Today in Labor History—May 10

May 10 1887 -- UMW organizer Ginger Goodwin was born on this date. He was murdered by a private cop sparking Canada's first General Strike. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 10, 1894 -- Pullman fired 3 workers for being on the grievance committee, leading to a strike that shut down the company a day later. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 10, 1898 -- U.S. and Canadian workers formed the Western Labor Union. (From the Daily Bleed)
 
May 10, 1920 – Dock workers in England refused to load armaments for use by Allies against Russia. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 10, 1922 – 200 labor leaders were arrested in Chicago for complicity in the murder of two policemen and the bombing of factories. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 10, 1980 – 50,000 marched for passage of Equal Rights Amendment. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 10, 1980 – 20,000 marched in a funeral procession for slain protesters in San Salvador, El Salvador. (From the Daily Bleed)

 

May 10, 1993 -- UMW struck at selected U.S. mines.  (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History--April 12

April 12, 1900 – Birth of Florence Reece, an activist in the Harlan County, Kentucky, coal strikes, and author of “Which Side Are You On?” The song was written in 1931 during a UMW strike in which sheriff Blair led a gang of thugs in a rampage of beating & murdering union leaders. Florence wrote the song on an old wall calendar while her home was being ransacked by Blair’s goons. (From the Daily Bleed and Workday Minnesota).

April 12, 1935 – 150,000 college students protested across the U.S. in the first nationwide student strike against war. Between 1936, and 1939, the movement mobilized at least 500,000 college students (almost 50% of all American college students at the time) in annual one-hour strikes against war. (From the Daily Bleed).

April 12, 1937 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Wagner Act (also known as the National Labor Relations Act) which created the structure for collective bargaining and rules for strikes and job actions. (From Workday Minnesota)

Today in Labor History—April 1

April 1, 1649 – Diggers occupied St. George's Hill, near Cobham, Surrey, England, seizing land to hold in common and to plant. Other Digger communities followed in Northants, Bucks, Kent, Herts, Middx, Leics, Beds, Glos & Notts.

April 1, 1882 – Coal Heavers strike against the Suez Canal Company in Port Said.

 

April 1, 1920 – T-Bone Slim's The Popular Wobbly published in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) "One Big Union Monthly".

April 1, 1924 – West Virginia miners walked out at the Coal River Colliery Company (CRC). The strike was unusual because CRC was an investment venture of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE), with stock owned by members of the Brotherhood. The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) called the strike because the company refused to pay the current union wage scale.

April 1, 1932 – 500 hungry school children in tattered clothes marched through Chicago's downtown section to the Board of Education offices to demand that the school system provide them with food.

April 1, 1946 – The 400,000-strong mine workers strike was put down by the U.S. military on orders of President Truman.

April 1, 1961 – Local 101 began a 6-week strike against Brooklyn Union Gas Company.

April 1, 1963 – The longest newspaper strike in U.S. history ended on this date. The nine major papers in New York City ceased publication over 100 days ago.

(From the Daily Bleed)

 

Today in Labor History—February 22

February 22, 1879 – "Révolte" first appeared in Switzerland, founded by Peter Kropotkin, François Dumarteray, and Élisée Reclus. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 22, 1892 – The founding convention of the People's Party met in St. Louis, with the support of the Knights of Labor, United Mine Workers and 20 other organizations. The party criticized political corruption, increasing concentration of wealth, and attacks on the rights of workers and farmers. (From Workday Minnesota)

February 22, 1917 – The Russian Revolution began. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 22, 1918 – At the height of the Red Scare, the office of the "Cronaca Sovversiva" was raided. Sacco and Vanzetti had written for this anarchist newspaper and donated money to it, marking their first official link to anarchist activities by the authorities.. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 22, 1921 – A wave of strikes in Petrograd occurred in opposition to terrible factory conditions and the discipline of 'war communism.' (From the Daily Bleed)

February 22, 2004 – Education Secretary Rod Paige called the nation's largest teachers union, National Education Association (NEA), a "terrorist organization" during a White House meeting with state governors. Meanwhile the Bush administration asserted the right to imprison citizens or non-citizens indefinitely without trial or access to lawyers, family members or journalists, as long as they were accused of being terrorists.  (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—February 13, 2012

Boston Latin School, c1635

February 13, 1635 - Boston Latin School was opened, the first public school in the United States. (From Workday Minnesota)

February 13, 1837 – A flour Riot occurred in New York City. 6,000 New Yorkers attending a "bread, meat, rent, and fuel" meeting in Chatham Square assaulted local flour merchants who they claimed were hoarding flour in order to drive up the price. (From the Daily Bleed)

