Today in Labor History—August 19

Little Red Songbook

August 19, 1909 – The first edition of the IWW’s The Little Red Songbook was published. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 19, 1916 – Strikebreakers attacked and beat picketing IWW strikers in Everett, Washington. The police refused to intervene, claiming it was federal jurisdiction. However, when the strikers retaliated, they arrested the strikers. Vigilante attacks on IWW picketers and speakers escalated and continued for months, culminating in the Everett massacre on November 5, when union men were fired upon, with seven dying and 50 being wounded. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 19, 1920 – A peasant insurrection began in Tambov, USSR. The Bolsheviks were unable to suppress the revolt until May, 1921. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 19, 1936 -- Members of the Newspaper Guild struck the Hearst-owned "Seattle Post-Intelligencer," shutting it down for nearly four months. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 19, 1953 – Royalist troops in Iran overthrew the liberal-leaning Premier Mohammed Mossadegh and istalled the pro-Western Shah Mohammed Pahlevi. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 19, 1954 – The Communist Control Act was passed in the U.S., outlawing the Communist Party. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 19, 1959 – The second longest labor strike in Butte, Montana's history began, lasting 181 days (-February 15, 1960). (From the Daily Bleed)

August 19, 1996 – ACTU labor protesters attacked the Australian Parliament in Canberra with battering rams and sledgehammers. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 19, 1997 –, United Parcel Service agreed to a contract with the Teamsters, after a 16-day strike. This was labor's first successful nationwide strike in two decades. (From Shmoop Labor History)