Aaron Goings w/ James N. Gregory

Historian Aaron Goings visits the store to discuss his new book, Red Harbor: Radical Workers and Community Struggle in the Pacific Northwest. Vivid and revealing, Red Harbor shines a light on lumber workers and the pursuit of justice in the Pacific Northwest. Goings will be joined in conversation by James N. Gregory, professor of history at UW.

Brings to life Grays Harbor's fiery legacy of class conflict

In the early decades of the twentieth century, Grays Harbor was the Lumber Capital of the World. While thousands of lumber and maritime workers fought for higher wages and decent conditions, employers unified to protect their interests, often through violent and corrupt means. They spied on unionists, expelled them from their own towns, vilified them in the press, and physically assaulted labor activists. But with deep roots in their communities, radical workers continued to meet in their halls and immigrant neighborhoods—and to influence the wider labor movement well into the 1930s.

In Red Harbor, Aaron Goings resurrects the forgotten history of lumber workers in a bastion of labor radicalism, examining the conflict as workers faced down an alliance of employers, police, and violent anti-radicals, including the Ku Klux Klan. But he goes beyond these clashes to illuminate the vital roles of families, immigrants, and working-class women in the labor movement, revealing how people fought not only for labor rights but also for the good of their communities. The Industrial Workers of the World (or Wobblies) in particular adopted views and tactics from socialist Finnish immigrants while authoring programs responsive to local needs and supported by the people—radical and otherwise.

Vivid and revealing, Red Harbor shines a light on lumber workers and the pursuit of justice in the Pacific Northwest.

Aaron Goings is professor of history at South Puget Sound Community College. His books include The Port of Missing Men: Billy Gohl, Labor, and Brutal Times in the Pacific Northwest, winner of the 2021 Sally and Ken Owens Book Award from the Western History Association.

James N. Gregory is professor of history, director of the Civil Rights & Labor History Consortium, and former Harry Bridges Chair of Labor Studies at the University of Washington. He is the author or editor of four books and many articles. Recent publications focus on social movements and the political geography of American radicalism including the centennial edition of The Seattle General Strike authored by the late Robert L. Friedheim, for which he provided an introduction, photo essay, and afterword.

Pre-order your copy of Red Harbor here.

Host or Publisher Elliott Bay Book Company