Today in Labor History—August 7

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

August 7, 1890 - Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was born in Concord, New Hampshire. Flynn was a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World and author of Sabotage: the Conscious Withdrawal of Workers Efficiency.  (From Workday Minnesota and the Daily Bleed)

Flynn was the inspiration for Joe Hill's classic "Rebel Girl"

August 7, 1894 – Eugene Debs and three other union leaders were arrested following the Pullman Strike. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 7, 1900 – The anarchist periodical "Regeneración" made its debut in Mexico. It was published by the Flores Magón brothers (Jesus & Ricardo), along with Licenciado Antonio Horcasitas; edited by Jesus Flores Magón & Eugene L. Arnoux. (From the Daily Bleed)

Cover of the September 3, 1910 issue of Regeneracion

August 7, 1919 – A month-long actors' strike shut down all theatres. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 7, 1919 – The Republic of the Councils of Hungary in Budapest was crushed by foreign reactionaries. On August 5, 30,000 Romanian troops entered the capital and began a reign of terror. They massacred a thousand workers in Csepel, on August 10. Thousands of Communists, socialists, unionists and innocent civilians were rounded up by fascist gangs, and then beaten, tortured and killed. (From the Daily Bleed)

Bela Kun, a leader of the 1919 Soviet Revolution

August 7, 1921 – One thousand miners presented West Virginia Governor Morgan with a resolution calling for an end to martial law in Mingo County. Over the course of 1921 West Virginia miners had been fighting with mine guards, police, hired thugs and federal troops, including the Matewan massacre and the Battle of Blair Mountain. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 7, 1931 – Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) led a strike at the Boulder Canyon Project. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 7, 1973 – Four thousand Guatemalans marched in solidarity with striking teachers, sparking widespread union organizing in Guatemala City. (From the Daily Bleed)