Labor History in 2:00

January 21 - The Charleston Five

On this day in Labor History the year was 2000. Just after midnight six hundred police officers clashed with picketing longshoreman in Charleston, South Carolina. The port in Charleston ranked the fourth largest in the United States.  

January 20 - The First MLK Day

On this day in Labor History the year was 1986.  That was the first time Dr. Martin Luther King Day was observed as a national holiday.  A powerful voice for Civil Rights, Dr. King was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee while standing on the second floor of the Lorraine Motel.  

January 19 - Gunned Down in Cold Blood

On this day in Labor History the year was 1915.  That was the day that two striking workers were shot and killed by gunmen hired by a fertilizer plant in New Jersey.  In addition to the 2 killed many more were injured by the hired guns.

January 18 - Showing the Union Pride

Have you ever worn a union button or t-shirt to work? On this day in Labor History the year was 1912. 

Members of the Australian Tramways Association in Brisbane, Queensland decided to put on their union badges at work.  

January 17 - The 1915 Hunger March

On this day in Labor History the year was 1915. It was the day that the people in Chicago stood up to demand an end to hunger and unemployment. Their stand began at a meeting at Bowen Hall, part of the Hull House complex founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams. 

January 16 - Packinghouse Workers Join the ‘46 Strike Wave

On this day in Labor History the year was 1946. That was the day the United Packinghouse Workers of America went on strike.  Their initial demand was for a twenty-five cent an hour raise. They were also joined in the strike by the Amalgamated Meat Cutters union. 

January 15 - Randolph’s Fight to Desegregate Wartime Industry

On this day in Labor History the year was 1941. That was the day that black labor leader, A Philip Randolph, issued a call for a March on Washington. He proposed the march to bring attention to the employment discrimination faced by African American workers. 

January 14 - Bricklayers Fight for the Eight Hour Day

On this day in Labor History the year was 1868. Representatives of more than forty locals of the International Union of Bricklayers of North America gathered in New York City. It was the third annual convention of the new union.  

January 13 - The Fight for a Voice

On this day in Labor History the year was 1893. That was the day that 120 delegates met in Bradford, England to form the Independent Labor Party. The goal of this political party was to get more candidates that represented the interests of working people elected to the British Parliament.  

January 12 - The Push Toward Industrial Peace

On this day in Labor History the year was 1942.  That was the day the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt reestablished the National War Labor Board.  Just a little over a month before the United States had entered World War II.