July 31, 2015
On this day in Labor History the
year was 1981. That
was the day the long Major League Baseball strike finally came to an end.
The
issue that motivated the strike was a dispute between players and management
over free-agency.
July 30, 2015
On
this day in Labor History the year was 1975. That
was the day that began one of the greatest mysteries of the United States labor
movement. Teamsters
President Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in Detroit.
July 29, 2015
On
this day in Labor History the year was 1970. That was the day the United Farm Workers, led by Cesar
Chavez, signed their first union contract in California. It was a milestone victory for agricultural
workers.
July 28, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year
was 1913 silk workers in Paterson, New Jersey ended their unsuccessful
six-month strike. By
1900, Paterson had won the nickname "Silk City." Skilled
weavers, ribbon weavers in particular, were proud of their craft.
July 27, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was
1869. That was
the day that labor leader William Sylvis died. Sylvis
was born in Armaugh, Pennsylvania.
July 26, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was
1775. That
was the day that the United States Post Office was created in Philadelphia under
Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was a member of the Second Continental
Congress. Among
many distinctions Ben Franklin was the nation’s first Postmaster General.
July 25, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was 1832. That was the day of the first
recorded railroad accident in U.S. history. It took place near Quincy,
Massachusetts. Four people were thrown off a vacant
car on the Granite Railway.
July 24, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was 1877. Workers
organized the first general strike in American history. The
strike was an outgrowth of the railroad strike which you may know, if you are a
regular listener of Labor History in 2:00, that started ten days earlier in Martinsburg,
West Virginia.
July 23, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was
1892. That
was the day that Lithuanian-born anarchist, Alexander Berkman attempted to
shoot steel magnate Andrew Carnegie’s second-in-command, Henry Clay Frick. Berkman
wanted to avenge the Homestead Steel massacre in which nine workers were
killed.
July 22, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was
1887. That was
the day brewery workers in San Francisco declared victory after breweries owners
gave in to their demands. The
demands were as follows: free beer, a
closed shop, freedom to live outside the breweries, a 10-hour work day, a six-day
week, and a board of arbitration.