Yale Union Laundry Strike

“The Bolsheviki Spirit” (Editorial from Laundry Owners)

The Oregonian. “The Bolsheviki Spirit.” September 27,1919. March 28, 1909. The Historical Oregonian (1861–1987) Online Research Tool. Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR.

One of the tactics Laundry owners employed in their attempts to sway both as yet non-unionized employees and the public in general to their cause was through an appeal to the surge of patriotism brought on by World War I. In associating the striking workers with communism and the allegedly communist Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), they hoped to scare people away from entertaining the demands of the striking workers, and obfuscate the true reasons for the strike as vague sedition.