Today in Labor History—January 4

January 4, 1909 – The ITGWU was founded on this date in Dublin. Many of the founding members came from the socialist movement or from the IWW.(From the Daily Bleed)

January 4, 1932 – At the height of the Great Depression, a U.S. Senate subcommittee considered providing unemployment relief after hearing speakers describe people living in the street, starving, and foraging through garbage dumps for scraps. One speaker, the director of the Children’s Bureau of Philadelphia told the committee, "They do not die quickly. You can starve for a long time without dying." (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 theDaily Bleed)

January 4, 1960 – United Steel workers ended a strike that had begun on July 15, 1959.

January 4, 1961 – The longest recorded strike in history ended after 33 years when Danish barbers' assistants returned to work in Copenhagen.

January 4, 1976 – A wave of wildcat strikes began on this date in Spain, involving more than 500,000 workers are involved.