LaborFest 2020 presents: The 1946 Oakland General Strike - Presentation by Gifford Hartman

This is a free LIVE Zoom based event. You can be anywhere to view and participant. Please visit the LaborFest 2020 website URL to register and to receive a Zoom invitation to the event.

This year is the 74th anniversary of the Oakland General Strike.

This presentation will revisit the sites of Oakland’s “Work Holiday” that spontaneously began with rank-and-file solidarity with the striking, mostly women retail clerks at Kahn’s and Hastings department stores, where picket lines were broken by police-escorted scabs. Within 24 hours, it involved over 100,000 workers and shut down nearly all commerce in the East Bay for 54 hours.

In 1946 there were six general strikes across the U.S.; that year set the all-time record year for strikes and work stoppages. The Oakland “Work Holiday” was the last citywide general strike to ever occur in the U.S. This history talk will attempt to keep alive the memory of this tradition of community-wide working class solidarity.

Gifford Hartman will lead a Q&A after the presentation.

This free LIVE Zoom event is Saturday, July 25 at 12pm and is accessible only online.

In order to view or participate, a Zoom registration is required. Register here for this event: https://laborfest.net/event/oakland-general-strike-walk-1200-noon-free-meet-at-the-fountain-in-latham-square-telegraph-broadway/ After registration, participants will receive a Zoom invitation.

LaborFest is committed to providing unique and relevant labor theme events while practicing proper social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most LaborFest 2020 program events will be available online only at https://laborfest.net/. Events will be available through YouTube or Facebook using a web address provided in the program schedule. Events are subject to change or cancellation due to COVID-19 related issues. Check our website at https://laborfest.net/ prior to each event.

LaborFest is the premier labor cultural arts and film festival in the United States. LaborFest recognizes the role of working people in the building of America and making it work even in this time of COVID-19. The festival is self-funded with contributions from unions and individuals that support and celebrate the contributions of working people.