Labor History in 2:00

February 8 - Spacemen Strike Back

On this day in Labor History the year was 1974. That was the day that a three-man American astronaut crew returned to earth from eighty-four-day mission at the Sky Lab.  They were the first crew to spend so long in low-earth orbit up to that time.  

February 7 - The Sugar That’s Not So Sweet

On this day in Labor History the year was 2008.  That evening at 7:15 p.m., an explosion rocked the city of Wentworth, just outside of Savannah, Georgia.  An explosion had gone off at Imperial Sugar. Highly combustible sugar dust had ignited. 

February 6 - The Seattle General Strike

On this day in Labor History the year was 1919. That day began the week-long general strike in Seattle, Washington.  As World War I drew to a close many workers in the city were frustrated by two years without pay increases due to the war. 35,000 workers in the shipyards walked off of the job.  

February 5 - Shot Down for Standing Up

On this day in Labor History the year was 1913.  That was the day that Ida Breiman was killed while she stood up for the rights of working people in Rochester, New York.  Ida was born in Russia to a Jewish family.  

February 4 - Canal Building in America

On this day in Labor History the year was 1825.  That was the day the Ohio legislature authorized the Canal Act.  The act called for the construction of two canals.  

February 3 - Another Senseless Tragedy

On this day in Labor History the year was 1971. That was a day of tragedy for the workers at the Thiokol Chemical Corporation plant in southeastern Georgia.  An explosion killed twenty-seven workers, and injured dozens more. 

February 2 - Calling Dr. Blackwell

On this day in Labor History the year was 1821. That was the birthday of the first woman to earn her medical degree in the United States. Her name was Elizabeth Blackwell.  

February 1 - Sitting In at Woolworths

On this day in Labor History the year was 1960.  That was the day that four black freshmen students from the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina sat down to make a stand for justice.  

January 31 - The End of Slave Labor

On this day in Labor History the year was 1865. That was the day that the US Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the constitution, abolishing slavery. President Lincoln had already issued the Emancipation Proclamation. But there was worry that the proclamation, an emergency wartime measure, would not stand up in the courts after the war had ended.  

January 30 - Chicago Gravediggers End 43 Day Strike

On this day in Labor History the year was 1992. That was the day that the gravediggers of Chicago ended their forty-three day strike.  The United Press International’s headline declared, “The dead will rest in peace now that Chicago-area gravediggers have reached a tentative contract.” The gravediggers were part of Service Employees International Union Local 106.