This is the first in a series of four lectures, presented by The Call, which we’re titling “Farrell Dobbs: Lessons from the Teamster Rebellions.” Farrell Dobbs was a leader in the legendary 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters strikes and in the Socialist Workers Party, or the SWP. These four lectures are from 1964, delivered to a gathering of the youth section of the SWP. These lectures are an incredible window into the history of the US labor movement. The 1934 strikes marked a turning point when the defeats of the 1920s and the early years of the depression were overcome by heroic, militant worker struggles. There were mass strikes in Minneapolis, San Francisco, Toledo, and elsewhere that year. They demonstrated to workers across the country their own tremendous power to disrupt and transform society. The 1936 and 37 sit-down strike wave and the waves of organization that followed also resulted in millions of workers joining unions and taking part in strikes. Dobbs’s account of 1934 is essential listening for socialists interested in labor history, and in practical strategies for waging high-intensity, mass-oriented class struggle against capitalists and their lackeys today. Please enjoy these lectures, and also be sure to check out The Call at socialistcall.com. Thanks to the Holt Labor Library — HLL.org, and the Marxist Internet Archive — marxists.org.