Today in Labor History—April 29

Coxey's Army Leaving Camp (Library of Congress)

April 29, 1894 –Jacob Coxey led a group of 500 unemployed workers from the Midwest to Washington, D.C. His Army of the Poor was immediately arrested for trespassing on Capitol grounds.

The Return of Coxey's Army (By Eddie Starr)

When they busted all the unions,
You can't make no living wage.
And this working poor arrangement,
Gonna turn to public rage.
And then get ready . . .
We're gonna bring back Coxey's Army
And take his message to the street.

(From the Daily Bleed)

U.S. Marines With Captured Sandinista Flag, 1932

April 29, 1895 –Warships were sent to Nicaragua to "protect" US interests, the first of many military interventions in that small Central American country. President Taft ordered the overthrow of President Zelaya in 1909.The U.S. later invaded in 1910 and occupied the country in 1912, an occupation that was ultimately ended by the resistance of Augusto Sandino and the original Sandinistas in 1933. In 1934, Anastasio Somoza assassinated Sandino. (From the Daily Bleed and Wikipedia)

 

April 29, 1899 – Failing to achieve their demand that only union men be employed at the Bunker Hill Company at Wardner, Idaho, members of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) dynamited the $250,000 mill, completely destroying it. President McKinley responded by sending in black soldiers from Brownsville, Texas, with orders to round up the miners and imprison them in specially built "bullpens." From 1899 to 1901, the U.S. Army occupyied the Coeur d'Alene mining region in Idaho. (From the Daily Bleed)

April 29, 1915 –The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom was founded at The Hague, which works for world disarmament, full rights for women, racial and economic justice, an end to all forms of violence, and to establish the political, social, and psychological conditions which can assure peace, freedom, and justice for all. Its first president was Jane Addams, who founded and directed Hull House in Chicago for newly arrived immigrants. (From Workday Minnesota)

Captured Revolutionary, May 1919 (German Federal Archive)

April 29, 1919 –From April 29 to May 2, government forces in Munich violently crushed the Republic of the Councils of Bavaria. Workers, socialists, anarchists, and sympathizers bravely resisted. Over 700 were summarily executed. (From the Daily Bleed)

April 29, 1937 –The Friends of Durruti Group postered Barcelona with a list of their demands: "All power to the working class. All economic power to the unions." (From the Daily Bleed)

April 29, 1970 –The National Guard killed seven students at Ohio State University. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—January 19

Joe Hill

January 19, 1812 – Luddites torched Oatlands Mill in Yorkshire, England. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 19, 1915—Joe Hill was arrested on this date in Salt Lake City and later convicted on trumped up murder charges. He was executed 21 months later despite worldwide protests and two attempts to intervene by President Woodrow Wilson. In a letter to Bill Haywood shortly before his death he penned the famous words, "Don't mourn - organize!" (From Lutins.org, Wikipedia, Joe Hill Project)

January 19, 1915 – 20 rioting striking workers were shot by factory guards at Roosevelt, New Jersey. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 19, 1932 – An armed miners' uprising occurred in Barcelona region as part of the general anarchist uprisings in Catalonia. "Libertarian communism" was declared, including the abolition of money and property, followed by general strikes and armed uprisings throughout Spain for the next five days.

Today in Labor History—January 15

Rosa Luxemburg

January 15, 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebnecht, were murdered by German police. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 15, 1929 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on this date. King once said, "We look around every day and we see thousands and millions of people making inadequate wages. Not only do they work in our hospitals, they work in our hotels, they work in our laundries, they work in domestic service, they find themselves unemployed. You see, no labor is really menial unless you're not getting adequate wages." (FromWorkday Minnesota)

Karl Liebknecht

January 15, 1946 – 260,000 U.S. electrical workers struck against General Electric, Westinghouse and General Motors. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 15, 1978 -- The C.N.T., the Spanish anarchist trade union, held a demonstration drawing 10,000 protesters in Barcelona to oppose the Moncloa pact (which allowed only the communist C.C.O.O and the socialist U.G.T the right to represent workers. (From theDaily Bleed)

January 15, 1997 –A general strike was called by a coalition of South Korean labor unions. The unions claimed that 600,000 workers participated in the strike; the government claimed it was only 100,000. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—January 12

Jack London, 1903

January 12, 1876 -  Novelist Jack London was born on this date. London once wrote that a scab was "After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, the vampire, He had some awful substance left with which He made a scab. A scab is a two-legged animal with a cork-screw soul, a water-logged brain, a combination backbone of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles." (From Workday Minnesota)

January 12, 1928 – Police raided the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) Hall, in Walsenburg, Colorado. (From the Daily Bleed)

Cox's Army (From ExplorePAHistory.com)

