Episodes
Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
November 20 - The Scab
Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
Wednesday Nov 20, 2019
On this day in Labor History the year was 1816. That was the day the Albany Typographical Society used the term “scab” to describe a strikebreaker. The word scab had been used in England for nearly three centuries as a slang meaning a rascal or scoundrel. By the late 1700s, laborers began to use the insult to refer to workmen who wouldn't join a union or a strike.
Tuesday Nov 19, 2019
November 19 - Joe Hill’s Final Words
Tuesday Nov 19, 2019
Tuesday Nov 19, 2019
On this day in Labor History the year was 1915. On that sad day, Industrial Workers of the World organizer and songwriter, Swedish-born Joe Hill, was executed in Utah. In 1914, Hill was framed for the murder of a grocer and his son in Salt Lake City. The evidence was circumstantial at best.
Monday Nov 18, 2019
November 18 - Atlanta GM Workers Kick Off a Wave of Sit-Downs
Monday Nov 18, 2019
Monday Nov 18, 2019
On this day in Labor History the year was 1936. That was the day workers at the General Motors plant in Atlanta, Georgia participated in a sit-down strike. This was part of a wave of labor organizing during the 1930s. Other GM plants in Kansas City, Mo. and Cleveland, Ohio went on strike.
Sunday Nov 17, 2019
November 17 - The Anti-Communist Witchhunt
Sunday Nov 17, 2019
Sunday Nov 17, 2019
On this day in Labor History the year was 1947. That was the day that the Screen Actors Guild voted to make all SAG members take an anti-Communist loyalty oath. The late 1940s were the dawn of the US Cold War with the Soviet Union. Anti-Communist hysteria swept the country.
Saturday Nov 16, 2019
November 16 - Using the Law to Crush Organizing
Saturday Nov 16, 2019
Saturday Nov 16, 2019
On this day in Labor History the year was 1798. On that day Kentucky became the first state to nullify an act of the United States Congress. The federal government had passed the Alien and Sedition Acts during the presidency of John Adams.
Friday Nov 15, 2019
November 15 - Founding of the AFL
Friday Nov 15, 2019
Friday Nov 15, 2019
On this day in Labor History the year was 1881. That was the day that trade unionists held the founding convention of the Federation of Trades and Labor Unions in Pittsburgh. This group later changed its name to the American Federation of Labor. During the 1880's it grew to replace the Knights of Labor as the most powerful labor union organization in the United States.
Thursday Nov 14, 2019
November 14 - Founding of the National Women’s Trade Union League
Thursday Nov 14, 2019
Thursday Nov 14, 2019
On this day in Labor History the year was 1903. Working women from around the nation founded the National Women’s Trade Union League in Boston. The organization’s founders included female reformers, working class women, as well as women from wealthy families.
Wednesday Nov 13, 2019
November 13 - The Cherry Mine Disaster
Wednesday Nov 13, 2019
Wednesday Nov 13, 2019
On this day in Labor History the year was 1909. On this tragic day, 259 coal miners died in a mine in Cherry, Illinois. The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad opened the mine in 1905 to supply coal for their trains. Most of the miners were immigrants, primarily Italian. Many could not speak English.
Tuesday Nov 12, 2019
November 12 - The Misery of Chainsaw Al
Tuesday Nov 12, 2019
Tuesday Nov 12, 2019
On this day in Labor History the year was 1996. That was the day that “Chainsaw” Al Dunlap lived up to his nickname. Under his leadership, the Board of the Sunbeam Corporation agreed to eliminate half of the company's 6,000 employees and 87% of its products. Dunlap had built a reputation for ruthlessly restructuring companies. His policy of implementing sweeping layoffs and plant closures earned him the nickname “Chainsaw Al.”
Monday Nov 11, 2019
November 11 - Execution of the Haymarket Martyrs
Monday Nov 11, 2019
Monday Nov 11, 2019
On this day in Labor History the year was 1887. That was a tragic day for the labor movement. Four men were hung in Chicago for their alleged role in the bombing at a labor rally at the city’s Haymarket Square a year earlier. In a sensational trial a total of eight men were convicted for Haymarket.