Today in Labor History—July 26

July 26, 1877 – 30 workers were killed by federal troops at the "Battle of the Viaduct", Chicago, during the Great Upheaval (AKA Greet Strike). During the battle U.S. troops and police attacked about 5,000 workers at Halsted & 16th Street in Chicago.  A judge later found the police guilty of preventing the workers from exercising their right to freedom of speech and assembly. (From the Daily Bleed)

July 26, 1894 - A Strike Committee was created by President Grover Cleveland to investigate the causes of the Pullman strike and the subsequent walkout by the American Railway Union. After four months, the commission absolved the strikers and placed the blame entirely on Pullman and the railroads for the conflict. (From Workday Minnesota)

Police rounding up workers and activists during Tragic Week, Barcelona

Francisco Ferrer, founder of the Modern Schoo

July 26, 1909 – The Tragic Week, la Semena Tragica, began in Barcelona, with a General Strike and protests by regionalists, anarchists, radicals and angry workers protesting the government mobilization of troops to fight in Morocco and the government’s terrible labor policies. Churches and convents were attacked and burned, priests wounded and killed, along with police. Martial law was declared, lasting months. Rather than reform, the government assaulted Barcelona with the full force of the military, with mass arrests and killings. Francisco Ferrer, founder of the Escuela Moderna (Modern School), namesake of this blog, was executed. (From the Daily Bleed)