Once-illegal unions were formed in the teeth of violent suppression. Violence was met with violence. Bosses had to hire armed guards as they scurried between their estates and their fancy parties.

The result was pitched battles, even bloodbaths, as cops beat and even killed labor organizers.

Of course. Cops exist to protect the powerful from the peasants.

Never really followed Doctorow closely, apart from his fight for decentralized web and against online enshittification. Turns out his position on IRL politics is as awesome as on tech politics, which is refreshing

Back in the day, losing a finger on the job was a common thing. Even a 'woman's' job like laundry involved scalding hot water and heavy lifting.

I always thought that one reason Reagan et al were so happy to ship heavy industry overseas was that they wanted the workforce to be office drones, not steel workers.