Sticking to the Union

Sticking to the Union relates the vibrant life of Julia Ruuttila (1907-1991), a political radical and labor journalist in the Pacific Northwest. Ruuttila's life of activism provides a much-needed woman's voice in the history of labor and social activism in the twentieth century. Ruuttila worked for civil liberties, civil rights, and peace organizations throughout her life, supporting striking workers, taking part in lunch-counter protests against businesses that discriminated against African Americans, and demonstrating against the Vietnam War. Polishuk provides insightful historical context for Ruuttila's own lively words. A unique and important perspective on American struggles of the twentieth century emerges in this engaging story of an irrepressible, hard-nosed woman.

Auteur

Sandy Polishuk teaches women's studies at Portland State University.

Résumé
Although married four times, Julia Ruuttila claimed that the love of her life was not a man but a union. From her Industrial Workers of the World origins to the CIO, the International Woodworkers of America, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, she stuck to unions throughout her long and vibrant life. A well known labor activist and journalist in the Pacific Northwest, Ruuttila chose the picket sign and the typewriter as her chief weapons. She possessed a tireless passion for workers and their struggles, whether founding a committee to free the last Wobbly prisoner from the Centralia Tragedy, leading the Ladies' Auxiliary of the IWA during an eight-and-a-half month lockout, or coming before the House Un-American Activities Committee. At the same time, her everyday hardships were not unlike many other working class women of her era: abusive husbands, illegal abortions, poverty, and single motherhood. In the premier title of Palgrave Macmillan's new oral history series, Ruuttila's remarkable story unfolds in her own words, with author Sandy Polishuk skillfully placing the narrative in its historical context and pointing out where other sources conflict with Ruuttila's account. Sticking to the Union provides a much needed woman's perspective on American labor history of the twentieth century.

Contenu

Acknowledgments Foreword Introduction "That's where I heard about sabotage" "The valiant never taste of death but once" "I shed my youth" "A baking powder in the masses" "I had a typewriter" "Free Ray Becker" "You can't tell about people" "They were paranoid days" "My bad reputation caught up with me" "White trade only" "It's work that interests me" "You find friends in improbable places" "I mean to be your friend" "The lives of working people are filled with desperation" "You sure met some wonderful people" "I shall not come this way again" "I look around" Vietnam "Too old to get beat up" The Trials of Parenthood "Do not look back when you latch the gate" Afterword * Bibliography