Labor History in 2:00

February 7 - Bull Moose Forces Massacre Striking Miners

On this day in labor history, the year was 1913 law enforcement officers and mining company guards rode on an armored train firing indiscriminately into a tent colony of striking miners and their families at Holly Grove, West Virginia. 

For nearly a year, what became known as the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek mine wars had raged in the rich coal range of West Virginia?

February 6 - The Post-War Strike Wave Begins

On this day in labor history, the year was 1919 marking the first day of 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. 

February 5 - FMLA Becomes Law

On this day in labor history, the year was 1993, Today marks an important day for all working families in the United States. In an attempt "to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families." President Bill Clinton signed the Family Medical Leave Act, or FMLA. 

February 4 - Big Bill Haywood is Born

On this day in labor history, the year was 1869 and we celebrate the birthday of one of the most formidable figures in U.S. labor. “Big Bill Haywood” was one of the founders of the Industrial Workers of the World or IWW in 1905.  He was also active in the Socialist Party. Haywood entered the mines at only nine years of age.  He became the secretary-treasurer of the Western Federation of Miners in 1900. 

February 3 - NYC Students Boycott Segregation

During this past year, there have been many news stories of students walking out of public schools to protest the practices of community policing.  This tactic has deep roots in the Civil Rights Movement. On this day in labor history, the year was 1964 with nearly a half a million African American and Puerto Rican students in New York City, participated in a one-day school boycot

February 2 - Australian Timber Workers Push Back Against Depression-Era Austerity Measures

Today in labor history, February 2, 1929 3,000 timber workers in New South Wales, Australia were locked out of their jobs.  Australia was in the midst of the Great Depression.  

February 1 - The 1913 Paterson Silk Strike

Today in labor history, February 1, 1913 was the first day of the Paterson, New Jersey silk weavers strike.  During the strike than 20,000 silk weavers walked off the job. They strike started at the Doherty Silk Mill. 

January 31 - The First Social Security Check

Today in labor history, January 31, 1940 Ida May Fuller received a check from the U.S. government for $22.54.  That may seem like a small amount, but the check represented something much larger. 

January 30 - Saul Alinsky is Born

“What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be.”  Those words were penned in the opening paragraph of the book Rules for Radicals, whose author, Saul Alinsky was born today in labor history January 30, 1909.

January 29 - Rubber Workers Join the Sit-Down Wave

Sometimes you have to sit down in order to stand up for your rights as a worker.  That is what workers in the Firestone rubber plant proved in Akron, Ohio today in labor history, January 29, 1936.  Akron was the heart of the rubber industry in the United States, employing 40,000 at its peak.