Jesse James, c1882

February 13, 1866 – Jesse James held up his first bank, Liberty, Missouri. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 13, 1882 – Knights of Labor founder Uriah Stephens (b.1821) died on this date. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 13, 1917 – Strikes and meetings in Petrograd factories launched the Russian Revolution. (From the Daily Bleed)

Dresden After the Bombing (Deutsches Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archive), Bild 146-1994-041-07)

 February 13, 1945 – Over 130,000 civilians were killed in the Allied firebombing of Dresden. In a three-day period, 3,400 tons of explosives and incendiaries were dropped, reducing six square miles of the city to rubble. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 13, 1967 – The National Student Association revealed that it had "secretly and indirectly" received more than $3 million from the CIA over a 15-year period. NSA President Eugene Grove denied any of the money was used for intelligence work. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—February 12, 2012

Darwin Caricature, 1871

February 12, 1809 – Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was born on this date in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The Origin of Species, published November 24, 1859, sold out immediately. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 12, 1853 – Illinois passed a law requiring any blacks entering the state & staying more than 10 days to pay a $50 fine. If unable to pay, they would be sold into slavery for a period commensurate with the fine. (From the Daily Bleed)

John Lewis, 1922

 February 12, 1880 - John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers and founder of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), was born was born on this date. In 1935, he pulled the UAW from the American Federation of Labor (and punched out Carpenters Union President William Hutcheson in the process) when the AFL refused to endorse industrial unionism. Lewis then formed the CIO, which organized millions of unskilled, mass production workers into unions in the 1930s and 1940s. (From Workday Minnesota)

DuBois in 1918

 February 12, 1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded on this date by W.E.B. DuBois & others, New York City. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 12, 1913 – Mary Harris "Mother" Jones led a protest against conditions in the West Virginia mines was arrested. (On May 8, newly-elected Governor Hatfield releases her from jail.)

A government official once called Mary Jones "The most dangerous woman in America." She was still out there at age 83. No rockin' chair for her... (From the Daily Bleed)

February 12, 1913 – A New York commission reported widespread violations of child labor laws. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 12, 1946 – Picketers demanded amnesty for jailed war resisters at Danbury Federal Penitentiary, Connecticut. (From the Daily Bleed)


February 12, 1947 – 60 anti-draft demonstrators burned their draft cards in New York City during an antiwar demonstration. Between 400 and 500 veterans and conscientious objectors from World Wars I and II burned their draft cards in two demonstrations, in front of the White House in Washington and at the Labor Temple in New York City, in protest of a proposed universal conscription law. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History--January 5

First Negro Labor Convention (From Harpers)

January 5, 1869 -- The First U.S. Negro Labor Convention was held on this date. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 5, 1914 - Ford raised its basic wage from $2.40 for a nine-hour day to $5 for an eight-hour day. (From Workday Minnesota)

Rosa Luxemburg

Karl Liebknecht

January 5, 1919 – The Spartacists, led by Karl Liebknecht & Rosa Luxemburg, led a revolt to renew the November revolution lasting 6 days (in Berlin). Both Liebknecht and Luxemburg were murdered by the so-called "democratic" left on January 15th. (From the Daily Bleed)

  

January 5, 1970 - Joseph "Jock" Yablonski, a United Mine Workers reform candidate who tried to unseat President Tony Boyle, was murdered, along with his wife and daughter, in their Pennsylvania home by assassins sent by Boyle who was later convicted of the killing.  (From Workday Minnesota)

Today in Labor History--November 1

African Free School, New York, Lithograph by student Patrick Reason

November 1, 1797 – The First African Free School was established in New York. (From the Daily Bleed)


November 1, 1835 – The first U.S. General Strike for the 10 hour working day occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (From the Daily Bleed)

Osceola

November 1, 1836 – Seminole Indian resistance led by Osceola began their resistance to forced removal from their land by the U.S., leading to war with the U.S.  The war ended in August 1842, with the Indians being forced to march to Oklahoma. 1,500 U.S. soldiers died in the 8-year war. (From the Daily Bleed)

November 1, 1910 – The "L'Ecole Ferrer" Modern School was founded in Lausanne, Switzerland by the anarchiste pediatrist Jean Wintsch & Emile Durand. The school taught roughly 30 boys and girls and was supported by about 15 trade unions. (From the Daily Bleed)

The Malbone wreck still sit in the tunnel

 November 1, 1918 - A scab driver crashed a New York City subway train in the Malbone Tunnel during a labor dispute. 97 died and 255 were injured in the tragedy. New York changed the name of the tunnel to erase the memory of the horrible accident and the infamous trial that followed. It is now called Prospect Park and Malbone St. (From Workday Minnesota)

