Chester K. Johnson, an electrician by trade, was a member and official of the Minneapolis branch of the Socialist Workers Party and a militant trade union leader in the Twin Cities. Johnson was also active in the Trotskyist movement in Minneapolis in its various forms, including the Communist League of America (Opposition) until 1934, the Workers Party of the United States in 1934 and 1935, the left wing of the Socialist Party in 1936-1937, and finally after 1938 in the Socialist Workers Party. In addition to his role in Local 292 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Johnson was a leader and organizer of various groups of unemployed in Minneapolis such as the Minneapolis Central Council for the Unemployed and the Council for United Labor Action, and he was a participant in the 1934 general strike, in that city led by General Drivers Union Local 574 (International Brotherhood of Teamsters) and members of the Trotskyist movement.
