Today In Labor History: April 3

April 3, 1913 - Pietro Botto, socialist mayor of Haledon, N.J., invited the Paterson silk mill strikers to assemble in front of his house. 20,000 showed up to hear speakers from the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), Upton Sinclair, John Reed and others, who urged them to remain strong in their fight. (From Work Day Minnesota)

Strike leaders Patrick L. Quinlan, Carlo Tresca, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Adolph Lessig, and Bill Haywood.

 The Patterson strike lasted from Feb. 1 until July 28, 1913. Workers were fighting for the eight-hour workday and better working conditions. Over 1800 workers were arrested during the strike, including IWW leaders Big Bill Haywood and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. Five were killed. Overall, the strike was poorly organized and confined to Paterson. The IWW, the main organizer of the strike, eventually gave up. (From the IWW: Its First Seventy Years, by Fred Thompson and Patrick Murfin).

April 3, 1917 – After the U.S. declared war, sailors, escorted by police, destroyed the IWW building in Kansas City. The action inspired similar attacks in Detroit, Duluth and other towns that had a large IWW presence. (From the Daily Bleed)

April 3, 1948 – Cheju Massacre in Korea. Between1948 and 1949, one of the 20th century’s least known genocides occurred. On the island of Cheju-do, 30,000 civilians were massacred (10% of the island’s population) by the South Korean army, Cheju-do police and the U.S. military, in the name of fighting communism. However, the governor of Cheju told American intelligence that the real number was closer to 60,000. (From the Daily Bleed, with more information here and here.)

Today in Labor History—March 13

(From wikipedia)

March 13, 1925 – Tennessee made it unlawful to teach evolution. (From the Daily Bleed)

March 13, 1946 - The United Auto Workers and General Motors signed a new contract after a four-month strike over wages. (From Workday Minnesota)

March 13, 1961 – IWW Labor organizer and recovering anarchist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was elected chair of the National Committee of the Communist Party, U.S.A. (From the Daily Bleed)

March 13, 1963 – Labor Local 260 Houston negotiated its first contract with Pioneer Bus, ending dual pay scales for black and white drivers. (From the Daily Bleed)

March 13, 1967 – United Farm Workers (UFW) won a contract with the Christian Brothers Winery. (From the Daily Bleed)

March 13, 1968 – Student demonstrations in Warsaw led to street riots. All Polish universities were out on strike, with students occupying university. (From the Daily Bleed)

March 13, 1996 – Two leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Yang Kyu Hon and Kwon Young Kil, were arrested. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—September 5

Execution of Robespiere

September 5, 1793 – The revolutionary government began the Terror. (From the Daily Bleed)

September 5, 1794 – Radical democrat Jacques Roux was arrested in France. (From the Daily Bleed)

September 5, 1863 – Bread riots occurred in Mobile, Alabama. (From theDaily Bleed)

September 5, 1882 – The first American Labor Day was observed, with 30,000 workers marching in New York City. (From the Daily Bleed)

September 5, 1887 – Labor Day was first observed as a legal holiday (to distract workers from celebrating the much more oppositional International Workers Day on May 1 and the historical of violence against the working class epitomized by the Haymarket affair). (From the Daily Bleed)

September 5, 1911 – Students abandoned their classrooms in London and marched in the streets after a boy was punished for encouraging his friends to strike against corporal punishment. Schools in over 60 major towns and cities come out in solidarity. (From the Daily Bleed)

September 5, 1917 –Federal agents attacked Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) halls and offices in 48 cities across the nation as part of the Palmer raids against the left. 

September 5, 1964 – Elizabeth Gurley Flynn died in Moscow. Flynn was an anarchist, labor militant and founding member of the IWW before converting and joining the American Communist Party. (From the Daily Bleed)

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)

Today In Labor History: April 3

April 3, 1913 - Pietro Botto, socialist mayor of Haledon, N.J., invited the Paterson silk mill strikers to assemble in front of his house. 20,000 showed up to hear speakers from the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), Upton Sinclair, John Reed and others, who urged them to remain strong in their fight. (From Work Day Minnesota)

Strike leaders Patrick L. Quinlan, Carlo Tresca, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Adolph Lessig, and Bill Haywood.

 The Patterson strike lasted from Feb. 1 until July 28, 1913. Workers were fighting for the eight-hour workday and better working conditions. Over 1800 workers were arrested during the strike, including IWW leaders Big Bill Haywood and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. Five were killed. Overall, the strike was poorly organized and confined to Paterson. The IWW, the main organizer of the strike, eventually gave up. (From the IWW: Its First Seventy Years, by Fred Thompson and Patrick Murfin).

April 3, 1917 – After the U.S. declared war, sailors, escorted by police, destroyed the IWW building in Kansas City. The action inspired similar attacks in Detroit, Duluth and other towns that had a large IWW presence. (From the Daily Bleed)

April 3, 1948 – Cheju Massacre in Korea. Between1948 and 1949, one of the 20th century’s least known genocides occurred. On the island of Cheju-do, 30,000 civilians were massacred (10% of the island’s population) by the South Korean army, Cheju-do police and the U.S. military, in the name of fighting communism. However, the governor of Cheju told American intelligence that the real number was closer to 60,000. (From the Daily Bleed, with more information here and here.)

Today in Labor History—March 13

(From wikipedia)

March 13, 1925 – Tennessee made it unlawful to teach evolution. (From the Daily Bleed)

March 13, 1946 - The United Auto Workers and General Motors signed a new contract after a four-month strike over wages. (From Workday Minnesota)

March 13, 1961 – IWW Labor organizer and recovering anarchist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was elected chair of the National Committee of the Communist Party, U.S.A. (From the Daily Bleed)

March 13, 1963 – Labor Local 260 Houston negotiated its first contract with Pioneer Bus, ending dual pay scales for black and white drivers. (From the Daily Bleed)

March 13, 1967 – United Farm Workers (UFW) won a contract with the Christian Brothers Winery. (From the Daily Bleed)

March 13, 1968 – Student demonstrations in Warsaw led to street riots. All Polish universities were out on strike, with students occupying university. (From the Daily Bleed)

March 13, 1996 – Two leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Yang Kyu Hon and Kwon Young Kil, were arrested. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—September 5

Execution of Robespiere

September 5, 1793 – The revolutionary government began the Terror. (From the Daily Bleed)

September 5, 1794 – Radical democrat Jacques Roux was arrested in France. (From the Daily Bleed)

September 5, 1863 – Bread riots occurred in Mobile, Alabama. (From the Daily Bleed)

September 5, 1882 – The first American Labor Day was observed, with 30,000 workers marching in New York City. (From the Daily Bleed)

September 5, 1887 – Labor Day was first observed as a legal holiday (to distract workers from celebrating the much more oppositional International Workers Day on May 1 and the historical of violence against the working class epitomized by the Haymarket affair). (From the Daily Bleed)

September 5, 1911 – Students abandoned their classrooms in London and marched in the streets after a boy was punished for encouraging his friends to strike against corporal punishment. Schools in over 60 major towns and cities come out in solidarity. (From the Daily Bleed)

September 5, 1917 –Federal agents attacked Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) halls and offices in 48 cities across the nation as part of the Palmer raids against the left.  

September 5, 1964 – Elizabeth Gurley Flynn died in Moscow. Flynn was an anarchist, labor militant and founding member of the IWW before converting and joining the American Communist Party. (From the Daily Bleed)

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)