Today in Labor History: April 17

April 17, 617--53 Scottish monks were burned alive in their refectory by armed women seeking revenge for being cheated out of their pasture rights on the isle of Eigg (from the Daily Bleed). Wikipedia says that 150 Christians, including Saint Donnan (who had recently introduced Christianity to the area), were burnt alive by the pagan Pictish queen, but is vague about their motivation.

April 17, 1824--Slavery was abolished in Central America (from the Daily Bleed).

Benjamin Tucker

\April 17, 1854--American individualist anarchist and publisher of Liberty, Ben Tucker, was born on this date (from the Daily Bleed).

Richmond, VA Bread Riot

April 17, 1864 –Bread riots in Savannah, Georgia. (From the Daily Bleed) The Civil War had been going on for several years. Soldiers were deserting, particularly working class conscripts. Those that remained were hungry and eating/stealing whatever food could be found, creating food shortages for all but the most well off residents, precipitating food riots throughout the south, particularly by poor women. (From Not Even Past)

 

April 17, 1905-- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a New York maximum hours law for bakery workers was unconstitutional under the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment. Legislation limiting hours of employment was not passed until the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. (From Workday Minnesota)

April 17, 1912 –Miners struck at the Lena gold fields in eastern Siberia to protest terrible working & living conditions. Strike leaders were arrested and troops fired on a peaceful strikers’ march, killing over 200. (From the Daily Bleed)

April 17, 1968—One-third of the Duke University student body struck against racial discrimination in hiring (From the Daily Bleed)

April 17, 1996--Brazilian police attacked 2,000 landless peasants, killing 19 and wounding 69. Over 1,000 would be killed in similar protests throughout the 1990s. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History--April 15

April 15, 1834 –"Bloody Week" ended in Lyon, France, with a blood bath against insurgent silk workers. Several hundred were killed. (From The Daily Bleed)

A.Phillip Randolph

April 15, 1889 – Birth of A. Philip Randolph, organizer and president of the African-American Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. According to Randolph "The labor movement traditionally has been the haven for the dispossessed, the despised, the neglected, the downtrodden, and the poor." Randolph believed in permanent social change, but not without the direct participation of those affected, including mass demonstrations.  Initially, no African-American newspapers supported his fight to unionize the Pullman porters. (From Workday Minnesota and The Daily Bleed)

April 15, 1902--A peasant uprising in Russia led to the ceasing of wealthy estates and the assassination of the head of the secret police (from the Daily Bleed).

April 15, 1908—L’Ecole Renovee, the Journal of the International League for the Rational Education of Children, debuted in Paris. Its founding members included Spanish anarchist educator Francisco Ferrer, creator of the first Modern Schools, as wells as Anatole France, Peter Kropotkin, and biologist Ernst Haekel.

April 15, 1915 – The IWW union Agricultural Workers Organization formed in Kansas City, Mo. (From the Unionist)

April 15, 1916  – The American Federation of Teachers was created in Chicago. (From the Unionist)

April 15, 1919 –  The first women-led union, the Telephone Operators Department of IBEW began what would ultimately become a successful six-day strike across New England. (From the Unionist)

Sacco & Vanzetti

 April 15, 1920 – Two men rob and kill Frederick Parmenter & Alessandro Berardelli, employees of the Slater & Morrill Shoe Company, in South Braintree, Massachusetts, making off with the $15,776.51 payroll they were carrying. The anarchists Sacco & Vanzetti ultimately were blamed for the robbery, convicted by a kangaroo court and executed. (From The Daily Bleed)

April 15, 1934 – Transport Workers Union was founded. (From the Unionist) 

April 15, 1947--Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in the Major Leagues in the modern era. African Americans had played in the 19th century, before the league had become segregated. (From Workday Minnesota)

April 15, 1951 – The first strike wave against fascist Spain began in the Basque country and spread to Catalonia. Over 100,000 workers from a number of different industries & cities defied the government's order to return to work and risked prison or death. (From The Daily Bleed)

April 15, 1961--CIA arrived at the Bay of Pigs, Cuba, in order to bring unions and workers' rights to the so-called Workers' Paradise.

