Labor History in 2:00

September 20 - Upton Sinclair is Born

On this day in Labor History the year was 1878. That was the day that socialist author Upton Sinclair was born in Baltimore, Maryland. A prolific writer, Sinclair wrote nearly 100 books and other publications. Upton Sinclair’s father and father’s relatives had been wealthy Southerners. 

September 19 - The Solidarity March

On this day in Labor History the year was 1981. More than 400,000 union members marched in labor’s first Solidarity Day demonstration in Washington, D.C. The demonstration was called by the AFL-CIO to protest the Reagan administration’s policies and the firing of striking air traffic controllers.  

September 18 - The Horse Race

On this day in Labor History the year was 1830. That was the day that “Tom Thumb,” the first locomotive built in the U.S. raced a horse on a nine-mile course in Maryland.  

September 17 - A Fair Day’s Work for a Fair Day’s Pay

On this day in Labor History the year was 1868. That was the day that Susan B. Anthony, and a committee on female labor called for a vote for equal pay for equal work at the National Labor Congress. It was the second annual meeting of labor leaders from throughout the country. Anthony had begun publication of a newspaper, The Revolution. 

September 16 - The 1920 Bombing of Wall Street

On this day in Labor History the year was 1920. At noon, a horse-drawn wagon containing 100 pounds of dynamite pulled up across the street of the J.P. Morgan Chase Company on Wall Street in New York City. 500 pounds of cast-iron slugs were packed in with the dynamite.  

September 15 - Women & Children Fight for the 10 Hour Day

On this day in Labor History the year was 1845.  5,000 female workers at the Allegheny Cotton Mills went on strike for a ten-hour day. The fast streams around Pittsburgh and Allegheny city were ideal to power cotton mills.  The mills were overheated and filled with dangerous dust.

September 14 - Congress Attacks, Handcuffs Workers

On this day in Labor History the year was 1959. The United States Congress passed the Landrum-Griffin Act. President Eisenhower signed the new law, which was also called the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. The new law had lasting consequences for the way unions operated.  

September 13 - Beating Teachers in the Streets

On this day in Labor History the year was 2013.  Riot police used tear gas and water cannons to clear out Zocalo Square in Mexico City.  The square was occupied by protesting teachers.  The teachers had been on strike for weeks.  They wanted changes made to education reforms that had been passed by the Mexican government. 

September 12 - Do Workers Gain from War?

On this day in Labor History the year was 1918.  Socialist and labor leader Eugene Debs was sentenced to ten years in prison for opposing the  United States’ involvement in World War I. The Espionage and Sedition Act had been passed a year earlier.  

September 11

Today in Labor History, we pause to remember the events that took place on the morning of September 11.  The year was 2001. 

Terrorists hijacked planes and intentionally crashed them into Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.  Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks.