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 theDaily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—December 22

Today in Labor History—December 22

December 22, 1731 – There was a Dutch revolt against a meat tax on this date. (From the Daily Bleed)

The UST Buford, AKA the Soviet Ark, AKA An Xmas Gift to Lenin and Trotsky

 December 22, 1919 – During a strike by 395,000 steelworkers, approximately 250 "anarchists," "communists," and "labor agitators" were deported from the United States and sent to Russia, on the U.S.S. Buford (dubbed the Christmas Gift for Trotsky). Included among the deportees were Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman (the man who shot Henry Clay Frick in retaliation for his role in the Homestead massacre). This marked the beginning of the first "Red Scare." (From Workday Minnesota)

December 22, 1922 – The International Congress of Revolutionary Syndicalists met in Berlin, leading to the founding of the International Workers Association (AIT/ IWA). The anti-authoritarian AIT served as an umbrella organization for numerous anarcho-syndicalist trade unionists from 12 countries (FORA, USI, SAC, FAUD, CNT, etc.) with several million members at its height. (From the Daily Bleed)

December 22, 1997 – Méxican paramilitaries associated with the ruling PRI party massacred 45 peasants in the village of Acteal. Chiapas. (From theDaily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—December 1

December 1, 1904 – W. A. "Tony" Boyle, future president of the United Mine Workers (UMW) was born on this date. (From the Daily Bleed)

December 1, 1908 – As Brazil and Argentina prepared for war, workers on both sides of the border protested. (From the Daily Bleed)

December 1, 1912 – The rustling card system was put into place by the Anaconda Mining and Smelter Company. Agitators were identified by spies and refused cards and jobs. (From the Daily Bleed)

Ralph Chaplin (public domain)

 December 1, 1914 – The famous labor song, "Solidarity Forever," was written on this date by IWW songwriter Ralph Chaplin. He wrote the song for a hunger march to be led by Lucy Parsons in Chicago (on January 17, 1915).

Solidarity Forever

(To the tune of Glory Glory Hallelijah)

When the union's inspiration through worker's blood shall run,
There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun;
Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one,
For the union makes us strong.
[Chorus]
Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite
Who would lash us into serfdom & would crush us with his might?
is there anything left to us but to organize & fight?
For the union makes us strong
[Chorus]
In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold,
Greater than the might of armies magnified a thousand fold;
We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old,
For the union makes us strong.
[Chorus]: Solidarity forever, Solidarity forever, Solidarity forever,
For the union makes us strong (From the Daily Bleed)

Rust Bucket UST Buford Carrying Its "Christmas Present" of Reds to Lenin and Trotsky

December 1, 1919 -- US: Alexander Berkman, Emma Goldman and 200 other anarchists, labor militants and radicals were deported to Russia on the Buford. (From the Daily Bleed)

December 1, 1955 - Rosa Parks, a 43-year-old African-American seamstress, boarded a bus in downtown Montgomery, Alabama, and refused to move to the back. She was arrested, triggering a year-long boycott of the city bus system and legal actions which ended racial segregation on municipal buses throughout the southern United States (From Workday Minnesota)

December 1, 1966 – The Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association (YGDNA) became the first nurses in Ohio to engage in a mass resignation or "strike." According to the American Nurses Association, it may have been the first concerted action by nurses in a labor dispute in the nation. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—November 21

Revolte des Canuts - Lyon 1831(public domain)

November 21, 1831 – Silk workers went on strike in Lyon, France. However, the entire city rose in insurrection when the National Guard killed several workers. (From the Daily Bleed)

November 21, 1863 – Workers across the country were striking and protesting against high prices during the Civil War. (From Workday Minnesota)

November 21, 1870 -- Alexander Berkman was born on this date in Vilna, Russia (Lithuania). One-time lover and life-long comrade of Emma Goldman, Berkman wrote Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist, after serving time for attempting to murder Henry Clay Frick, architect of the massacre of striking Homestead/Carnegie Steel workers. (From the Daily Bleed)

November 21, 1921 – The original Columbine Massacre occurred in Serine, Colorado, with six striking IWW miners slaughtered by state police and company thugs. The police and guards used machine guns against the unarmed miners. Dozens were injured. (From the Daily Bleed)

November 21, 1945 – 200,000 United Auto Workers went on strike against General Motors. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—October 16

John Brown, 1859

October 16, 1859 - Abolitionist John Brown led his famous raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in order to obtain weapons to defeat the forces of slavery. The raid failed and Brown was executed. (From Workday Minnesota)

October 16, 1919 – The U.S. Deportation Act was used to rid the country of anarchist aliens, including Emma Goldman & Alexander Berkman. (From theDaily Bleed)

October 16, 1925 – The Texas School Board banned the teaching of evolution. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—September 19

