Today in Labor History—June 2

Gordon Riots Depicted by Charles Green

June 2, 1780 – The Gordon Riots began on this date in England and lasted through June 9. The riots began as a pogrom against Catholics. However, it grew into a mass worker insurrection that included ex-slaves, impressed sailors and debtors, English, Irish, Italians, Germans and Jews. The insurrectionists liberated two thousand prisoners and destroyed every major prison in London. Rioters also destroyed the homes members of the ruling elite, as well as toll houses and the Bank of England. The rich fled the city in terror. (From the Daily Bleed)

 

Harriet Tubman, c1885

June 2, 1863 – Backed by three gun boats, Harriet Tubman and her forces freed 750 slaves and set fire to the plantations from which they were liberated. (From the Daily Bleed)

 

Cananea

June 2, 1906 –U.S. rangers arrived at Cananea, Sonora, killing 22 striking Mexican miners. (From the Daily Bleed)

 

Bisbee Deportees Rounded Up in Ballpark

June 2, 1916 – The IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) Mesabi Iron Range strike began in Minnesota. The Western Federation of Miners (WFM), which organized the 1907 Mesabi Range Strike, was uninterested in organizing miners in 1916, leaving a vacuum that the much more radical IWW gladly filled. The Wobblies sent many of their top organizers to help and succeeded in recruiting many of the people who served as strikebreakers in 1907 to join the current strike. Carlos Tresca, an IWW leader, was arrested for murder in conjunction with the strike, but was released without trial. Tresca went on to oppose Mussolini and the fascists, as well as the Stalinists in the USSR. He was assassinated in 1943. The Mesabi Strike was suppressed violently by police and vigilantes, with numerous strikers being jailed. The struggle was a precursor to the infamous labor deportations, in Bisbee, Arizona in July, 1917, in which 1,300 Wobblies, their supporters, and even innocent bystanders, were rounded up, forced into cattle cars, and dumped in the desert after 16 hours without food or water. (From the Daily Bleed, Minnesota Historical Society and Wikipedia)

 

Palmer Disciplining Labor

June 2, 1919 – Anarchists carried out a series of coordinated bombings across the Eastern United States, damaging the homes of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, who had launched the first Red Hunt against unionists, commies and anarchists, as well as then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Rooselvel. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 2, 1921 – The IWW hall in Tampico was raided. In response the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) called a general strike, winning the right to have their hall. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 2, 1936 – Anastasio Somoza took over Nicaragua as dictator. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 2, 1952 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal for President Truman to have the Army seize the nation’s steel mills to prevent a strike. 600,000 CIO steelworkers immediately began a 53-day strike. (From Workday Minnesota and the Daily Bleed)

June 2, 1962 – 7,000 Russian workers marched in Novocherkassk to protest wage cuts and price increases. The military killed at least 24. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 2, 1977 – Native American activist Leonard Peltier was sentenced in Fargo, North Dakota, to two consecutive life terms for the killing of two FBI agents, despite the fact that there was no evidence linking him to the deaths. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 2, 1989 – 10,000 soldiers were blocked from entering Tiananmen Square, in Beijing, by 100,000 citizens protecting pro-democracy students. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—May 30

May 30, 1741 – 13 black men were burned at the stake, and 17 black men, two white men, and two white women were hanged, for their roles in a New York City slave revolt in. (From the Daily Bleed)

Mikhail Bakunin

 May 30, 1814 –Anarchist Mikhail Bakunin was born, Russia. (From the Daily Bleed)

Maxim Gorkey, 1906 (Library of Congress)

May 30, 1901 – Maxim Gorky, imprisoned for printing revolutionary literature, was released after Leo Tolstoy interceded on his behalf. Gorky later served a similar role, interceding on behalf of writers imprisoned by Stalin. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 30, 1912 – U.S. Marines invaded Nicaragua. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 30, 1937 - “Memorial Day massacre:” Police attacked striking steelworkers, shooting many in the back, killing 10 and wounding 100, at the Republic Steel plant in South Chicago. (From Workday Minnesota)

May 30, 1968 – May Days continued in France, which was now in the midst of a giant general strike. Trains stopped running. Airports were shut down. Millions of workers barricaded themselves in their factories. Even soccer players occupied their stadiums. Politicians warned that they were on the verge of civil war or revolution. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—March 2

