Labor History in 2:00

April 8 - Convict Laborers Killed in Banner Mine Explosion

On this day in Labor History the year was 1911. At 6:30 in the morning an explosion shook the Banner Mine, owned by the Pratt Consolidated Coal Company. Banner was located near what would later become Birmingham, Alabama.  

April 7 - Justice for Janitors

Their slogan was “Justice for Janitors!” Their chant was “Si se puede!” “Yes we can!”

Their image was a red and black poster of a mop raised high in a clenched fist. 3,000 members of SEIU Local 1877 marched in the streets of downtown Los Angeles.  

April 6 - The New York Slave Revolt of 1712

Often Southern states are the focus of histories of slavery in the United States. 

But did you know that in the early 1700s one in five residents of New York were enslaved Africans? 

April 5 - The Longest Strike

On this day in Labor History the year was 1954. It began what some have called the “longest major strike in U.S. history.”  The strike was against Kohler, the Wisconsin-based manufacturer of bathroom fixtures

April 4 - The Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On this day in Labor History, the year was 1968.  This is a day of mourning. Today is the day an assassin’s bullet murdered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he was coming out of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. 

April 3 - To the Mountaintop

On this day in Labor History the year was 1968.  That was the night that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his now famous “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” speech at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee.  He was speaking in support of striking sanitation workers who were members of AFSCME Local 1733.  

April 2 - The Union Label

When you go shopping, do you remember to look for the union label?  On this day in Labor History the year was 1909. 

The American Federation of Labor launched its “Union Label” department

April 1 - Historic Strike Begins at Loray Mill

On this day in Labor History the year was 1929. 

It was the first day of the strike at the Loray textile mill in Gastonia, North Carolina. 

Textile mill workers in the south were paid significantly less than workers in the north

March 31 - FDR Creates the Civilian Conservation Corps

On this day in Labor History the year was 1933.  The nation was in the grips of the Great Depression. Long bread lines formed each day in major cities across the nation with at least one in four people out of work.  The crisis deepened as the Dust Bowl ravaged US farmland crippling farmers and limiting food production. 

March 30 - Remembering ILWU Leader Harry Bridges

The most important word in the language of the working class is ‘solidarity.’” 

Those inspiring words were spoken by labor leader Harry Bridges, who died on this day in Labor History the year was 1990.