Albert Weisbord
A fiery and independent American radical who led a major textile strike but spent his life in ideological opposition to both mainstream unions and communist parties.
1900–1977 (age 77)·American political activist·Birthday: December 9·The Lost Generation
Biography
Albert Weisbord was a figure of pure, unyielding revolutionary fervor. Born to immigrant parents in New York City, he graduated from Harvard and plunged into labor organizing, rejecting the gradualist approach of mainstream unions. In 1926, he and his wife Vera Buch became the galvanizing force behind the Passaic Textile Strike, a brutal, year-long struggle that mobilized over 15,000 workers and brought national attention to the plight of immigrant laborers. His militant tactics succeeded but also alienated him from the Communist Party USA, which expelled him for his independent streak. Undeterred, Weisbord founded his own tiny Trotskyist group, the Communist League of Struggle, and spent the rest of his life as a perpetual outsider—critiquing Stalinism, capitalism, and mainstream socialism with equal vigor from the margins of the American left. His legacy is that of the principled, often isolated, intellectual militant.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Albert was born in 1900, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Albert Was Born
The biggest hits of 1900
Albert's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1900Born
Boxer Rebellion in China
President: William McKinley
1905Started school
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1913Became a teenager
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1916Could drive
The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties
President: Woodrow Wilson
1918Could vote
World War I ends; Spanish flu pandemic kills millions
President: Woodrow Wilson
1921Turned 21
First commercial radio broadcasts
President: Warren G. Harding"My Man" — Fanny Brice
1930Turned 30
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1940Turned 40
The Blitz: Germany bombs London
Gas: $0.18/galHome: $2,938Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I'll Never Smile Again" — Tommy DorseyBest Picture: Rebecca
1950Turned 50
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1960Turned 60
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1970Turned 70
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1977Died at 77
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
Key Achievements
- Co-led the landmark 1926 Passaic Textile Strike, one of the first major industrial strikes in the U.S. organized along communist lines.
- Founded and led the small but ideologically vocal Trotskyist organization, the Communist League of Struggle, in the 1930s.
- Authored numerous pamphlets and articles analyzing labor movements and Marxist theory from a critical, independent perspective.
- Organized workers across multiple industries, including textiles, auto, and steel, throughout the late 1920s and 1930s.
Did You Know?
He was expelled from the Communist Party USA in 1929 for 'left-wing deviationism' and refusing to follow party discipline.
He married fellow radical organizer Vera Buch, and they were lifelong political partners.
Despite his activism, he held a degree from Harvard College.
Later in life, he worked as a teacher in the New York City public school system.
“The class war admits no truce; the workers must take everything.”
