The Everett Massacre: A history of the class struggle in the lumber industry

The book opens by plunging listeners into the turbulent world of early‑20th‑century Pacific Northwest timber towns, where booming sawmills and sprawling forests masked a stark clash between ruthless corporate interests and a growing labor movement. It sketches how the lumber industry’s rapid expansion forged a harsh hierarchy, leaving workers in precarious conditions and prompting organizers to demand basic rights such as free speech, collective bargaining, and safe workplaces.

Against this backdrop, the narrative recounts the dramatic events of a single, fateful Sunday in Everett, when a group of striking workers boarded the steamer Verona and were met with violent resistance that left several men dead and many more injured. Through vivid contemporary accounts, photographs, and personal testimonies, the book conveys the raw emotions and political stakes of that day, while illuminating how the tragedy resonated far beyond the dock, shaping labor activism across the nation.