Alexander Berkman, 1892

September 19, 1892 – Alexander Berkman was convicted for attempting to assassinate Henry Frick and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Berkman tried to kill Frick in retaliation for Frick’s role in suppressing the Homestead strike and massacring workers. (From the Daily Bleed)

September 19, 1981 - Over 400,000 union members marched in the first Solidarity Day demonstration in Washington, D.C., to protest Reagan’s firing of striking PATCO air traffic controllers. (From Workday Minnesota)

Today in Labor History—July 22

July 22, 1877 – A General Strike occurred in St. Louis, as part of the national Great Strike. The St. Louis strike is generally considered the first General Strike in U.S. history. It was organized by the radical Knights of Labor and the Workingman’s Party. In addition to joining in solidarity with striking rail workers, thousands in other trades came out to fight for the 8-hour day and an end to child labor. 3,000 federal troops and 5,000 deputized police (vigilantes?) ended the strike by killing at least 18 people and arresting at least 70. (From Wikipedia and the Daily Bleed)

July 22, 1886 – San Francisco brewery workers won their month-long battle with local breweries, winning free beer for workers, the closed shop, freedom to live anywhere (until now they were forced to live in the brewery itself), a 10-hour day, six-day week, and a board of arbitration. (From the Daily Bleed)

Alexander Berkman

July 22, 1892 – Alexander Berkman tried to assassinate Henry Clay Frick, responsible for the deaths of nine miners killed by Pinkerton thugs on July 6, during Homestead Strike. (From the Daily Bleed)

Clips from a propaganda film meant to flush out the Preparedness Day bombers

 July 22, 1916 - A bomb was set off during a pro-war “Preparedness Day” parade in San Francisco, killing 10 and injuring 40 others. Thomas J. Mooney, a labor organizer, and Warren K. Billings, a shoe worker, were convicted on flimsy evidence, but both were pardoned in 1939. Not surprisingly, only anarchists were suspected in the bombing. A few days after the bombing, they searched and seized materials from the offices of The Blast, Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman’s local paper, and threatened to arrest Berkman. (From Workday Minnesota and the Daily Bleed)

July 22, 1917 – The oil industry in Tampico, Mexico, was shut down by a successful IWW (Wobblies) action. (From the Daily Bleed)

July 22, 1920 – Police raided the Santiago, Chile, IWW headquarters. In Valparaiso, police planted dynamite in the Wobbly hall and arrested most of the IWW organizers for terrorism. The raids were in retaliation for the three-month strike that year in which the IWW tried to prevent the export of grains at a time of famine and commodities profiteering. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—July 15

John Ball

July 15, 1381 – Peasants Revolt leader John Ball was executed in St. Albans by hanging, drawing and quartering. His head was later stuck on a pike and left on London Bridge. Ball was a radical, roving priest who routinely pissed off the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was imprisoned at least three times as a result and was ultimately excommunicated. He helped inspire peasants to rise up in June of 1381, though he was in prison at the time. Kentish rebels soon freed him. (From Wikipedia and the Daily Bleed)

July 15, 1915 – In spite of the Munitions of War Act, 200,000 Welsh mine workers struck for higher pay. (From the Daily Bleed)

July15, 1917 – Alexander Berkman, Emma Goldman and other radicals were indicted under the new Espionage Act for their anti-draft activities. Goldman and Berkman got two-year prison sentences and $10,000 fines. (From the Daily Bleed)

July 15, 1917 – 50,000 lumberjacks struck for a 8-hour day.

July 15, 1959 – United Steel workers began the longest steel strike in the U.S., ending January 4, 1960 . (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—July 6

6th Regiment Attacking Striking Railworkers

July 6, 1877 – A strike against the Baltimore Ohio railroad led to a series of strikes across the northeast, known as the Great Railway Strike of 1877 (or the Great Upheaval). Federal troops were called out for the first time in a labor dispute, helping to crush the strike. As many as 100 workers were killed and over 200 were injured in the wave of strikes occurring throughout the country: (Soures: Modern School; UE News; Howard Zinn; Brecher, Jeremy., Strike!, 1997. ISBN 0-89608-570-8 and Shmoop Labor History)

July 6, 1889 - Striking construction workers in Duluth were shot down by the police. The workers, mostly immigrants, went on strike when contractors reneged on an agreement to pay them $1.75 a day. Mayor John Sutphin ordered police to keep strikers away from scabs, leading to fighting between strikers and police. There was an hour-long gun fight on the corner of 20th Avenue West and Michigan Street that killed two strikers and one bystander and wounded an estimated 30 strikers. The police eventually suppressed the strike through violence. (From Workday Minnesota)

Shield used by striking steelworkers as they shot their homemade cannon at Pinkertons

