Today in Labor History—June 5

June 5, 1832 – The poor of Paris revolted against the new monarchy. The Society of the Friends of the People raised the red flag, declaring "Liberty or Death." The uprising was the inspiration for Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. (From the Daily Bleed)

Ruins of Columbus, New Mexico, 1916, After Raid by Pancho Villa

 June 5, 1878 – Francisco "Pancho" Villa was born, San Juan del Rio, Durango. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1906 – The leaders of the Cananea copper strike were arrested. (From the Daily Bleed)

Lowly Driving Off in His Busytown Apple Car (Image by Valerie Everett)

June 5, 1919 – Children’s book author Richard Scarry was born, Boston. Scarry wrote or illustrated over 300 books and brought us characters like Huckle the Cat, Lowly the Worm, Wild Bill Hiccup and Gold Bug. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1919 – 67 anarchists were arrested and set up for deportation in the wake of a bomb explosion, marking the beginning of the infamous "Palmer raids" that ultimately led to the deportations and imprisonment of thousands of union members, communists and anarchists. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1919 – Merchants and workers struck in Shanghai to support students. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1925 – Mine owners in La Coruna, Chile, launched an attack on rebel workers in a nitrate mine encampment. Over 500 workers were tortured in Iqueque. This came in the wake of an earlier massacre in March, in which 500 were slaughtered by the government. (From the Daily Bleed and Wikipedia)

June 5, 1967 – Israel attacked Egypt and Syria, during the Six- Day War, resulting in its illegal occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, West Bank, Gaza Strip & Golan Heights. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1969 – Imprisoned U.S. soldiers rioted at the military penal stockade at Fort Dix over barbarous conditions and the tortures being inflicted on them by the US military state. The majority were in prison for going AWOL, resisting the draft, or as conscientious objectors. Many were being held without trial. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—October 31

Paris Communards at the Barricade, March 1871

October 31, 1870 – French national guards revolted on this date during the siege of Paris. There was also a massive demonstration in front of the Town hall supporting the Paris Commune. (From the Daily Bleed)

Seattle's Hooverville

 October 31, 1931 – Occupy Seattle was inaugurated. Led by unemployed lumberjack Jesse Jackson, the first Hooverville was built on vacant land owned by the Port of Seattle near Pioneer Square. Within two days over 50 shacks were erected and by 1934, 600-1000 people were living in them. By 1941, Seattle's “Hooverville” covered 25 blocks. Hoovervilles eventually spread throughout the country. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 31, 1978 – 30,000 oil workers in Iran struck against the repressive rule of the Shah. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 31, 1989 – In El Salvador a bomb killed 10 trade union leaders at union headquarters. A major FMLN offensive followed. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—June 5

June 5, 1832 – The poor of Paris revolted against the new monarchy. The Society of the Friends of the People raised the red flag, declaring "Liberty or Death." The uprising was the inspiration for Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. (From the Daily Bleed)

Ruins of Columbus, New Mexico, 1916, After Raid by Pancho Villa

 June 5, 1878 – Francisco "Pancho" Villa was born, San Juan del Rio, Durango. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1906 – The leaders of the Cananea copper strike were arrested. (From the Daily Bleed)

Lowly Driving Off in His Busytown Apple Car (Image by Valerie Everett)

June 5, 1919 – Children’s book author Richard Scarry was born, Boston. Scarry wrote or illustrated over 300 books and brought us characters like Huckle the Cat, Lowly the Worm, Wild Bill Hiccup and Gold Bug. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1919 – 67 anarchists were arrested and set up for deportation in the wake of a bomb explosion, marking the beginning of the infamous "Palmer raids" that ultimately led to the deportations and imprisonment of thousands of union members, communists and anarchists. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1919 – Merchants and workers struck in Shanghai to support students. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1925 – Mine owners in La Coruna, Chile, launched an attack on rebel workers in a nitrate mine encampment. Over 500 workers were tortured in Iqueque. This came in the wake of an earlier massacre in March, in which 500 were slaughtered by the government. (From the Daily Bleed and Wikipedia)

June 5, 1967 – Israel attacked Egypt and Syria, during the Six- Day War, resulting in its illegal occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, West Bank, Gaza Strip & Golan Heights. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 5, 1969 – Imprisoned U.S. soldiers rioted at the military penal stockade at Fort Dix over barbarous conditions and the tortures being inflicted on them by the US military state. The majority were in prison for going AWOL, resisting the draft, or as conscientious objectors. Many were being held without trial. (From the Daily Bleed)

Is The OWS Movement Too Nice?

