32 Comments

Ta, Erik. Solidarity forever.

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So much this. I think it's very convenient for nostalgics to remember those days when one man (white, able-bodied) could support a family--but nobody is talking about all the free labor his wife was providing every day, that made it possible. I remember my mom squeezing all the dollars and doing so much work which was never considered "labor".

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Unpaid labor

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So much this. I think it's very convenient for nostalgics to remember those days when one man (white, able-bodied) could support a family--but nobody is talking about all the free labor his wife was providing every day, that made it possible. I remember my mom squeezing all the dollars and doing so much work which was never considered "labor".

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founding
Feb 23Liked by Doktor Zoom

I am so happy for Wonkette! I literally devour it every. damn. day.

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Feb 23Liked by Doktor Zoom

I was literally reading a section about women's labor history yesterday. It's absolutely important that the role of women in the labor movement, and the racism that often divided them, are known to the world.

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This is what downtown Troy looked like in the mid-70s ( I hope this works - this would be my first attempt at using Substack )

https://open.substack.com/pub/bupkus231/p/troy-ny-city-center-mid-70s?r=2knon6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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The mid 1870's?? That place looks like it's Depression Era.

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In 1979. an "urban shopping mall" was built on the site, and named the "Uncle Sam Atrium" ( I guess so they could use the acronym "USA", after Troy's claim to be the home of the "original" Uncle Sam )

As of 2022, a new developer began to raze the mall to make room for 60 apartments and a 400 space parking garage ( with some commercial space ) - rebranding the space as “Troy Winter Garden at Quackenbush Square” ( I have no idea where "Quackenbush" comes from ).

https://open.substack.com/pub/bupkus231/p/troy-usa-mall-1979-2022?r=2knon6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

and,

https://open.substack.com/pub/bupkus231/p/proposed-replacement?r=2knon6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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That second photo resembles the uni that my wife used to work at. It's a nice concept.

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Of course, you realize this is an "artist's conception". If the place ever gets built it's unlikely to look like that. I wondered about the idea that there would 60 apartments built there - I haven't been to Troy in a long time, but I doubt that those "downtown apartments" could be affordable housing

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1970s. Look at the cars in the background.

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Women were sacrificing and getting the shit kicked out of them even for strikes that their menfolk were engaged in.

The erasure of women’s labor and sacrifices is enough to make a person scream.

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Feb 23·edited Feb 23Liked by Doktor Zoom

Kate Mullaney and countless other female Irish immigrants were some of the toughest, most courageous women to walk the face of this Earth.

Knowing the sordid details I'm aware of about my own family's immigration, particularly their tremendous struggle to establish themselves in a new nation dirt poor, provides me a certain insight.

You're fiercely motivated by the fact that you've got nothing to lose.

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Merrimack River. Redder than the Volga

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Feb 23Liked by Doktor Zoom

One irony here is that this was a blue-collar job, but they almost certainly were working mostly with white collars.

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founding

lolololololol

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Workers of the world, unite!

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You have nothing to lose but your cheese fries!

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Whoa! Don't take my food.

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Feb 23Liked by Doktor Zoom

Thanks for this bit of history, this particular movement in union organizing I was not at all familiar.

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Feb 23·edited Feb 23

Republicans want women to stay at home but have done everything to make sure that's not possible.

And it was never possible for poor women who often worked long hours and then had no say in what their husbands did with their money.

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OT but motherfucker is literally digging with an excavator.

https://substack.com/@freddiedeboer/note/c-50185683

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