Alex Aspden
Exclusive contributor to libcom.org specialising in concise and readable articles on working class history.
1912: The Lena Massacre
A short history of the brutal suppression of a strike by Russian gold miners protesting low wages and inhumane working conditions in 1912.
Situated in the dense forest of south-east Siberia, the massive goldfields that lined the river Lena were, at the turn of the century, amongst the most profitable enterprises in the Russian Empire. The Lena Gold Mining Joint Stock Company (Lenzoloto), the principal owner of the majority of goldfields in the region, was running at profits of 7,000,000 roubles a year.
1900: The assassination of King Umberto I of Italy
A short account of the assassination of King Umberto I of Italy in revenge for the brutal suppression of a workers' demonstration in Milan which left hundreds dead.
See also our biography of Gaetano Bresci
Bresci, Gaetano, 1869-1901
A short account of the life of Gaetano Bresci, who in 1900 assassinated King Umberto I of Italy in response to a massacre of workers in Milan.
1995: The French pensions strikes
A short history of the massive strike movement against welfare reform in France in 1995.
During November and December of 1995 France was gripped by the largest strike movement the country had seen in recent years. After three weeks of strikes workers forced a government climbdown over the issue of changes to pensions of public sector workers.
1931: The Invergordon mutiny
A short account of a strike by a thousand sailors of the Royal Navy that occurred in Northern Scotland in 1931 against proposed wage cuts.
The government attempted to supress all memory of the strike, and although the strikers won partial concessions, the cuts were still imposed and many sailors were punished for taking part.
1986-1987: Wapping printers strike
A short history of a strike by printers in the London borough of Wapping which began in the winter of 1986 and ended just over a year later. The strike marked one of the last major confrontations of the 1980s between workers and employers.
The strike of newspaper workers that began on January 24, 1986, marked the beginning of a bitter year long dispute between the print workers of Wapping, a borough of East London, and their employers, the publishing company News International.
1978-1979: Winter of Discontent
A short history of the of the widespread strike movement that occurred during the winter of 1978-1979 in Britain. The 'Winter of Discontent' marked the largest stoppage of labour since the 1926 General Strike.
The factors that provoked the widespread stoppage of work by thousands of British workers in the winter of 1978-79 began with the Labour government of James Callaghan's attempt to enforce limits on pay rises to curb inflation. Inflation had reached a height of nearly 26.9% in August 1975.
Notes on the miners strike, 1984-1985
Notes on the strike of UK mine workers against closures and to save their union, the NUM. The article contains interesting information about the strike, its background, the aftermath and its importance to all workers in Britain.
1910: Cambrian Combine miners strike and Tonypandy Riot
A short history of a strike by miners in South Wales in 1910 which led to a series of confrontations between workers and police, culminating in what became popularly known as the Tonypandy Riot.
The strike marked one of the few occasions in British history that troops have been deployed against striking workers.
1913: Wheatland Hop Riot
A brief history of the riot that occured at Wheatland in Northern California after a meeting of farm labourers of the radical union the IWW was broken up by police.
Agricultural labour in the hop fields of California was amongst the most strenuous, badly paid and time consuming labour that a worker could undertake in early 20th century America. The situation of the hop pickers who worked at the Durst Ranch, the single largest employer of agricultural workers in the state, near the Northern California town of Wheatland in 1913, was no different.