 July 6, 1892 – Locked out workers out at the Homestead Steel Works battled 300 Pinkerton detectives hired by Carnegie, who owned the Homestead mill. The Pinkertons were there to import and protect scabs brought in to replace striking workers and opened fire on the striking steelworkers who defended themselves with guns and a homemade cannon. 3-7 Pinkertons and 11 union members were killed in the battle. The strike lasted for months, court injunctions eventually helped to crush the union, protecting the steel industry for decades from organized labor. Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman plotted to assassinate Homestead Boss Henry Clay Frick for his role in killing the workers. Berkman later carried out the assassination attempt, failed, and spent years in prison. (From Workday Minnesota, Daily Bleed and Shmoop Labor History)

July 6, 1911 – Wobby and anarchist labor organizer Joe Hill's song "The Preacher & the Slave" first appeared in the IWW’s Little Red Song Book.

Long-haired preachers come out every night,

Try to tell you what's wrong and what's right;

But when asked how 'bout something to eat

They will answer in voices so sweet

Joe Hill

Chorus

You will eat, bye and bye,

In that glorious land above the sky;

Work and pray, live on hay,

You'll get pie in the sky when you die

And the Starvation Army, they play,

And they sing and they clap and they pray,

Till they get all your coin on the drum,

Then they tell you when you're on the bum

(Chorus)

Workingmen of all countries, unite

Side by side we for freedom will fight

When the world and its wealth we have gained

To the grafters we'll sing this refrain

Chorus

(From the Daily Bleed)

July 6, 1926 – IRT subway workers struck in NYC, protesting the forced signing of yellow-dog contracts which mandated they join company union. (From the Daily Bleed)

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)

Today in Labor History—December 22

December 22, 1731 – There was a Dutch revolt against a meat tax on this date. (From the Daily Bleed)

The UST Buford, AKA the Soviet Ark, AKA An Xmas Gift to Lenin and Trotsky

 December 22, 1919 – During a strike by 395,000 steelworkers, approximately 250 "anarchists," "communists," and "labor agitators" were deported from the United States and sent to Russia, on the U.S.S. Buford (dubbed the Christmas Gift for Trotsky). Included among the deportees were Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman (the man who shot Henry Clay Frick in retaliation for his role in the Homestead massacre). This marked the beginning of the first "Red Scare." (From Workday Minnesota)

December 22, 1922 – The International Congress of Revolutionary Syndicalists met in Berlin, leading to the founding of the International Workers Association (AIT/ IWA). The anti-authoritarian AIT served as an umbrella organization for numerous anarcho-syndicalist trade unionists from 12 countries (FORA, USI, SAC, FAUD, CNT, etc.) with several million members at its height. (From the Daily Bleed)

December 22, 1997 – Méxican paramilitaries associated with the ruling PRI party massacred 45 peasants in the village of Acteal. Chiapas. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—December 1

December 1, 1904 – W. A. "Tony" Boyle, future president of the United Mine Workers (UMW) was born on this date. (From the Daily Bleed)

December 1, 1908 – As Brazil and Argentina prepared for war, workers on both sides of the border protested. (From the Daily Bleed)

December 1, 1912 – The rustling card system was put into place by the Anaconda Mining and Smelter Company. Agitators were identified by spies and refused cards and jobs. (From the Daily Bleed)

Ralph Chaplin (public domain)

 December 1, 1914 – The famous labor song, "Solidarity Forever," was written on this date by IWW songwriter Ralph Chaplin. He wrote the song for a hunger march to be led by Lucy Parsons in Chicago (on January 17, 1915).

Solidarity Forever

(To the tune of Glory Glory Hallelijah)

When the union's inspiration through worker's blood shall run,
There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun;
Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one,
For the union makes us strong.
[Chorus]
Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite
Who would lash us into serfdom & would crush us with his might?
is there anything left to us but to organize & fight?
For the union makes us strong
[Chorus]
In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold,
Greater than the might of armies magnified a thousand fold;
We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old,
For the union makes us strong.
[Chorus]: Solidarity forever, Solidarity forever, Solidarity forever,
For the union makes us strong
(From the Daily Bleed)

Rust Bucket UST Buford Carrying Its "Christmas Present" of Reds to Lenin and Trotsky

December 1, 1919 -- US: Alexander Berkman, Emma Goldman and 200 other anarchists, labor militants and radicals were deported to Russia on the Buford. (From the Daily Bleed)

December 1, 1955 - Rosa Parks, a 43-year-old African-American seamstress, boarded a bus in downtown Montgomery, Alabama, and refused to move to the back. She was arrested, triggering a year-long boycott of the city bus system and legal actions which ended racial segregation on municipal buses throughout the southern United States (From Workday Minnesota)

December 1, 1966 – The Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association (YGDNA) became the first nurses in Ohio to engage in a mass resignation or "strike." According to the American Nurses Association, it may have been the first concerted action by nurses in a labor dispute in the nation. (From the Daily Bleed)