workingclasshistory:

In May 1919, Brazil was rocked by a general strike. Our T-Shirt of the Month for May 2023, made of 100% organic cotton by a worker-owned co-operative, and supporting grassroots labour unions in South Asia commemorates the strike wave it was part of which began in 1917.
From 1917 to 1919, a large strike movement shook the First Brazilian Republic, concentrated in São Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. The 1917 general strike is considered the first general strike in the labor history of Brazil. It all started with about 400 striking workers – mostly women – from the Cotonifício Crespi textile factory in Mooca, São Paulo. They asked, among other things, for higher wages and shorter working hours. In a few weeks the strike spread to various sectors of the economy, throughout the state of São Paulo and then to Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre.
This month’s design by Rio de Janeiro based artist @hells_tatt is inspired by these brave women who sparked the fire that would become the country’s first general strike. “Greve Geral” is Portuguese and means general strike. SP stands for São Paulo.
Hoodies available as well, with global shipping, if you order by May 31: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/t-shirt-of-the-month https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=627046192801933&set=a.602588028581083&type=3