Whipping an Enslaved Male, Serro Frio, Brazil, ca. 1770s

March 2, 1807 - Congress abolished the African slave trade. The first American slave ship, Desire, sailed from Marblehead, Massachussetts, in 1637. Since then, nearly 15 million blacks had been transported as slaves to the Americas. Overall, the African continent had lost 50 million people to slavery and the deaths associated with it. Another 250,000 slaves were continued to be imported illegally up to the Civil War. (From Workday Minnesota and the Daily Bleed)

March 2, 1937 - John L. Lewis, president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and U.S. Steel President Myron Taylor signed an agreement recognizing the Steel Workers Organizing Committee as the sole representative for its workforce. The contract also included a 40-hour work week and pay for overtime. (From Workday Minnesota)

Judi Bari Portrait from the Lucha Continua mural, 3260 23rd St., Mission District, San Francisco (Image by Gary Soup)

March 2, 1997 – Earth First! activist and IWW organizer Judi Bari (b.1949) died on this date from cancer. Bari and her comrade Darryl Cherney survived a terrorist bomb in Oakland, CA, in 1990. The police and FBI immediately blamed her for the bombing, claiming that she was the terrorist and that the bomb was intended for the logging companies. She was arrested and handcuffed to her hospital bed. Bari and Cherney were eventually exonerated and won a hefty settlement for the FBI’s role in violating their civil liberties. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—December 27

December 27, 1913 -- A rebellion by IWW workers in Edmonton, Alberta forced the city to house 400 unemployed during winter. (From the Daily Bleed)

December 27, 1916 – A steelworkers strike occurred in Ohio in which workers were demanding the 8-hour day and an increase in wages. The strike ended quickly in their favor because the government needed steel for armaments. (From the Daily Bleed)

December 27, 1943 - President Franklin Delano Roosevelt seized the railroads in attempt to block a nationwide rail strike. The railroads would be temporarily placed under the "supervision" of the War Department, which prompted the five railroad brotherhoods to accept his offer to arbitrate the dispute. (FromWorkday Minnesota)

Today in Labor History—May 30

May 30, 1741 – 13 black men were burned at the stake, and 17 black men, two white men, and two white women were hanged, for their roles in a New York City slave revolt in. (From the Daily Bleed)

Mikhail Bakunin

 May 30, 1814 –Anarchist Mikhail Bakunin was born, Russia. (From the Daily Bleed)

Maxim Gorkey, 1906 (Library of Congress)

May 30, 1901 – Maxim Gorky, imprisoned for printing revolutionary literature, was released after Leo Tolstoy interceded on his behalf. Gorky later served a similar role, interceding on behalf of writers imprisoned by Stalin. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 30, 1912 – U.S. Marines invaded Nicaragua. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 30, 1937 - “Memorial Day massacre:” Police attacked striking steelworkers, shooting many in the back, killing 10 and wounding 100, at the Republic Steel plant in South Chicago. (From Workday Minnesota)

May 30, 1968 – May Days continued in France, which was now in the midst of a giant general strike. Trains stopped running. Airports were shut down. Millions of workers barricaded themselves in their factories. Even soccer players occupied their stadiums. Politicians warned that they were on the verge of civil war or revolution. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—March 2

Whipping an Enslaved Male, Serro Frio, Brazil, ca. 1770s

March 2, 1807 - Congress abolished the African slave trade. The first American slave ship, Desire, sailed from Marblehead, Massachussetts, in 1637. Since then, nearly 15 million blacks had been transported as slaves to the Americas. Overall, the African continent had lost 50 million people to slavery and the deaths associated with it. Another 250,000 slaves were continued to be imported illegally up to the Civil War. (From Workday Minnesota and the Daily Bleed)

March 2, 1937 - John L. Lewis, president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and U.S. Steel President Myron Taylor signed an agreement recognizing the Steel Workers Organizing Committee as the sole representative for its workforce. The contract also included a 40-hour work week and pay for overtime. (From Workday Minnesota)

Judi Bari Portrait from the Lucha Continua mural, 3260 23rd St., Mission District, San Francisco (Image by Gary Soup)