OWS Poster (Image from Flickr, by Takomabibelot)

Aside from the few allegations of protesters throwing paint, smashing windows, or spray painting buildings, the tactics of the OWS have been pretty peaceful, mellow and nice. Sure, it troubles some that they have persistently tried to live outdoors in public where their frustration and anger are clearly visible to all, or that they have shut down a few terminals of a few ports for a few hours, costing a few companies a few million dollars. But let’s be honest, when compared with protests of the past, particularly those occurring during the Great Depression and the numerous violent mining and train strikes between 1870s and 1920s, the OWS movement has been pretty damned pleasant and nonthreatening. Consider the following historical examples:

The Great Upheaval of 1877

“There was a time in the history of France when the poor found themselves oppressed to such an extent that forbearance ceased to be a virtue, and hundreds of heads tumbled into the basket. That time may have arrived with us.”

These words were spoken by a cooper to a crowd of 10,000 workers in St. Louis, armed with lathes and clubs, participating in the national wave of strikes known as the Great Upheaval.  Other speakers in St. Louis openly called for the use of arms and violence, not only to defend themselves against the violence of the militias and police hired by the bosses to suppress the Great Strike, but for outright revolutionary aims:

“All you have to do. . .” said one speaker, “is to unite on one idea—that the workingmen shall rule this country. What man makes, belongs to him, and the workingmen made this country.”

St. Louis Commune, 1877 Great Upheaval

The Great Upheaval began in the fourth year of the nation’s worst depression in history. It came in the wake of great accumulation and concentration of wealth by a few major capitalists, particularly the railroad owners. In 1862, Congress granted them huge swaths of land. In 1863, they passed the National Banking Act, which greatly increased the wealth and power of financial capitalists.

The Great Upheaval began in Martinsburg, WV, on July 16, 1877, when the B&O (Baltimore and Ohio) Railroad slashed wages by 10%. The train crews refused to work, drove out the police and occupied the rail yards. Local townspeople backed the strikers. When the militia was sent in to run the trains, the strikers and their supporters derailed the trains and guarded the switches at gunpoint. While they halted all freight movement, they continued to move mail and passengers, thus maintaining public support. When militia reinforcements were sent in, most mutinied or refused to fight, as they were sympathetic to the workers. (For more, see here, here and here).

1892    Frisco Mine was dynamited by striking Coeur D’Alene miners after they discovered they had been infiltrated by Pinkertons and after one of their members had been shot. Prior to this, the mine owners had increased work hours, decreased pay and brought in a bunch of scabs to replace striking workers. Ultimately, over 600 striking miners were imprisoned without charge by the military in order to crush the strike. (Sources: Wikipedia; Fire in the Hole)

1899    Bunker Hill: Bloody strikes had been going on at this and other Idaho mines over the course of the 1890s. The mine owners had been using scabs, Pinkertons, armed goons, soldiers, lock-outs and other tactics to squeeze the workers and crush their union. In retaliation, the miners loaded a train with dynamite and delivered it to the Bunker Hill mine in 1899, killing one scab and one WFM member. (Sources: Laborers.org; Wikipedia)

1920    Matewan Battle: Ten people were killed when coal company officials in Matewan, West Virginia, tried to remove striking union workers from company housing, sending agents from the Baldwin-Felts detective agency. Sheriff Hatfield, who supported the miners’ right to organize, tried to arrest the detectives who, in turn, tried to arrest Hatfield. Unbeknownst to the detectives, they had been surrounded by miners. When the smoke had cleared, there were 7 dead detectives (including Albert and Lee Felts) and 4 dead townspeople. In the time leading up to the Battle of Matewan, numerous miners had been assassinated by vigilantes, goons or detectives. (From Workday Minnesota, Wikipedia, Daily Bleed and Matewanwv.com)

Miners with Bomb Dropped by U.S.

