March 31, 2015
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, 2015
“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.
March 29, 2015
On this day
in Labor History the year was 1918
and someone was born who would forever change the retail industry in the United
States. His name was Sam Walton.
Walton
opened his first Walmart store in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas.
March 28, 2015
This is the
day in Memphis that marked Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s final march for Civil
Rights.
If you are a
regular listener to Labor History in 2, last month you heard about how AFSCME
sanitation workers in Memphis went on strike to win union recognition.
March 27, 2015
On this day
in Labor History the year was 1912. Between six
and seven thousand workers walked off the job, on strike against the Canadian
Northern Railway. Their issues
included low pay, worker safety, and the poor quality of food and housing
provided by the railroad.
March 26, 2015
On this day
in Labor History the year was 1943.
The United
States was in the midst of fighting World War II.
And by 1943
there were more than 9 million people serving as military personnel.
March 24, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was 1974.
It was the
final day of a ground-breaking gathering of more than 3,000 women union members
in Chicago to found the Coalition of Labor Union Women, or CLUW.
March 23, 2015
Do you know that it used to be legal for
employers in their United States to make their employees sign a contract
promising not join a union?
Such agreements were often referred to as
“Yellow Dog Contracts.”
March 22, 2015
At some time
during your life you’ve probably read a book or heard a story by Mark
Twain.
But did you
know that this renowned American author was also a strong supporter of
labor?
In 1835 he
was born Samuel Clemens in town of Hannibal, Missouri.