Labor History in 2:00

January 24 - A Minimum Level of Dignity

Today in labor history, January 24, 1950 the minimum wage in the United States was raised to 75 cents an hour.  This move nearly doubled the minimum wage, from the previous level of 40 cents.  22 million people were eligible for this wage increase.  In his statement on the change President Harry Truman declared, “It is a measure dictated by social justice. It adds to our economic strength. It is founded on the belief that full human dignity requires at least a minimum level of economic sufficiency and security.”

January 23 - Remembering Nikolaus Gross

On this date in 1945 Nikolaus Gross was hung in a Berlin prison.  Hear why.

January 22 - The UMWA is Founded

On this day in labor history, the year was 1890 Miners from a number of smaller miner unions gathered in Columbus Ohio to consolidate their ranks and form the United Mine Workers of America.

January 21 - Steel Workers Join the ‘46 Strike Wave

On this day in labor history, the year was 1946.  US steel workers staged the greatest walkout in the history of the Steel industry.

Nearly 750,000 strikers shut down more than 1,200 steel plants in 30 states. 

January 20 - The Chicago Crib Fire of 1909

Today in labor history, January 20, 1909, marked one of deadliest workplace disasters in Chicago history.  It took place a little over a mile off-shore near 71^st Street, on Lake Michigan. A group of predominantly Irish laborers were working on a tunnel to bring fresh water to the city’s growing south side.  

January 19 - Filipino Workers Lead Multi-Ethnic Strike Against Hawaiian Planters

On This Day in Labor History, the year was 1920. That was the day 3,000 members of the Filipino Labor Union went on strike against the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association on the island of Oahu. Plantation Bosses intentionally recruited Filipino workers, in an effort to weaken the Japanese labor force on the island. The bosses pitted one group as strikebreakers against the other. 

January 18 - Remembering Mary Kenney O’Sullivan

Today in labor history, January 18, 1943 marks the death of the first woman general organizer appointed by the American Federation of Labor. Mary Kenney O'Sullivan was born the only child of working-class Irish immigrants, in Hannibal, Missouri.  

January 17 - Solidarity Forever

Today in labor history, January 17, 1915, the most popular labor song in the United States was completed in Chicago.  Ralph Chaplin, an Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) activist, artist and writer was in town for a demonstration against hunger.  He finished writing “Solidarity Forever,” a song he had started working on the year before at a Miner’s strike in West Virginia.  

January 16 - Palmer Raids Victims Win Right to Legal Counsel

Today in labor history, January 16, 1920 thousands of immigrant detainees and labor activists won the basic constitutional right to consult with an attorney.  These detainees were victims of the infamous Palmer Raids.  

January 15 - Deadly Molasses Explosion of 1919

Today in labor history, January 15, 1919 marked one of the strangest industrial disasters in U.S. History.  That winter day in Boston the weather shifted suddenly and temperatures began to rise.  A fifty foot storage container containing 2.3 million gallons of molasses began to make strange noises.