Episodes
20 hours ago
April 23 - Sitting Down for Dignity at Ford
20 hours ago
20 hours ago
On this day in labor history, the year was 1937.
That was the day 1800 autoworkers sat down at the Ford Motor plant in Richmond, California.
It was the largest Ford plant on the West Coast.
The UAW organizing drive at Ford had just begun a few weeks earlier with a sit-down strike in Kansas City.
Company manager Clarence Bullwinkle, reported he had returned from lunch only to find the plant occupied and all power shut off.
Workers began their occupation after 12 workers with seniority rights had been transferred from the assembly plant to the loading department and then discharged.
Strikers voted to allow company officials and office workers to leave the plant but not to return.
Bullwinkle was told to “get out and stay out until you meet our demands.”
He refused to budge and holed up in his office.
Demands included recognition of the union, seniority rights and regular pay instead of discharge for workers who are out sick or injured on duty.
As the night shift arrived and then left, they passed their lunch buckets in solidarity to the striking workers.
Within 12 hours the strike was reportedly called off after Ford officials agreed to meet with strikers.
Seeing this as tantamount to winning union recognition, workers paraded through the streets in the early hours of Saturday morning.
But they hit the picket lines later that day, when Ford officials failed to appear.
By Monday, they were back on the job. Fearing another day’s loss of production, Ford officials met with union leaders.
While workers did not win formal recognition, they did win seniority rights and recognition of the shop stewards committee in a first step towards union recognition, which would come four years later.
2 days ago
April 22 - The Red Jacket Mine Explosion
2 days ago
2 days ago
On this day in labor history, the year was 1938.
That was the day Keen Mountain Coal mine exploded near Grundy, Virginia.
Described as a flame-belching volcano, the explosion killed 45 and injured three more.
It is considered one of the worst mining disasters in the history of Virginia.
One surviving miner described the scene: “I saw coal carrying cars, motors, slate and timber spouted as if from a cannon.”
The state mine inspector determined the miners had been killed instantly.
The mine had just opened the year before and produced 40 railroad cars of coal a day.
But the mine was also owned by the Red Jacket Coal Company.
In Mingo County, West Virginia years earlier, Red Jacket had been a key player in keeping the UMWA out, making its employees sign yellow dog contracts and winning injunctions against UMWA organizing.
As a member of the Williamson Coal Operators Association, Red Jacket contributed to the hostile, anti-union environment that created the conditions for the Matewan Massacre and the Battle of Blair Mountain in the early 20s.
They called in Baldwin Phelps detectives to start evicting Matewan strikers from company housing.
In the aftermath of the 1938 explosion, new mine safety regulations were demanded.
While inspectors were finally given the legal right to conduct inspections over the protests of mine owners in 1941, there was no power to enforce new regulations.
The Phipps Family commemorated the disaster in its 1965 song, Red Jacket Mine Explosion:
https://youtu.be/kfBSKSqmq6M
3 days ago
3 days ago
On this day in labor history, the year was 1967.
That was the day the Taylor Law went into effect in New York State.
It was celebrated for granting public employees the right to organize and elect union representation.
But it is also roundly criticized for stripping public sector workers of their right to strike.
It was crafted and enacted in response to the militant, victorious New York City transit strike of January 1966.
The Taylor Law amended key points of the 1947 Condon-Wadlin Act, which first prohibited public sector strikes in the aftermath of a teachers strike in Buffalo.
But strikes persisted and the Act was seen as largely unenforceable.
In the aftermath of the 1966 transit strike, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller appointed a committee, chaired by labor relations professor George Taylor to make “proposals for protecting the public against the disruption of vital public services by illegal strikes, while at the same time protecting the rights of public employees.”
In addition to granting the right to organize, the Taylor Act also establishes impasse procedures for dispute resolution, defines and prohibits improper practices, prohibits strikes by public employees; and established the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).
But public sector unions argue the law gives no incentive for employers to settle disputes or negotiate contracts in a timely manner or in good faith.
While public sector unions have struck since its enactment, Transport Workers Union 100 was subjected to harsh fines in both the 1980 and 2005 transit strikes.
During the 2005 walkout, TWU 100 was issued a $1 million a day penalty, its automatic dues collection was suspended and its leader, Roger Toussaint was jailed for 10 days.
The union continues to push for changes to the law.
4 days ago
4 days ago
That was the day the Deepwater Horizon oilrig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and injuring 17 more.
The rig experienced an initial blowout releasing an uncontrollable flow of oil and gas from the well.
Hydrocarbons then ignited, causing the explosion and fire.
It caused a massive offshore oil spill of over 4 billion barrels and is considered the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history.
British Petroleum was the main operator responsible for the well design.
The drilling contractor, TransOcean owned and operated the rig.
A handful of smaller companies were also involved.
While company and governmental officials initially argued the explosion was unforeseeable and then subsequently blamed each other, there were warning signs in the months leading up to the explosion.
