Labor History in 2:00

On this day in Labor History the year was 1831. That was the year Nat Turner led a slave rebellion in Southhampton, Virginia. 

From a young age Turner believed he had a purpose ordained by God.  Turner had learned to read from one of his master’s sons.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson gave a mid-morning address in the Rose Garden of the White House.  He was there to sign the Economic Opportunity Act that launched what became known as Johnson’s War on Poverty.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1909.  That was the day that a committee of the Industrial Workers of the World in Spokane, Washington published the first edition of the “Little Red Song Book.” The collection were “Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent.” 

 

On this day in Labor History the year was 1927.  That was the day that a new radio station began to broadcast on the New York dial. The station’s call letters were WEVD.  It stood for Eugene V. Debs.  The radio station was founded to honor the recently deceased Socialist and labor leader.  

On this day in Labor History the year 1918. That was the day that 101 leaders of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) or Wobblies were convicted in a Chicago Federal Court.  Their alleged crime? 

On this day in Labor History the year was 1894. That was the birthday of the long-time leader of the AFL-CIO. 

George Meany grew up in the Bronx, with his Irish Catholic family. 

On this day in Labor History the year was 1971. That Sunday, President Richard Nixon addressed the nation in a speech that preempted the popular television show, Bonanza.  His subject? The state of the economy. The speech was timed before the stock markets opened on Monday morning.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1980. That was the day 17,000 workers took over the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland. The Polish economy was struggling and worker unrest had been on the rise. The government hiked food prices, including doubling the price of meat in July.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1935. That was the day that thirty-five journalists of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer walked off the job.  They represented about half of the paper’s news room staff at the time.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1881.  That was the day that the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners passed their first constitution at a meeting in Chicago. The meeting was organized by Peter J. McGuire.