April 15, 1969--Thousands of welfare recipients marched in New York City to protest cuts to their benefits (from the Daily Bleed).

April 15, 1981--Guatemalan soldiers murdered 69 people in Quiche province (from the Daily Bleed).

April 15, 1982--Guatemalan soldiers murdered 100 children and 73 women in Baja Verapaz (from the Daily Bleed).

Today in Labor History: April 17

Richmond, VA Bread Riot

April 17, 1864 –Bread riots in Savannah, Georgia. (From the Daily Bleed) The Civil War had been going on for several years. Soldiers were deserting, particularly working class conscripts. Those that remained were hungry and eating/stealing whatever food could be found, creating food shortages for all but the most well off residents, precipitating food riots throughout the south, particularly by poor women. (From Not Even Past)

April 17, 1912 –Miners struck at the Lena gold fields in eastern Siberia to protest terrible working & living conditions. Strike leaders were arrested and troops fired on a peaceful strikers’ march, killing over 200. (From the Daily Bleed)

April 17, 1968—One-third of the Duke University student body struck against racial discrimination in hiring (From the Daily Bleed)

April 17, 1968—Police clashed with 2,000 landless peasants in Brazil, killing 19 & wounding 69. 156 officers were eventually indicted for the killings, with only three facing trial & all acquitted. Throughout the 1990s, over 1,000 Brazilians were killed in similar land disputes. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History: April 17

Richmond, VA Bread Riot

April 17, 1864 –Bread riots in Savannah, Georgia. (From the Daily Bleed) The Civil War had been going on for several years. Soldiers were deserting, particularly working class conscripts. Those that remained were hungry and eating/stealing whatever food could be found, creating food shortages for all but the most well off residents, precipitating food riots throughout the south, particularly by poor women. (From Not Even Past)

April 17, 1912 –Miners struck at the Lena gold fields in eastern Siberia to protest terrible working & living conditions. Strike leaders were arrested and troops fired on a peaceful strikers’ march, killing over 200. (From the Daily Bleed)

April 17, 1968—One-third of the Duke University student body struck against racial discrimination in hiring (From the Daily Bleed)

April 17, 1968—Police clashed with 2,000 landless peasants in Brazil, killing 19 & wounding 69. 156 officers were eventually indicted for the killings, with only three facing trial & all acquitted. Throughout the 1990s, over 1,000 Brazilians were killed in similar land disputes. (From the Daily Bleed)

Honduran Violence Against Striking Teachers and Students

Honduras is in the midst of a month long general strike. The strike, spearheaded by teachers and the National Front of Popular Resistance, is protesting government repression, attacks on teachers, privatization of the public education system, and the skyrocketing cost of living. However, virtually all of Honduran society is now in resistance, including the Garifuna (Afro-Indian), peasant and indigenous communities. In March, President Lobo threatened to fire striking teachers, and has since carried out the threat on 300 of them. Several striking teachers have been killed by the police, while three high school students were killed last week in Tegucigalpa. The police routinely attack protesters with clubs, tear gas, and rubber bullets.

According to Democracy Now, the violence throughout the country has been escalating, with March being one of the deadliest on record. There has been an average of 25 women murdered each week, and over 40 murders of gays and lesbians. The homicide rate is now among the highest in the world, and four times that of Mexico, even with its epidemic of drug violence. This should be no surprise since Honduras (along with much of Central American) has grown in importance to drug traffickers, not only for its importance to smuggling, but as a place for Mexican drug lords to hide out from their government.

There are several connections between drug violence and repression of teachers and the rest of Honduran civil society. First, the same police and military that are repressing Hondurans during their protests and organizing are complicit in the drug trade.  A second connection is the President himself, Porfirio Lobo, who is in power only because the elected president, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted in a U.S. supported coup. Democracy Now reported that Lobo has just been offered $200 million from the U.S. government for the police and military to use in the drug war. However, there will be no oversight to ensure that the money and weapons are actually used to fight drug trafficking and not against civilians.