1921    the Battle of Blair Mountain: 20,000 coal miners marched to the anti-union stronghold Logan County to overthrow Sheriff Dan Chaffin, the coal company tyrant who murdered miners with impunity. The Battle of Blair Mountain was one of the largest civil uprisings in U.S. history and the largest armed insurrection since the Civil War, lasting 5 days and involving 10,000-15,000 coal miners confronting an army of scabs and police. The battle began after Sheriff Sid Hatfield (an ally of the miners and hero from the Battle of Matewan) was assassinated by Baldwin-Felts agents. Much of the region was still under martial law as a result of the Battle of Matewan. Miners began to leave the mountains armed and ready for battle. Mother Jones tried to dissuade them from marching into Logan and Mingo Counties, fearing a bloodbath. Many accused her of losing her nerve. The miners ignored her and a battle ensued between miners and cops, private detectives, scabs and eventually the U.S. military. The uprising was quashed after aerial bombardment by the U.S. government. (From Workday Minnesota, Wikipedia and the Daily Bleed) (From the Daily Bleed)

January 3, 1931 Roughly 500 farmers marched into the business section of England, Arkansas, to demand food for their starving families after their crops were ruined by a long drought. The farmers threatened to take the food by force if it was not freely provided to them, one of scores of such incidents that occurred during the Great Depression (and surprisingly have not happened more frequently during the current one). (From Workday Minnesota)

January 4, 1933 – Angered by increasing farm foreclosures, members of Iowa's Farmers Holiday Association threatened to lynch banking representatives and law officials who instituted foreclosure proceedings for the duration of the Depression. In April, 600 farmers battled the sheriff and his deputies to prevent a foreclosure. A group of farmers dragged a district judge from his chair, put a rope around his neck, and threaten to hang him unless he promised not to issue any more eviction notices. That same month, state officers in Crawford County were beaten, prompting the Iowa governor to declare martial law in three counties and send in the National Guard. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—October 31

Paris Communards at the Barricade, March 1871

October 31, 1870 – French national guards revolted on this date during the siege of Paris. There was also a massive demonstration in front of the Town hall supporting the Paris Commune. (From the Daily Bleed)

Seattle's Hooverville

 October 31, 1931 – Occupy Seattle was inaugurated. Led by unemployed lumberjack Jesse Jackson, the first Hooverville was built on vacant land owned by the Port of Seattle near Pioneer Square. Within two days over 50 shacks were erected and by 1934, 600-1000 people were living in them. By 1941, Seattle's “Hooverville” covered 25 blocks. Hoovervilles eventually spread throughout the country. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 31, 1978 – 30,000 oil workers in Iran struck against the repressive rule of the Shah. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 31, 1989 – In El Salvador a bomb killed 10 trade union leaders at union headquarters. A major FMLN offensive followed. (From the Daily Bleed)

Iraq War Vet Critically Wounded During Police Raid On Occupy Oakland

Police Assault on Occupy Oakland by Swarm Gallery Oakland

Oakland police cleared the Occupy Oakland encampment on Tuesday morning, but in the evening protestors returned to retake Frank Ogawa Plaza, which they renamed Oscar Grant Plaza in homage to the young man assassinated by BART police last year. The protest was mostly peaceful and nonviolent, except for a few thrown water and paint bottles. However, rather than ignoring these minor incidences or arresting the culprits, police fired projectiles into the crowd, hitting Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen in the head and critically wounding him. Olsen suffered a fractured skull and only just started to regain consciousness late this afternoon. He remains in critical condition.

Police ready to crack heads after being paint "bombed" by protestors (Image by Oakland Local)

The East Bay Express tweeted a picture of rubber bullets one of their journalists found at the scene. However, no police agency has admitted using rubber projectiles. Interim Oakland police Chief Howard Jordan said that his police had used tear gas and bean-bag bullets, but did not fire rubber bullets, according to the Bay Citizen. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Department said that its officers used foam-like bullets, paint guns and tear gas.  The Berkeley Police Department, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, the Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff and the California Highway Patrol also participated in the assault. In all, 17-18 different police agencies participated.