March 2, 1997 – Earth First! activist and IWW organizer Judi Bari (b.1949) died on this date from cancer. Bari and her comrade Darryl Cherney survived a terrorist bomb in Oakland, CA, in 1990. The police and FBI immediately blamed her for the bombing, claiming that she was the terrorist and that the bomb was intended for the logging companies. She was arrested and handcuffed to her hospital bed. Bari and Cherney were eventually exonerated and won a hefty settlement for the FBI’s role in violating their civil liberties. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—December 27

December 27, 1913 -- A rebellion by IWW workers in Edmonton, Alberta forced the city to house 400 unemployed during winter. (From the Daily Bleed)

December 27, 1916 – A steelworkers strike occurred in Ohio in which workers were demanding the 8-hour day and an increase in wages. The strike ended quickly in their favor because the government needed steel for armaments. (From the Daily Bleed)

December 27, 1943 - President Franklin Delano Roosevelt seized the railroads in attempt to block a nationwide rail strike. The railroads would be temporarily placed under the "supervision" of the War Department, which prompted the five railroad brotherhoods to accept his offer to arbitrate the dispute. (From Workday Minnesota)

Today in Labor History—June 2

Gordon Gin Riots, by Charles Green

June 2, 1780 – The Great Proletarian Gin Festival (also known as the Gordon Riots) began on June 2, in England, and lasted through June 9. The riots began as a pogrom against Catholics. However, it grew into a mass worker insurrection that included ex-slaves, impressed sailors and debtors, English, Irish, Italians, Germans and Jews. The insurrectionists liberated two thousand prisoners and destroyed every major prison in London. Rioters also destroyed the homes members of the ruling elite, as well as toll houses and the Bank of England. The rich fled the city in terror. (From the Daily Bleed)

Harriet Tubman,1885

 June 2, 1863 – Backed by three gun boats, Harriet Tubman and her forces freed 750 slaves and set fire to the plantations from which they were liberated. (From the Daily Bleed)

Colonel Greene Addressing Strikers in Cananea, Sonora, 1906

 June 2, 1906 –U.S. rangers arrived at Cananea, Sonora, killing 22 striking Mexican miners. (From the Daily Bleed)

Carlos Tresca, 1910

June 2, 1916 – The IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) Mesabi Iron Range strike began in Minnesota. The Western Federation of Miners (WFM), which organized the 1907 Mesabi Range Strike, was uninterested in organzing miners in 1916, leaving a vacuum that the much more radical IWW gladly filled. The Wobblies sent many of their top organizers to help and succeeded in recruiting many of the people who served as strikebreakers in 1907 to join the current. Carlos Tresca, an IWW leader, was arrested for murder in conjunction with the strike, but was released without trial. Tresca went on to oppose Mussolini and the fascists, as well as the Stalinists in the USSR. He was assassinated in 1943. The Mesabi Strike was suppressed violently by police and vigilantes, with numerous strikers being jailed. The struggle was a precursor to the infamous labor deportations, in Bisbee, Arizona in July, 1917, in which 1,300 Wobblies, their supporters, and even innocent bystanders, were rounded up, forced into cattle cars, and dumped in the desert after 16 hours without food or water. (From the Daily Bleed, Minnesota Historical Society and Wikipedia)

Bisbee, Az Deportations (Workers were held in a stadium prior to their deportation)

June 2, 1919 – Anarchists carried out a series of coordinated bombings across the Eastern United States, damaging the homes of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, who had launched the first Red Hunt against unionists, commies and anarchists, as well as then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Rooselvel. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 2, 1921 – The IWW hall in Tampico was raided. In response the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) called a general strike, winning the right to have their hall. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 2, 1936 – Anastasio Somoza took over Nicaragua as dictator. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 2, 1952 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal for President Truman to have the Army seize the nation’s steel mills to prevent a strike. 600,000 CIO steelworkers immediately began a 53-day strike. (From Workday Minnesota and the Daily Bleed)

June 2, 1962 – 7,000 Russian workers marched in Novocherkassk to protest wage cuts and price increases. The military killed at least 24. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 2, 1977 – Native American activist Leonard Peltier was sentenced in Fargo, North Dakota, to two consecutive life terms for the killing of two FBI agents, despite the fact that there was no evidence linking him to the deaths. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 2, 1989 – 10,000 soldiers were blocked from entering Tiananmen Square, in Beijing, by 100,000 citizens protecting pro-democracy students. (From the Daily Bleed)