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 the Daily 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.

Americans Too Fat To Fight “War On Terror”

Little Boy (left) and Fat Man (right)--(Image from Flickr, by Marcin Wichary)

Obesity or Jingoism Problem?

According to the Harper’s Index, 75% of Americans aged 17 to 24 are ineligible to join the military. The most common reasons, in order, are obesity, drug or alcohol problems, and low “aptitude.”

Since obesity is more common among the poor, one might wonder if the days of the “economic draft” are coming to an end.

Ed Reformers Want More Studying, Like Koreans, Who Want Less Studying, Like Americans

(I caught this one in News of the Weird, which picked it up from Time Magazine, 9/25/11)

U.S. Ed Deformers love to hold up South Korea as the epitome of a successful education system (along with Finland). One of the hallmarks of the South Korean system is obsessive hard work, long hours and "educational masochism." While the U.S. Ed Deformers see this as positive, the South Korean government has recently begun enforcing a 10 p.m. curfew on education coaching-schools (called hagwons) and started sending out teams to conduct nightly raids on hagwons that run past the curfew.

American Hagwon? (Image from Flickr, by Dean+Barb)

According to the Time article, the Korean government is so concerned about student’s addiction to studying that they are paying bounty hunters to turn in violators. At his 2008 inauguration, President Lee Myung-bak said, "One-size-fits-all, government-led uniform curriculums and an education system that is locked only onto the college-entrance examination are not acceptable." Some Korean politicians are even calling for reduced testing and increased emphasis on creativity.

The U.S. has been moving in the opposite direction, bee lining toward a one-size fits all, government-led uniform curriculum (Common Core Standards and NCLB exams). Reformers are calling for longer school hours and more studying, though slashed budgets are resulting in the opposite. U.S. students have been beating themselves up in the growing competition to get into the most elite universities, sometimes taking four or more AP classes at a time and spending thousands of dollars a year (like the Korean counterparts) on test prep classes and tutoring.

Today in Labor History—January 3

Propaganda Film on the Preparedness Day Bombing, Hearst-Pathe Film

Tom Mooney, 1910

January 3, 1917 – The trial of labor organizer Tom Mooney began in San Francisco on this date. Mooney was framed by Martin Swanson, a detective with a long history of interfering in San Francisco strikes, for the Preparedness Day bombing. Swanson maintained constant surveillance and harassment of Mooney and Warren Billings, as well as Alexander Berkman & Emma Goldman. Billings and Mooney were still convicted and imprisoned for the bombing, with Mooney serving over 22 years for a crime he did not commit. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 3, 1931 - Roughly 500 farmers marched into the business section of England, Arkansas, to demand food for their starving families after their crops were ruined by a long drought. The farmers threatened to take the food by force if it was not freely provided to them, one of scores of such incidents that occurred during the Great Depression (and surprisingly have not happened more frequently during the current one). (From Workday Minnesota)

January 3, 1964 – 450,000 public school kids went on strike in New York City to protest de facto racial segregation and poor learning conditions. (From the Daily Bleed)

Less Than 25% of California Schools Have Librarians

(Image from Flickr, by library_mistress)

Less than 1 out of 4 California schools have full-time credentialed librarians, according to the state Department of Education (See San Francisco Chronicle, 1/2/12). There are only about 900 school librarians in the state, down roughly 20% from two years ago. Many schools have cut librarians entirely, while others have hired them part-time or are sharing them with one or more other schools. Some have put non-credentialed staff or parents at the front desk and one school has even hired students to staff its library.

While anyone can run a book through a bar code device, credentialed librarians are trained to teach students research techniques, deliver curricula, and instill a love of books and reading. Credentialed school librarians can help teachers develop lesson plans and research projects and teach students how to use databases, properly cite sources, and explain copyright laws. Some studies have found a correlation between having full-time credentialed librarians and student achievement.

Today in Labor History—January 2

Portrait of Absalom Jones by Raphaelle Peale (1774–1825), Delaware Art Museum

January 2, 1800 – The free black community of Philadelphia, led by Absalom Jones, petitioned Congress to abolish slavery and to end the fugitive slave act of 1793. (From the Daily Bleed and USHistory.org)

January 2, 1873 -- Anton Pannekoek (1873-1960) was born on this date. Pannekoek was a Dutch astronomer, mathematician and radical left-communist. Among other works, he published the pamphlet Darwinism and Marxism, 1916, which strongly attacked the social Darwinists, like Spencer. He also wrote the classic, “Workers Councils.” (From the Daily Bleed)

January 2, 1905 - A conference of 23 industrial unionists met in Chicago and issued a manifesto calling for an industrial Union Congress to be held in Chicago on June 27—a meeting that would lead to the formation of the Industrial Workers of the World (or IWW or "Wobblies").  (From Workday Minnesota)

Today in Labor History—January 1

Haitian revolution

Toussaint L'Ouverture

January 1, 1804 – Haitian slaves, led by Jean Jacques Desalines, declared independence from France, making Haiti the first free black republic in the world. The U.S. refused to recognize Haiti for the next 70 and France extracted millions in restitution, destroying any hope of ever moving out of deep poverty. The slave revolt against the French began in 1791 with the call by Dutty Boukman, a vodou priest and was led by Toussaint L'Ouverture. (From the Daily Bleed and Wikipedia; For a really great history of the Haitian revolution, please see the Black Jacobins, by H. L. R. James)

January 1, 1831 – The first issue of "The Liberator," William Lloyd Garrison's abolitionist paper was printed on this date.  (From the Daily Bleed)

January 1, 1832 – The first meeting of the New England Anti-Slavery Society occurred on this date. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 1, 1863 – President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves in all rebel states, but by no means granting equality under the law: "I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races; that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to inter-marry with white people . . . and I am as much as any other man in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race." (From the Daily Bleed)

January 1, 1875 – Women weavers formed a union in Fall River, Massachusetts. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 1, 1879 – Ben Reitman was born on this day. Reitman was a comrade and one-time lover of Emma Goldman, a doctor to hobos and prostitutes, and an anarchist organizer. (From the Daily Bleed)

Louis-Auguste Blanqui

 January 1, 1881 -- Paris Commune leader Louis-Auguste Blanqui (1805-1881) died on this date in Paris.

January 1, 1920 – America's first "Red Scare" began with the arrest of 2,700 people without charge. A. Mitchell Palmer, Wilson's Attorney General, ultimately arrested nearly 6,000 people on suspicion of "communism." Those who were not U.S. citizens were deported as "undesirable aliens." (From the Daily Bleed)

January 1, 1924 – IWW Lumber Workers IU120 struck the British Columbia lumber owners, calling for an 8 hour day with blankets supplied, minimum wage of $4 per day, release of all class war prisoners, no discrimination against IWW members & no censuring of IWW literature. (From the Daily Bleed and Morgan Miller, A Brief History of the IWW outside the US (1905-1999)

January 1, 1966 - 35,000 members of the Transport Workers Union and the Amalgamated Transit Union shut down 135 miles of subway and 2,200 buses in New York City, bringing huge losses to business and, consequently, a quick resolution, with a settlement being reached on January 13. (From Workday Minnesota)