo, and elsewhere that year. They demonstrated to workers across the country their own tremendous power to disrupt and transform society. The 1936 and 37 sit-down strike wave and the waves of organization that followed also resulted in millions of workers joining unions and taking part in strikes. Dobbs's account of 1934 is essential listening for socialists interested in labor history, and in practical strategies for waging high-intensity, mass-oriented class struggle against capitalists and their lackeys today. Please enjoy these lectures, and also be sure to check out The Call at socialistcall.com. Thanks to the Holt Labor Library — HLL.org, and the Marxist Internet Archive — marxists.org.

It's our first birthday, and after a year of frankly unseemly pleading, cajoling, and tantrum-throwing from Daniel, the Labour Days crew has finally allowed him, as a special birthday treat, to give a presentation about the 1934 Minneapolis teamsters' strike. It's a story that has it all: courageous action against the odds, pitched battles with the cops, and an abundance of lessons about how a core of dedicated activists in a given workplace or union can catalyse huge struggles that pose the question of class power. You can buy a copy of 'Teamster Rebellion', Farrell Dobbs's classic account of the strikes, direct from the publisher here: http://www.pathfinderpress.com/s.nl/it.A/id.658/.f We'd also recommend Bryan Palmer's article "Red Teamsters", in Jacobin magazine, as a good introduction: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/10/red-teamsters There are also a few shouts outs and bits of news in the episode, but rather than post them here, we'll just trust that you'll listen and make a note of them, as any diligent student of labour history should. The newsreel clip at the beginning can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m44DLk-IX1s See previous episode descriptions for copyright disclaimers.

With far-right and fascist movements growing across Europe and North America, how can trade unions resist? We look back through history at some examples of how organised labour has confronted fascism, exploring specifically trade-union movement organisation rather than wider community-led anti-fascism, and focusing on perhaps less well-known examples rather more famous episodes such as the Battle of Cable Street. We examine transport workers’ resistance to fascism in the 1920s and 30s, and the Minneapolis Teamsters’ “Union Defence Guard” from the late 1930s, as well as postal workers disrupting BNP election efforts in 2009. Research that informed this episode includes: ¡No Pasarsan! The ITF and the fight against fascism - https://spanje3639.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/no_pasaran_en.pdf Teamster Politics by Farrell Dobbs (1975) “It can’t happen here”, by Joe Allen, International Socialist Review #85 (September 2012) - https://isreview.org/issue/85/it-cant-happen-here “Teamsters against the Silver Shirts”, by Charlie Salmon, Solidarity 140 (16 October 2008) - http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2008/10/16/teamsters-against-silver-shirts We also give brief mention to the Communication Workers’ Union’s recent excellent campaign to win their strike ballot in Royal Mail. Check out this analysis by Gregor Gall: https://www.bradford.ac.uk/news/expert-opinion/2017/conversation-gall-royalmail.php Check previous episode descriptions for copyright info. We don’t own the music featured in this episode, which is the intellectual property of its respective owners.