Today in Labor History—May 24

Anti-conscription parade at Victoria Square, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

May 24, 1917 – Mass anti-draft demonstrations occurred in Montreal, Quebec. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1921 – The trial of anarchist labor organizers Sacco & Vanzetti began on this day. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1941 –Bob Dylan (Robert Zimmerman) was born. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1943 –A march against anti-Semitism in Bulgaria led to the cessation of Jewish deportations. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1949 –UAW labor leader Victor Reuther was shot and nearly killed at his Detroit home by police. His brother Walter had previously survived an attempted abduction in April 1938, a shotgun attack in 1948 and a bombing in 1949. He ultimately died in a plane crash in 1970, though curiously only one newspaper speculated that it might have been an assassination. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1961 – Freedom Riders were arrested immediately after arriving in Jackson, Mississippi. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1973 – An 11-day strike began at the state prison in Lucasville, Ohio. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1980 – Hundreds were arrested in the occupation of Seabrook, New Hampshire, nuclear power plant construction site. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1982 – Over 200,000 people participated in massive anti-nuclear demonstration in Tokyo. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1990 – Earth First! And IWW members Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney were bombed in Oakland, California. Police immediately arrested the victims, destroyed evidence, and went on a witch hunt of local activist groups like Earth First! and Seeds of Peace. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—March 2

Whipping an Enslaved Male, Serro Frio, Brazil, ca. 1770s

March 2, 1807 - Congress abolished the African slave trade. The first American slave ship, Desire, sailed from Marblehead, Massachussetts, in 1637. Since then, nearly 15 million blacks had been transported as slaves to the Americas. Overall, the African continent had lost 50 million people to slavery and the deaths associated with it. Another 250,000 slaves were continued to be imported illegally up to the Civil War. (From Workday Minnesota and the Daily Bleed)

March 2, 1937 - John L. Lewis, president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and U.S. Steel President Myron Taylor signed an agreement recognizing the Steel Workers Organizing Committee as the sole representative for its workforce. The contract also included a 40-hour work week and pay for overtime. (From Workday Minnesota)

Judi Bari Portrait from the Lucha Continua mural, 3260 23rd St., Mission District, San Francisco (Image by Gary Soup)

March 2, 1997 – Earth First! activist and IWW organizer Judi Bari (b.1949) died on this date from cancer. Bari and her comrade Darryl Cherney survived a terrorist bomb in Oakland, CA, in 1990. The police and FBI immediately blamed her for the bombing, claiming that she was the terrorist and that the bomb was intended for the logging companies. She was arrested and handcuffed to her hospital bed. Bari and Cherney were eventually exonerated and won a hefty settlement for the FBI’s role in violating their civil liberties. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—May 24

Anti-conscription parade at Victoria Square, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

May 24, 1917 – Mass anti-draft demonstrations occurred in Montreal, Quebec. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1921 – The trial of anarchist labor organizers Sacco & Vanzetti began on this day. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1941 –Bob Dylan (Robert Zimmerman) was born. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1943 –A march against anti-Semitism in Bulgaria led to the cessation of Jewish deportations. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1949 –UAW labor leader Victor Reuther was shot and nearly killed at his Detroit home by police. His brother Walter had previously survived an attempted abduction in April 1938, a shotgun attack in 1948 and a bombing in 1949. He ultimately died in a plane crash in 1970, though curiously only one newspaper speculated that it might have been an assassination. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1961 – Freedom Riders were arrested immediately after arriving in Jackson, Mississippi. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1973 – An 11-day strike began at the state prison in Lucasville, Ohio. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1980 – Hundreds were arrested in the occupation of Seabrook, New Hampshire, nuclear power plant construction site. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1982 – Over 200,000 people participated in massive anti-nuclear demonstration in Tokyo. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1990 – Earth First! And IWW members Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney were bombed in Oakland, California. Police immediately arrested the victims, destroyed evidence, and went on a witch hunt of local activist groups like Earth First! and Seeds of Peace. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—March 2

Whipping an Enslaved Male, Serro Frio, Brazil, ca. 1770s

March 2, 1807 - Congress abolished the African slave trade. The first American slave ship, Desire, sailed from Marblehead, Massachussetts, in 1637. Since then, nearly 15 million blacks had been transported as slaves to the Americas. Overall, the African continent had lost 50 million people to slavery and the deaths associated with it. Another 250,000 slaves were continued to be imported illegally up to the Civil War. (From Workday Minnesota and the Daily Bleed)

March 2, 1937 - John L. Lewis, president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and U.S. Steel President Myron Taylor signed an agreement recognizing the Steel Workers Organizing Committee as the sole representative for its workforce. The contract also included a 40-hour work week and pay for overtime. (From Workday Minnesota)

Judi Bari Portrait from the Lucha Continua mural, 3260 23rd St., Mission District, San Francisco (Image by Gary Soup)

March 2, 1997 – Earth First! activist and IWW organizer Judi Bari (b.1949) died on this date from cancer. Bari and her comrade Darryl Cherney survived a terrorist bomb in Oakland, CA, in 1990. The police and FBI immediately blamed her for the bombing, claiming that she was the terrorist and that the bomb was intended for the logging companies. She was arrested and handcuffed to her hospital bed. Bari and Cherney were eventually exonerated and won a hefty settlement for the FBI’s role in violating their civil liberties. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—May 24

May 24, 1917 – Mass anti-draft demonstrations occurred in Montreal, Quebec. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1921 – The trial of anarchist labor organizers Sacco & Vanzetti began on this day. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1941 –Bob Dylan (Robert Zimmerman) was born. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1943 –A march against anti-Semitism in Bulgaria led to the cessation of Jewish deportations. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1949 –UAW labor leader Victor Reuther was shot and nearly killed at his Detroit home by police. His brother Walter had previously survived an attempted abduction in April 1938, a shotgun attack in 1948 and a bombing in 1949. He ultimately died in a plane crash in 1970, though curiously only one newspaper speculated that it might have been an assassination. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1961 – Freedom Riders were arrested immediately after arriving in Jackson, Mississippi. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1973 – An 11-day strike began at the state prison in Lucasville, Ohio. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1980 – Hundreds were arrested in the occupation of Seabrook, New Hampshire, nuclear power plant construction site. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1982 – Over 200,000 people participated in massive anti-nuclear demonstration in Tokyo. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 24, 1990 – Earth First! And IWW members Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney were bombed in Oakland, California. Police immediately arrested the victims, destroyed evidence, and went on a witch hunt of local activist groups like Earth First! and Seeds of Peace. (From the Daily Bleed)