Labor History in 2:00

On this day in Labor History the year was 1997. If you had theater tickets that evening to see Beauty and the Beast in Seattle, the show did not go on as planned.  Musicians at the Fifth Avenue theater, members of Local 76-493, had been on strike for a week.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1834. That was the day that one of the earliest labor newspapers in the country published its first edition in New York City. The Man was a paper aimed at trade unionists.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1932. That was the day that working people in the United States said goodbye to one of their great heroes. Florence Kelley was born in Philadelphia in 1859. Her father, William D. Kelley, was a U.S. Senator.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1870. That was the day that the powerful labor orator Leonora O’Reilly was born to an Irish immigrant garment worker in New York City. During her lifetime Leonora left her special mark on the labor movement as a member of some of the leading organizations of working people of her day.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1950. That was the day that the Red Scare took its toll on the US Labor Movement. 

The Congress of Industrial Organizations expelled the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers for their alleged Communist ties.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1818.  That was the day that abolitionist Frederick Douglass chose to celebrate as his birthday. He could not be sure of the exact date of his birth, because he was born into slavery. He escaped from slavery and became one of the leading black writers and orators for the cause of abolition.  

What labor union would you say has the coolest name?  The Sons of Vulcan would most certainly have to be in the running. On this day in Labor History the year was 1865.  That was the day the Sons of Vulcan ended their eight-month strike and won a union contract.  The Vulcans were skilled steel workers.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1913. That was the day that the labor leader known as “Mother” Jones was arrested in West Virginia. She was there to support coal miners during the Paint and Cabin Creek strike of 1912-1913. The West Virginia coalfields were one of the bloodiest sites of labor conflict in US History. 

On this day in Labor History the year was 1903. That was the day that workers in Oxnard, California took a united stand and showed the power of solidarity. Oxnard was a California boom town. The American Beat Sugar Company, owned by the Oxnard brothers, drew hundreds of workers to the area.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1971.  That was the day that is known in Great Britain as the Battle of Saltley Gate.

30,000 Birmingham engineers had walked out in solidarity with a strike by the National Union of Mineworkers.

The miners were taking a stand against austerity pay.