While no police agency has admitted using rubber bullets (certainly none wants to take responsibility for Olsen’s injury or possible death), what they have admitted using is appalling: Bean bag bullets, foam-like bullets, paint guns and tear gas. Furthermore, demonstrators claim that police launched flash-bang (concussion) grenades at them as they attempted to rescue Olsen and cart him away. The You-Tube footage of Olsen’s rescue appears to support this claim. (Click here to see the footage)

Police readying to fire on protestors (Image by Oakland Local)

 While the police assault was clearly excessive and unnecessary to simply clear a few hundred demonstrators from the street (only 100 were arrested), it was likely intended to send a message to demonstrators that they cannot beat the overwhelming firepower or the will of the state. The Bay Citizen quoted one cop who complained that “We’ve been placating these people so long that they don’t take us seriously.” Clearly, they intended to change this view. Other police expressed dismay at the fact that the mayor allowed the encampment to last as long as it did, as if the mere presence of a tent city would somehow lead to violence or criminal activity.

The message not to mess with the state may have backfired, though, by galvanizing the movement and causing its popularity to snowball. Last night, spontaneous marches in support of Occupy Oakland erupted in New York and elsewhere. Occupy Oakland is now calling for a city-wide General Strike on November 2 which, if successful, will disrupt business far more than the Occupy movement has done up until now.

The overwhelming police violence has also landed Oakland’s Mayor Jean Quan in the hot seat, prompting her to reverse her stance and allow the Oakland protestors to remain in their encampment, giving the protestors a small, short-term victory. Police in San Francisco are considering calling off their planned raid on the Occupy SF encampment today. Both actions come out of fear of escalating the size and militancy of the movement as well as fear of alienating voters.

Quan’s Facebook page had dozens of calls for her resignation and her phone number was posted leading to her voicemail being quickly filled with angry messages. One of her advisors has resigned as a result of the police assault. City finance officials are complaining about the $1 million price tag for the police overtime and clean up. One was quoted by the Bay Citizen saying “Wall Street’s not going broke, but the city of Oakland will,” in a sympathetic nod to the protestors.

They Shoot Veterans, Don’t They?

Scott Olsen served two tours of duty in Iraq, despite the fact that he opposed the war. When he returned, he joined Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace. He participated in the Wisconsin State Building occupation last year and had been an active participant in both the Occupy Oakland and Occupy San Francisco movements. He had been going to his job during the day and returning to the encampments at night, according to his roommate and comrade from the war. He was, according to his roommate, an incredibly peaceful and nonviolent man.

Television footage of his shooting showed him moving away from police just prior to being shot, not toward them. He was not throwing anything or doing anything at all threatening. There was no justification for picking him out from the crowd and, in all likelihood, he just happened to be the unlucky one who got hit by a trigger happy cop.

The cops couldn’t have chosen a more sympathetic victim, short of shooting a child or a kitten. War veterans are considered heroes by most Americans. Patriots love them. Even those who oppose war generally have a sympathetic respect for their sacrifices and trials. The thought that an American could risk his life in a war zone and return to the U.S. only to be shot and possibly killed by police in an American city while exercising his free speech rights must be horrifying to most Americans, particularly in light of the popular support for the movement.

On the other hand, we will likely see much more of this sort of police violence in coming weeks, as they attempt to clear out Occupy encampments in other cities, including more serious injuries and possibly even deaths, as were more common in the 60s and early 70s. Atlanta recently used SWAT teams to arrest 50 or so Occupy protestors in their city. And if protestors in Oakland attempt to shut down business as usual by blockading roads and highways or by marching on major banks and corporations during their General Strike, they will likely meet more police violence.

I remember a similar call for a General Strike during the first gulf war in 1990, when activists decided to shut down San Francisco, without the support of labor, by blockading roads and highways. It was an interesting idea, but completely implausible. Without workers walking off the job, the only hope of shutting down business was to prevent workers and customers from getting into the city, a naïve and absurd goal for a few hardcore activists and their supporters. Though thousands participated in blockades of the federal building and protests marches, only a few dozen, at most, participated in direct actions intended to halt traffic into the city. While the police did not use tear gas, rubber bullets or concussion grenades, they did beat people silly. One friend of mine was clubbed in the leg repeatedly until he had compound fractures.

Times are different now. People may be more galvanized by the brutal police assault on Tuesday night and their sympathy for Scott Olsen. Who knows, maybe a significant number of workers will buck their unions and stay home from work on November 2 or even march in the streets. At the same time, the police and the state seem much more willing to shoot protestors now than they were 20 years ago. They are also better organized, have more sophisticated weaponry and communication systems, and greater support from the federal government under the Department of Homeland Security.