Multiple equipment failures, design deficiencies, poor preventative maintenance, bad engineering decisions and a chase for profits that emphasized low worker injuries at the expense of process safety, all combined to create the disaster.
As well, regulations and standards enforcement were weak in an almost totally deregulated industry.
One phrase used by investigators to characterize the explosion was the Normalization of Deviance.
From workers, to managers to executives, none saw the explosion coming.
There were dozens of contributing factors as the Chemical Safety Board investigation noted.
They listed 57 key technical, human and regulatory factors in their 2016 final report.
However, engineers had raised concerns about the potential failure of key equipment.
Workers were sensitive to the fact they could be fired for raising safety concerns that delayed drilling.
BP was found ultimately responsible and racked up over $70 billion in fines, clean up and settlement costs.
5 days ago
April 19 -The Daughters of Mother Jones
5 days ago
5 days ago
On this day in labor history, the year was 1989.
That was the day Edna Sauls and 38 women walked into the Virginia headquarters of the Pittston Coal Group, sat down in the lobby and sang “We Shall Not Be Moved.”
Their occupation lasted 36 hours.
The women were mostly relatives and friends of 1,700 UMWA miners, then on strike against Pittston.
The women, when questioned by police and the media, refused to give up their names.
They called themselves the Daughters of Mother Jones.
Though Sauls had never worked in the mines, six of her brothers and two of her sisters had.
She and many family members would sit down in front of Moss 3 Preparation plant just weeks later.
As the strike wore on, her husband Doug would be one of the UMW strikers who took over and occupied Pittston’s Moss 3 plant later that fall.
Sauls noted the high personal stakes at Pittston stating, “My husband is 42 years old.
He’s worked in the mines for 24 years. Who’s going to hire him for another job?”
Sauls also rose to local fame during the strike when she began writing strike solidarity songs.
One such song was “Let Me In,” also referred to as the Camo Song, for the strikers who wore camouflage.
Sauls composed the song after she found a child crying whose striking grandfather had been jailed.
In the song, the child asks to go to jail too.
The Daughters picketed Pittston offices twice a week and organized strike support that included housing, food drives and fundraising.
Their role inspired miners to occupy the mines and roads, persevere throughout the winter and eventually win back health benefits.
6 days ago
6 days ago
On this day in labor history, the year was 1908.
That was the day the song “We Have Fed You All A Thousand Years,” first appeared.
Originally titled “The Cry of Toil,” it was printed in the Industrial Workers of the World publication, the Industrial Union Bulletin.
It was initially attributed to British colonialist writer, Rudyard Kipling.
The song is now understood as an anonymous reworking of Kipling’s 1893 poem, “The Song of the Dead.”
The song was wildly popular and reprinted in many union journals.
‘We Have Fed You All’ was an early example of how the IWW used music and songs in its work. IWW songs projected labor history, struggles and politics.
From union organizing, to strike activity to defense cases, Wobblies sought to create a working class culture and community.
The IWW is well known for its ‘Little Red Song Book,’ which contains some of the most popular anthems of the labor movement.
The first verse of ‘We Have Fed You All a Thousand Years’ reads:
We have fed you all for a thousand years,
And you hail us still unfed,
Though there's never a dollar of all your wealth.
But marks the workers' dead.
We have yielded our best to give you rest
And you lie on crimson wool.
And if blood be the price of all your wealth,
Good God! We have paid in full!
7 days ago
7 days ago
On this day in labor history, the year was 2013.
That was the day the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas caught fire and exploded, killing 15 and injuring more than 260.
Of those killed, 12 were emergency responders, many from local voluntary fire departments.
Three others were nearby residents.
40 to 60 tons of ammonium nitrate detonated at the fertilizer distribution facility.
It damaged more than 150 nearby buildings, including schools, residences and a nursing home.
It also damaged key city water supply infrastructure.
The Chemical Safety Board issued a number of findings and recommendations in its final report of January 2016.
Heat from the initial fire likely caused the ammonium nitrate to explode as it was stored in combustible material.
The facility had no fire detection or sprinkler systems and had not been inspected by OSHA since 1985.
West’s previous insurer did conduct inspections and dropped the company over its lack of a positive safety culture and its refusal to clean up several electrical hazards.
The Board also found local fire departments lacking in incident command systems and proper training in multiple areas.
The explosion revealed the lack of zoning regulations in many cities like West, which allowed for the construction of residences, schools and commercial buildings near such hazardous sites.
Recently, the Bureau of Alcohol, Fire and Tobacco ruled the incident an act of arson.
Former OSHA official, Jordan Barab argues there is no evidence of arson and regardless, the facility exploded due primarily to improper storage and management of combustible material.
He notes the BATF conclusion served to fuel industry opposition to President Obama’s Executive Order 13650, improving safety at Chemical facilities.
