Labor History in 2:00

On this day in Labor History the year was 1937.  

It was a tragic day of history repeating itself.  An explosion occurred deep inside the Macbeth mine, in Logan West Virginia.  

In the immediate aftermath the bodies of 2 miners were recovered.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1941. 

New Yorkers woke up to find a foot of snow blanketing their city.  Nearly a million New Yorkers also discovered their usual routine was going to be disrupted. 

At 5 a.m. the Transport Workers Union had walked off the job, calling a strike against the Fifth Avenue Coach and New York City Omnibus companies.  

You have likely heard the recent news stories about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. 

The national media continues to report as labor, energy groups, environmental and Native American activists all debate the proposed oil pipeline. 

But did you know that on the day in Labor History, March 9, marked the beginning of another oil pipeline project?

You may know that March is Women’s History Month.  But do you know why it takes place each March?

It all goes back to today in Labor History the year was 1857. 

That was the day that hundreds of women working in New York City’s garment industry went on strike.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1932. Forever remembered as a tragic day.

The nation was in the grip of the Great Depression.

As the economy languished, car sales plummeted by 80 percent. Thousands in Detroit found themselves out of work.  Breadlines in the city grew longer with each passing day.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 2012. 

A few thousand artists, activists, teachers and union members lined Broadway in New York City. 

Each held a pink placard, representing a “pink slip.” As New Yorkers bustled by on their way to work, the protestors stood with their signs from 8:14 in the morning until 8:28.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1879.  

A steamship named the Colorado, docked in St. Louis.  

On board were black migrant workers on their way to Kansas in search of jobs and a better life.  

This was the day President Franklin Roosevelt named Frances Perkins Secretary of Labor.  Secretary Perkins was the first woman to hold a cabinet position in the US Government.  Perkins brought to her position years of experience advocating for working people.  

Born in Boston, Perkins attended Mount Holyoke College.  She moved to Illinois to become a teacher.  

Are you a trade union worker?  Have you ever worked at a “prevailing wage” job site? Then today in Labor History, is an important day for you.  The year was 1931. 

Congress passed the Davis-Bacon Act.  This act requires that any new construction or repair of a public building or public works project of more than $2,000 that includes federal funding must pay a “prevailing wage.” 

On this day in Labor History the year was 1937. 

The Steel Workers Organizing Committee, and US Steel signed their first, historic labor agreement. 

Previous efforts to organize steel workers had failed due to the union-busting tactics of the steel mill owners.