Today in Labor History—December 10

Portrait of Spies, prior to his execution on trumped up murder charges

December 10, 1865 – August Spies, anarchist labor organizer and Haymarket martyr was born on this date. Spies once said, "The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you are throttling today."(From the Daily Bleed)

December 10, 1906 – The IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) launched the first sit-down strike in the U.S. at a General Electric plant in Schenectady, New York. Their method was later adopted by the labor movement in the 1930s, with the Flint Sit-Down Strike being the most well-known.

December 10, 2006--Augusto Pinochet, long-time dictator of Chile, who massacred thousands of labor activists, radicals and opposition members, died on this date. 

Today in Labor History—November 11

November 11, 1647 – The first American compulsory school law was passed in Massachusetts. (From the Daily Bleed)

Nat Turner Captured (public domain)

 November 11, 1831 – American slave rebellion leader Nat Turner was hanged, Jerusalem, Virginia. Three months prior, Turner had led a bloody slave revolt starting with the execution of his owner Joseph Travis and his family. Within the next 24 hours, Turner and an estimated 70 followers went on a rampage through Southampton County, Virginia, killing nearly 60 whites, while trying to encourage other slaves into revolt. Federal troops and militias were called in and ultimately suppressed the revolt, culminating with the hanging of over 100 African Americans, including many who did not participate in the revolt. (From the Daily Bleed)

Haymarket Martyrs, from the Lucy Parson Project

 November 11, 1887 - Four of the Haymarket Martyrs, including Albert Parsons and August Spies, were executed. Louis Lingg, who was also scheduled to be executed on this date, cheated the state by killing himself in his cell. There was no evidence linking any of the men to the Haymarket bombing that had occurred earlier in the year. (From Workday Minnesota)

November 11, 1918 - World War I ended, with 10 million dead, 21 million wounded, 7.5 million prisoners and missing in action, and another 22 million killed by the influenza pandemic that was exacerbated by the war. Originally celebrated as Armistice Day, November 11 is now known as Veterans Day. (From Workday Minnesota and the Daily Bleed)

November 11, 1919 - Armed "patriots" from the American Legion attacked and destroyed the IWW labor hall in Centralia, Washington, killing five. They then kidnapped, tortured, castrated and lynched Wesley Everest, a WWI veteran and IWW organizer.  (From Workday Minnesota and the Daily Bleed)

November 11, 1978 – Gay San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by ex-supervisor Dan White.. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—December 10

Portrait of Spies, prior to his execution on trumped up murder charges

December 10, 1865 – August Spies, anarchist labor organizer and Haymarket martyr was born on this date. Spies once said, "The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you are throttling today." (From the Daily Bleed)

December 10, 1906 – The IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) launched the first sit-down strike in the U.S. at a General Electric plant in Schenectady, New York. Their method was later adopted by the labor movement in the 1930s, with the Flint Sit-Down Strike being the most well-known.

Today in Labor History—November 11

November 11, 1647 – The first American compulsory school law was passed in Massachusetts. (From the Daily Bleed)

Nat Turner Captured (public domain)

 November 11, 1831 – American slave rebellion leader Nat Turner was hanged, Jerusalem, Virginia. Three months prior, Turner had led a bloody slave revolt starting with the execution of his owner Joseph Travis and his family. Within the next 24 hours, Turner and an estimated 70 followers went on a rampage through Southampton County, Virginia, killing nearly 60 whites, while trying to encourage other slaves into revolt. Federal troops and militias were called in and ultimately suppressed the revolt, culminating with the hanging of over 100 African Americans, including many who did not participate in the revolt. (From the Daily Bleed)

Haymarket Martyrs, from the Lucy Parson Project

 November 11, 1887 - Four of the Haymarket Martyrs, including Albert Parsons and August Spies, were executed. Louis Lingg, who was also scheduled to be executed on this date, cheated the state by killing himself in his cell. There was no evidence linking any of the men to the Haymarket bombing that had occurred earlier in the year. (From Workday Minnesota)

November 11, 1918 - World War I ended, with 10 million dead, 21 million wounded, 7.5 million prisoners and missing in action, and another 22 million killed by the influenza pandemic that was exacerbated by the war. Originally celebrated as Armistice Day, November 11 is now known as Veterans Day. (From Workday Minnesota and the Daily Bleed)

November 11, 1919 - Armed "patriots" from the American Legion attacked and destroyed the IWW labor hall in Centralia, Washington, killing five. They then kidnapped, tortured, castrated and lynched Wesley Everest, a WWI veteran and IWW organizer.  (From Workday Minnesota and the Daily Bleed)

November 11, 1978 – Gay San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by ex-supervisor Dan White.. (From the Daily Bleed)

MAY DAY!!! International Workers Day

Haymarket Martyrs (Public Domain)

The Knights of Labor had been agitating for the eight hour work day for years, drawing in hundreds of thousands of workers who opposed capitalist power. On May 1, 1884, The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, forerunner of the AFL, resolved that "8 hours shall constitute a legal day's work from and after May 1, 1886."

By May 1, 1886, workers were taking to the streets to demand the 8-hour day. The movement was centered in Chicago. 50,000 workers were already on strike, with 30,000 more joining their ranks the next day, bringing Chicago manufacturing to a standstill. On Monday, May 3, a fight broke out at McCormick Reaper between locked-out unionists & non-unionist scabs. Heavily armed police moved in with clubs and guns, killing four unionists and many wounded.

Anarchists, led by August Spies and Albert Parsons, called on workers to arm themselves and to attend a demonstration in Haymarket Square on May 4. Expecting a huge crowd, only 3,000 showed up. At the meeting, a bomb was thrown, killing seven police. 67 were injured. The identity of the assailant was never determined, though many speculate that it was a police or capitalist provocateur.

Poster for Haymarket Meeting (Pub Dom)

The bombing created hysteria and led the police to round up anarchists throughout the city, including Spies and Parsons. Most of those arrested were not even in attendance at the Haymarket meeting and no evidence ever linked them to the bombing. Ultimately, eight anarchists were tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to death. On November 11, 1887, four were executed, including Parsons and Spies. 250,000 people attended Parson’s funeral procession to express their outrage at the miscarriage of justice.

The Haymarket tragedy became a symbol of the inequality and injustice of capitalism for radicals and trade unionists throughout the world, inspiring annual May 1 rallies in virtually every country in the world. May Day is still celebrated as International Workers Day. The United States, ironically (or deliberately, to white wash its sordid and violent history of suppressing labor) is one of the only countries that does not celebrate May 1 as International Workers Day. 

(From the Daily Bleed and Workday Minnesota. Please also see www.iww.org)