Magnificent Fight

The 1919 Winnipeg General Strike

by Dennis Lewycky  

Far from a simple retelling of the General Strike, Magnificent Fight speaks to the power of workers’ solidarity and social organization. The book reveals the length the capitalist class and the state went to in protecting the status quo.

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  • April 2019
  • ISBN: 9781773630977
  • 222 pages
  • $22.00
  • For sale worldwide
  • EPUB April 2019
  • ISBN: 9781773630984
  • $21.99
  • For sale worldwide
  • Kindle April 2019
  • ISBN: 9781773630991
  • For sale worldwide

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About the book

In May 1919, 30,000 Winnipeg workers walked away from their jobs, shutting down large factories, forcing businesses to close and bringing major industries to a halt. Mounted police and hired security, at the behest of the ruling class, violently ended the protest after six weeks. Two men were killed. What started as trade union revolt, the Winnipeg General Strike became a mass protest and was branded as a revolution.

In Magnificent Fight, Dennis Lewycky lays out the history of this iconic event, which remains the biggest and longest strike in Canadian history. He analyzes the social, political and economic conditions leading up to the strike. He also illustrates the effects the strike had on workers, unions and all three levels of government in the following decades.

Far from a simple retelling of the General Strike, Magnificent Fight speaks to the power of workers’ solidarity and social organization. And Lewycky reveals the length the capitalist class and the state went to in protecting the status quo. By retelling the story of the Strike through the eyes of those who witnessed it, Lewycky’s account is both educational and entertaining.

Class Inequality History Labour & Unions

What people are saying

Paul Moist, past national president, CUPE

“Magnificent Fight should be required reading for all activists striving to build a better world.”

Nolan Reilly, University of Winnipeg

“A wonderful commemoration of the Winnipeg General Strike and exploration of its meaning for today’s Canada. I recommend Magnificent Fight to all.”

Author

Dennis Lewycky

Dennis Lewycky has been involved in managing and facilitating social justice and development for almost forty-five years. He has helped community groups and government agencies address issues of poverty, homelessness and discrimination. He is the author of Equal Shares.

Contents

  • Preface
  • Strike: Witnessing a Crisis
  • Before: Background to the Strike
  • After: Follow-Up and Fallout
  • Since: Implications for the Present
  • Postscript
  • Chronology of Events
  • Indictment of the Sedition Seven
  • Biographies of Proponents and Opponents of the Strike
  • List of Characters
  • Acronyms
  • Bibliography
  • Index

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