30,000 locked out : $b the great strike of the building trades in Chicago

In a booming Chicago of the late 19th century, thirty thousand carpenters, bricklayers and other building tradespeople find themselves suddenly locked out of their jobs, triggering what quickly becomes the city’s most dramatic labor confrontation. The narrative opens by framing the dispute as a clash over individual liberty, pitting workers’ demands for fair conditions against employers’ need to direct their enterprises. As negotiations stall, the social fabric of the metropolis is put to the test, with soaring construction sites falling silent and millions of dollars of capital held in suspense.

Listeners are invited to hear the voices of both sides—artisans fearing oppression and businessmen wary of unchecked demands—while the book lays out the philosophical arguments that shaped the era’s labor politics. By weaving contemporary commentary with vivid accounts of daily life on the halted streets, the work offers a nuanced portrait of an industrial struggle that still resonates in today’s discussions of work, freedom, and mutual responsibility.