Today in Labor History—February 28

February 28, 1921 – Shoemakers won their strike for higher wages, leading to a government crackdown. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 28, 1986 - The entire workforce of the 3M factory in Elandsfontein, South Africa, went on strike in support of the 450 members of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union being laid off at a 3M plant in New Jersey. The South African worker, all of whom were black, were among the hundreds of thousands of union members whose militancy helped bring down the apartheid system. (From Workday Minnesota)