Steven Beda teaches history at the University of Oregon. His research explores the history of labor activism in the Pacific Northwest timber industry. He is currently writing a book about Northwest timber workers' unions and environmental politics throughout the twentieth century. His dissertation won the Labor and Working Class History Association's Gutman Prize for Outstanding Dissertation. He received his PhD from the University of Washington in 2014.
Julia Ruuttila gripped the baseball bat. The women standing next to her at the gate of the Portland sawmill gripped rolling pins, scraps of lumber — whatever they could find to defend themselves from...