3:46-minute excerpt from Witness to Revolution: The Story of Anna Louis Strong contains original film footage from 1919, the only known footage of the strike. Produced and directed by Lucy Ostrander. The excerpt is part of an award-winning documentary film biography of Anna Louise Strong, Seattle’s most famous radical.

The General Strike began February 6 and ended February 11, 1919. It was called to support the shipyard workers demands for higher wages after a World War I ended.

The shipyard workers were represented by different crafts that composed a “Metal Trades Council” that had been on strike since January 21, 1919.

The Seattle Central Labor Council called the General Strike in support of the Metal Trades unions. The strike ultimately failed and many labor leaders were jailed and the only labor newspaper in Seattle was shut down.