 January 12, 1932 – 12,000 marchers from Father Cox's Shantytown in Pittsburg arrived in Washington, D.C. The shantytown, near St. Patrick's Catholic Church in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, lasted from 1929 to 1932, and was the staging base for the Reverend James Cox's unemployed army. On December 1931, 60,000 unemployed workers had rallied at Pitt Stadium in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 12, 1933 – The anarchist uprisings which began on January 8 in Spain were brutally suppressed. In Andalusia, police and army buildings were attacked and the anarcho-trade unionists seized public buildings, proclaiming Libertarian Communism there. However, in the governmental repression that followed, villagers in Casas Viejas were burned alive and assassinated. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 12, 1962 – President Kennedy signed Executive Order 10988, guaranteeing federal workers the right to join unions & bargain collectively. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—September 8

Bulleton of the Modern School (1st published in 1901)

September 8, 1901 – Francisco Ferrer, Spanish anarchist educator, opened the libertarian Escuela Moderna in Barcelona, Spain. Modern schools eventually popped up all over Spain and other countries, including several in the U.S. (See History of the Modern School)--(From the Daily Bleed)

Bread Line During the McKees Rock Strike (from the Historical Society of PA)

 September 8, 1909 – The bosses bent to the demands of striking Wobblies (members of the Industrial Workers of the World, IWW) in McKees Rock, Pa. They agreed to improved working conditions, a raise of 15%,  and an end to the “pool system” that gave foremen control over each worker’s pay. It was the Wobbly’s biggest victory to date. (From Workday Minnesota)

September 8, 1911 – The founding congress of the Confederacion Nacional del Trabajo (C.N.T.) occurred on this date in Barcelona. Nearly 100 delegates created the framework for this anarcho-syndicalist organization. (From theDaily Bleed)

September 8, 1965 - Cesar Chavez led farm workers in California on their first grape boycott. The nationwide protest lasted five years and ended with the first union contract for U.S. farm workers outside of Hawaii. In 1966, Chavez’s organization officially became the United Farm Workers. (From Workday Minnesota)

Today in Labor History—August 12

August 12, 1881 - The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners was founded. (From Workday Minnesota)

August 12, 1898 – Coal company guards killed seven and wounded 40 miners who were trying to stop scabs from taking their jobs in Virden, Illinois. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 12, 1933 – A General Strike brought down the Machado government in Cuba. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 12, 1936 -- The First International Brigades arrived in Spain to fight against Franco. (From the Daily Bleed)

British internationalistas' flag

Hungarian Internationalistas' flag

August 12, 1959 – Little Rock, Arkansas began to integrate two of its public schools, in response to a federal mandate, admitting a whopping six black students to two schools and even this was met with violence by segregationist mobs. (From the Daily Bleed)

The Little Rock 9 being escorted into Central High in 1957

August 12, 1978 – South Korean police stormed the YH Wig factory sit-in, arresting 180 and killing one. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 12, 1992 - The U.S., Canada and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which took effect in January 1994. Since then, the U.S. has lost 3 million jobs, while wages in Mexico have plummeted. (From Workday Minnesota)

Today in Labor History—April 29

Coxey's Army Leaving Camp (Library of Congress)

April 29, 1894 –Jacob Coxey led a group of 500 unemployed workers from the Midwest to Washington, D.C. His Army of the Poor was immediately arrested for trespassing on Capitol grounds.

The Return of Coxey's Army (By Eddie Starr)

When they busted all the unions,
You can't make no living wage.
And this working poor arrangement,
Gonna turn to public rage.
And then get ready . . .
We're gonna bring back Coxey's Army
And take his message to the street.

(From the Daily Bleed)

U.S. Marines With Captured Sandinista Flag, 1932

April 29, 1895 –Warships were sent to Nicaragua to "protect" US interests, the first of many military interventions in that small Central American country. President Taft ordered the overthrow of President Zelaya in 1909.The U.S. later invaded in 1910 and occupied the country in 1912, an occupation that was ultimately ended by the resistance of Augusto Sandino and the original Sandinistas in 1933. In 1934, Anastasio Somoza assassinated Sandino. (From the Daily Bleed and Wikipedia)

 

April 29, 1899 – Failing to achieve their demand that only union men be employed at the Bunker Hill Company at Wardner, Idaho, members of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) dynamited the $250,000 mill, completely destroying it. President McKinley responded by sending in black soldiers from Brownsville, Texas, with orders to round up the miners and imprison them in specially built "bullpens." From 1899 to 1901, the U.S. Army occupyied the Coeur d'Alene mining region in Idaho. (From the Daily Bleed)

April 29, 1915 –The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom was founded at The Hague, which works for world disarmament, full rights for women, racial and economic justice, an end to all forms of violence, and to establish the political, social, and psychological conditions which can assure peace, freedom, and justice for all. Its first president was Jane Addams, who founded and directed Hull House in Chicago for newly arrived immigrants. (From Workday Minnesota)

