Labor History in 2:00

June 8 - The Silent Skies

On this day in Labor History the year was 1966. That was the day that the roaring of the jet age grew quiet across the United States. 

35,000 members of the International Association of Mechanics went out on strike.  

June 7 - A Workers Holiday in Michigan

On this day in Labor History the year was 1937. The leader of Lansing, Michigan’s United Auto Workers union, Lester Washburn, returned home, in the wee hours of the morning. He had been to Detroit for a meeting.  At his home he found a disturbing scene.

June 6 - Fighting Apartheid

On this day in Labor History the year was 1988.  That was the day that between two and three million black workers went on strike in South Africa. The Congress of South African Trade Unions had called for three days of “national peaceful protest.”  

June 5 - The UFCW is Founded

On this day in Labor History the year was 1979. That was the day that leaders from the Retail Clerks and the Amalgamated Meat Cutters unions began two-day special conventions to discuss merging their organizations. The result was the forming of the United Food and Commercial Workers.  

June 4 - Minimum Wage Through the Years

In the past few years you may have seen news stories about efforts to raise the minimum wage.  From the “Fight for Fifteen,” to various state-based campaigns, raising the minimum wage has become an important campaign for workers.  But do you know where in the United States the minimum wage started?  

June 3 - Look for the ILGWU Label

On this day in Labor History the year was 1900. That was the day that the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union was formed. Eleven delegates attended the founding meeting. They represented the major garment making cities of the east coast. 

June 2 - The Nation’s First Strike

On this day in Labor History, we are going all the way back to the year 1786.  That was the day when what labor historians widely consider “America’s First Strike” occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A group of the city’s journeymen printers gathered to discuss proposed decreases to their wages.  

June 1 - Fighting for Equality

Would you be willing to risk your job to stand up for the rights that you believe in?  For postal worker Henry Gerber, the answer to that question was a resounding yes.  And so On this day in Labor History, the year was 2001.

May 31 - Families Washed Away in Johnstown

On this day in Labor History the year was 1889. Nestled in western Pennsylvania was the community known as Johnstown. The town and surrounding area was home to 23,000 people, families of workers who labored in the regions’ booming steel mills. 

May 30 - Blood in the Streets: The Memorial Day Massacre

On this day in Labor History the year was 1937.  It was a day that would become known as the Memorial Day Massacre. Ten demonstrators were killed by police bullets, while protesting at Republic Steel, on the south east side of Chicago.