Friday, October 14, 2011

Today in Labor History—October 14

October 14, 1877 – New York City cigar makers struck against pay cuts and repressive factory rules during October. The strike ended in January1878 with the pay cuts and repressive rules intact. Samuel Gompers, the strike leader, was blacklisted and unable to find work for four months. (From the Daily Bleed)
Freiheit, the newspaper of Johann Most, One of the Founding Members of the IWPA
October 14, 1883 – The two-day founding congress of the International Working People's Association (IWPA) occurred in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, marking the beginning of the anarchist-trade union movement in the US. The congress endorsed "propaganda by the deed," which included assassinations. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 14, 1912 – President Teddy Roosevelt was shot and seriously wounded by anarchist William Schrenk, who was engaging in propaganda by the deed. Roosevelt was campaigning in Milwaukee and was shot in the chest at close range, surviving only because the bundle of manuscripts he had in the breast pocket slowed the bullet. (From the Daily Bleed)
The IWPA Brought Together Albert Parsons, August Spies and Several Other Future Haymarket Martyrs
 October 14, 1949 – 11 leaders of the US Communist party were convicted of conspiring to advocate the violent overthrow of the US government. Ten of the defendants were sentenced to five years in prison and the eleventh was sentenced to three years. The Supreme Court upheld the convictions in June of 1951. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 14, 1976 – A General Strike of 189,000 workers occurred in Canada as part of the National Day of Protest called by the Canadian Labour Council against wage controls. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 14, 1981 -- Dock workers in Darwin, Australia, began a seven-day strike, refusing to load uranium on board "Pacific Sky" for eventual use by the U.S. military. After a week, the ship was forced to leave without its cargo. (From the Daily Bleed)

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