The EPA’s Scott Pruitt recently granted a 90-day stay of the final rule.
Tuesday Apr 16, 2024
April 16 - Jacob Coxey is Born
Tuesday Apr 16, 2024
Tuesday Apr 16, 2024
On this day in labor history, the year was 1854.
That was the day wealthy Populist and labor advocate Jacob Coxey was born.
He grew up in Danville, Pennsylvania and worked as a stationary engineer in an iron mill.
Soon, he moved to Ohio and opened a sand quarry.
He entered politics and initially campaigned as a candidate for the Greenback Party.
By the 1890s he had thrown his lot in with the Populists.
When the Panic of 1893 hit, workers flooded the industrial Midwest in search of jobs.
Cities across the country were overwhelmed with the newly unemployed, begging on the streets.
Coxey proposed a Good Works Bill, which demanded $500 million for federal jobs.
He supported paper currency, public works projects, transportation for rural areas and full employment.
He decided to take his proposal directly to Congress by organizing a protest march on behalf of the unemployed.
Hundreds joined him on his march from Ohio to Washington D.C., forming Coxey’s Army.
They set off from Massillon, Ohio on Easter Sunday 1894, supported by Populists and organized labor.
Estimates of marchers ranged into the tens of thousands.
His army was stopped along the way by court injunctions preventing them from commandeering trains and seizing railway lines as they traveled.
About 500 eventually reached Washington D.C.
As Coxey climbed the steps of the Capitol to demand the Good Jobs Bill, he and his Army were met by police forces, which attacked the crowd and beat them back from the Capitol steps.
Years later, his campaigning finally paid off and he was elected Mayor of Massillon.
In 1944, he was invited back to the Capitol to deliver his Good Jobs Bill, which by that time had become official policy.
Monday Apr 15, 2024
April 15 - Telephone Girls Cripple New England Bell
Monday Apr 15, 2024
Monday Apr 15, 2024
On this day in labor history, the year was 1919.
That was the day the telephone girls, as they were called, walked out on strike against New England Bell, essentially crippling communications in five New England states.
It was considered the most massive strike of women workers since the ‘Uprising of the 20,000’ in 1909.
They were members of the all-women National Telephone Operators’ Department of the IBEW.
Historian Stephen Norwood devoted many pages to the strike in his book, Labor’s Flaming Youth.
The government had taken over the nation’s telephone and telegraph industry during World War I and placed it under the control of Postmaster General Albert Burleson.
Just days earlier, thousands of angry women who worked in the Boston exchanges packed Faneuil Hall, demanding immediate strike action.
Julia O’Connor, the leader of the telephone operator’s union, called the strike at 7 a.m.
The union demanded a 60% wage increase and full scale to be reached after four years instead of seven.
Union and non-union alike responded to the strike call and walked off the job, establishing 24 hour picketing.
On the second day of the strike, over 1000 striking telephone operators marched through the streets of Boston and were cheered on by returning soldiers.
O’Connor organized picketing around the Boston hotels where out-of-town strikebreakers were housed.
Unionized service workers across the city denied services to the strikebreakers.
Postmaster Burleson smeared the striking women as unpatriotic and threatened to replace them with returning soldiers.
The soldiers however, sided with the telephone operators.
After five days, the union won direct bargaining rights and a $4 a week raise.
The strike was considered one of the few postwar World War I strikes to end in victory.
Sunday Apr 14, 2024
April 14 - A Job or Be Sterilized
Sunday Apr 14, 2024
Sunday Apr 14, 2024
On this day in labor history, the year was 1975.
That was the day union representatives at Bunker Hill Mining Company in Kellogg, Idaho were notified of a policy change.
The lead and zinc producer had decided to exclude fertile women from working in lead-exposed environments.
Women workers had to provide a doctor’s note stating they were infertile, post-menopausal or had been sterilized.
Otherwise they would be transferred to ‘safer’ departments at a substantial loss in pay.
Twenty-nine women took the transfer while at least 3 opted for sterilization.
During World War II, companies like Bunker Hill promised millions of women workers they would eliminate hazards through engineering controls.
In the 1970s, a new wave of women gained work in several industries that used occupational safety language to implement exclusionary policies like the one at Bunker Hill.
These took the form of outright bans on hiring of women, either altogether or in many departments considered too toxic for women of childbearing age.
It meant the real loss of well over 100,000 potential industrial jobs for women.
Employers could have provided actual protection through better medical coverage and benefits, installation of engineering controls or protections to include men’s reproductive health.
Instead, these policies served to rollback economic and civil rights of women workers, regardless of whether they were mothers or ever planned to be.
The women appealed to their union, state and federal commissions and OSHA but faced an uphill battle.
OSHA initially fined Bunker Hill for outstanding violations and its sterilization policy, but dropped the case once Ronald Reagan took office.
The women eventually won wage equivalency in their new jobs, but women working in heavy industry would continue to battle such policies for more than a decade.