Episodes
Friday Dec 11, 2015
December 11 The start of the Colored Farmers’ Alliance and Cooperative Union
Friday Dec 11, 2015
Friday Dec 11, 2015
On this day in labor history the year was 1886. That was the day that black farmers formed the Colored Farmers’ Alliance and Cooperative Union in Houston County, Texas. The Southern Farmers Alliance would not allow black members
Thursday Dec 10, 2015
December 10 First Sit Down Strike
Thursday Dec 10, 2015
Thursday Dec 10, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was 1906. That was the day the workers at a General Electric plant in Schenectady, New York organized a sit-down strike. It is considered to be perhaps the first time the sit-down tactic was used in the United States.
Wednesday Dec 09, 2015
December 9 Founding of the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor
Wednesday Dec 09, 2015
Wednesday Dec 09, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was 1869. That was the day a new union, named the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor was founded. It started in Philadelphia as a secret society of tailors. But soon the Knights expanded to workers in other trades.
Tuesday Dec 08, 2015
December 8 NAFTA Signing
Tuesday Dec 08, 2015
Tuesday Dec 08, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was 1993. That was the day that President Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement into law. The stated aim of NAFTA was to increase trade between the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Monday Dec 07, 2015
December 7 The Bonus Army
Monday Dec 07, 2015
Monday Dec 07, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was 1931. That was the day that protesters staged a hunger march on Washington, D.C. 1,600 protesters took part in the march.
Sunday Dec 06, 2015
December 6 Driving toward Change
Sunday Dec 06, 2015
Sunday Dec 06, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was 1897. London became the world’s first city to license motorized taxicabs. More than a century later, cab service has seen many changes. Today taxi drivers are an important sector of workers trying to win union recognition.
Saturday Dec 05, 2015
December 5 Together
Saturday Dec 05, 2015
Saturday Dec 05, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was 1955. That was the day the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to become the AFL-CIO. The American Federation of Labor was a confederation of unions can that trace its history all the way back to just after the Civil War, in 1866.
Friday Dec 04, 2015
December 4 Solidarity in the Fields
Friday Dec 04, 2015
Friday Dec 04, 2015
Would you go to jail for justice for working people? Over the years many in the labor movement have had to make that decision. Such was the case for Cesar Chavez. On this day in labor history the year was 1970. Chavez, the head of the United Farm Workers, was jailed for twenty days for refusing to end a lettuce boycott.
Thursday Dec 03, 2015
December 3 Dissenters Jailed
Thursday Dec 03, 2015
Thursday Dec 03, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was 1916. That was the day that seven Australian members of the Industrial Workers of the World were sentenced to fifteen years in prison for their antiwar efforts during World War I. Other IWW members were sentenced to as many as five and ten years each.
Wednesday Dec 02, 2015
December 2 Caught-This Time
Wednesday Dec 02, 2015
Wednesday Dec 02, 2015
On this day in Labor History the year was 2009. That was the day that Wal-Mart agreed to pay $40 million to over 87,000 current and former employees in Massachusetts. This was the largest class action settlement in the state’s history.