November 1, 1919 – Over 400,000 miners across the country went on strike. Insurgent miners took over the United Mine Workers (UMW) convention in Cleveland — even though union officials tried to exclude rebellious locals. The union was so concerned with suppressing wildcat strikes and dissension among their ranks that they supplied scabs to help mine owners put down the wildcat strikes! The coal miners ignored their union’s orders to cancel the strike for nearly a month. (From the Daily Bleed)

November 1, 1950 – Two Puerto Rican Nationalists attempted to assassinate President Truman. In 1954 other Nationalists opened fire in the House of Representatives, wounding five Congressmen. They were sentenced to 50 years imprisonment, but were later pardoned. (From the Daily Bleed)

November 1, 1954 – Algerians revolted against French colonial rule, beginning a bloody 7½ year war which ultimately resulted in Algerian independence. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—August 26

August 26, 1919 – United Mine Worker (UMW) organizer Fannie Sellins was gunned down by company bought sheriffs during a Pennsylvania coal strike along with Joseph Starzeleski. Sellins had helped organize the garment workers before moving on to help the coal miners. (From the Daily Bleed)

August 26, 1935 – The United Auto Workers was founded, with Francis Dillon appointed as president. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History--April 12

 

April 12, 1900 – Birth of Florence Reece, an activist in the Harlan County, Kentucky, coal strikes, and author of “Which Side Are You On?” The song was written in 1931 during a UMW strike in which sheriff Blair led a gang of thugs in a rampage of beating & murdering union leaders. Florence wrote the song on an old wall calendar while her home was being ransacked by Blair’s goons. (From the Daily Bleed and Workday Minnesota).

April 12, 1935 – 150,000 college students protested across the U.S. in the first nationwide student strike against war. Between 1936, and 1939, the movement mobilized at least 500,000 college students (almost 50% of all American college students at the time) in annual one-hour strikes against war. (From the Daily Bleed).

April 12, 1937 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Wagner Act (also known as the National Labor Relations Act) which created the structure for collective bargaining and rules for strikes and job actions. (From Workday Minnesota)

Today in Labor History—April 1

April 1, 1649 – Diggers occupied St. George's Hill, near Cobham, Surrey, England, seizing land to hold in common and to plant. Other Digger communities followed in Northants, Bucks, Kent, Herts, Middx, Leics, Beds, Glos & Notts.

April 1, 1882 – Coal Heavers strike against the Suez Canal Company in Port Said.

April 1, 1920 – T-Bone Slim's The Popular Wobbly published in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) "One Big Union Monthly".

April 1, 1924 – West Virginia miners walked out at the Coal River Colliery Company (CRC). The strike was unusual because CRC was an investment venture of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE), with stock owned by members of the Brotherhood. The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) called the strike because the company refused to pay the current union wage scale.

April 1, 1932 – 500 hungry school children in tattered clothes marched through Chicago's downtown section to the Board of Education offices to demand that the school system provide them with food.

April 1, 1946 – The 400,000-strong mine workers strike was put down by the U.S. military on orders of President Truman.

April 1, 1961 – Local 101 began a 6-week strike against Brooklyn Union Gas Company.

April 1, 1963 – The longest newspaper strike in U.S. history ended on this date. The nine major papers in New York City ceased publication over 100 days ago.

(From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—February 22

February 22, 1879 – "Révolte" first appeared in Switzerland, founded by Peter Kropotkin, François Dumarteray, and Élisée Reclus. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 22, 1892 – The founding convention of the People's Party met in St. Louis, with the support of the Knights of Labor, United Mine Workers and 20 other organizations. The party criticized political corruption, increasing concentration of wealth, and attacks on the rights of workers and farmers. (From Workday Minnesota)

February 22, 1917 – The Russian Revolution began. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 22, 1918 – At the height of the Red Scare, the office of the "Cronaca Sovversiva" was raided. Sacco and Vanzetti had written for this anarchist newspaper and donated money to it, marking their first official link to anarchist activities by the authorities.. (From the Daily Bleed)

February 22, 1921 – A wave of strikes in Petrograd occurred in opposition to terrible factory conditions and the discipline of 'war communism.' (From the Daily Bleed)

February 22, 2004 – Education Secretary Rod Paige called the nation's largest teachers union, National Education Association (NEA), a "terrorist organization" during a White House meeting with state governors. Meanwhile the Bush administration asserted the right to imprison citizens or non-citizens indefinitely without trial or access to lawyers, family members or journalists, as long as they were accused of being terrorists.  (From the Daily Bleed)