Captured Revolutionary, May 1919 (German Federal Archive)

April 29, 1919 –From April 29 to May 2, government forces in Munich violently crushed the Republic of the Councils of Bavaria. Workers, socialists, anarchists, and sympathizers bravely resisted. Over 700 were summarily executed. (From the Daily Bleed)

April 29, 1937 –The Friends of Durruti Group postered Barcelona with a list of their demands: "All power to the working class. All economic power to the unions." (From the Daily Bleed)

April 29, 1970 –The National Guard killed seven students at Ohio State University. (From the Daily Bleed)

Protests Grow in Spain as School Students attacked

Students protesting education cuts in Valencia, Spain, were violently attacked by police last week. Police wearing body armor charged students and attacked them with batons and dragged them on the ground.

On February 20th, 26 students were detained including several minors. The president of the Valencia Federation of High School Students was clubbed by police and then arrested, according to the Teacher Solidarity website.

Solidarity demonstrations are planned in Barcelona and Madrid.

Tens of Thousands Protest Education Cuts in Spain

From the Teacher Solidarity Blog:

Over 40,000 took part in the demonstration in Alicante, calling for an increase in the numbers of teachers, increased funding for school resources and the end of prefab classrooms.

In Valencia, protestors demanded that the Generalitat paid the €50 million it owes to schools.
One of the region’s education unions – UGT-PV – is also taking the ex-President of the local authority to court over misuse of public funds.

Education International reports that as a result of the missing money, some schools in the region are facing closure, and teachers have been asked to take cuts in salaries and go without Christmas bonuses. But this is not an isolated case, with schools in other autonomous regions suffering similar financial difficulties.

Today in Labor History—January 19

Joe Hill

January 19, 1812 – Luddites torched Oatlands Mill in Yorkshire, England. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 19, 1915—Joe Hill was arrested on this date in Salt Lake City and later convicted on trumped up murder charges. He was executed 21 months later despite worldwide protests and two attempts to intervene by President Woodrow Wilson. In a letter to Bill Haywood shortly before his death he penned the famous words, "Don't mourn - organize!" (From Lutins.org, Wikipedia, Joe Hill Project)

January 19, 1915 – 20 rioting striking workers were shot by factory guards at Roosevelt, New Jersey. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 19, 1932 – An armed miners' uprising occurred in Barcelona region as part of the general anarchist uprisings in Catalonia. "Libertarian communism" was declared, including the abolition of money and property, followed by general strikes and armed uprisings throughout Spain for the next five days.

Today in Labor History—January 15

Rosa Luxemburg

Karl Liebknecht

January 15, 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebnecht, were murdered by German police.  (From the Daily Bleed)

January 15, 1929 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on this date. King once said, "We look around every day and we see thousands and millions of people making inadequate wages. Not only do they work in our hospitals, they work in our hotels, they work in our laundries, they work in domestic service, they find themselves unemployed. You see, no labor is really menial unless you're not getting adequate wages." (From Workday Minnesota)

January 15, 1946 – 260,000 U.S. electrical workers struck against General Electric, Westinghouse and General Motors. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 15, 1978 -- The C.N.T., the Spanish anarchist trade union, held a demonstration drawing 10,000 protesters in Barcelona to oppose the Moncloa pact (which allowed only the communist C.C.O.O and the socialist U.G.T the right to represent workers. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 15, 1997 –A general strike was called by a coalition of South Korean labor unions. The unions claimed that 600,000 workers participated in the strike; the government claimed it was only 100,000. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—January 12

Jack London, 1903

January 12, 1876 -  Novelist Jack London was born on this date. London once wrote that a scab was "After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, the vampire, He had some awful substance left with which He made a scab. A scab is a two-legged animal with a cork-screw soul, a water-logged brain, a combination backbone of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles." (From Workday Minnesota)

January 12, 1928 – Police raided the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) Hall, in Walsenburg, Colorado. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 12, 1932 – 12,000 marchers from Father Cox's Shantytown in Pittsburg arrived in Washington, D.C. The shantytown, near St. Patrick's Catholic Church in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, lasted from 1929 to 1932, and was the staging base for the Reverend James Cox's unemployed army. On December 1931, 60,000 unemployed workers had rallied at Pitt Stadium in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 12, 1933 – The anarchist uprisings which began on January 8 in Spain were brutally suppressed. In Andalusia, police and army buildings were attacked and the anarcho-trade unionists seized public buildings, proclaiming Libertarian Communism there. However, in the governmental repression that followed, villagers in Casas Viejas were burned alive and assassinated. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 12, 1962 – President Kennedy signed Executive Order 10988, guaranteeing federal workers the right to join unions & bargain collectively. (From the Daily Bleed)