Labor History in 2:00

August 8 - An Inspiration for the Nation

On this day in Labor History the year was 1994.  President Bill Clinton posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Latino farm worker organizer Cesar Chavez.  It is the highest honor granted to civilians.  

August 7 - Fighting to Be Heard

In the early 1980s telephone service in the United States went through a major shake-up.  Up until that time AT&T through their Bell Operating Companies monopolized almost all of the telephone service in the nation. One-hundred-fifty million phones were part of the Bell network.  

August 6 - Lighnin’ Struck

On this day in Labor History the year was 1919.  That was the day that stages across New York City went dark.  Actors Equity was on strike against the Producing Managers Association.  Up until that time stage actors often faced poor work conditions.  

August 5 - The Shot Heard ‘Round the Boardroom

On this day in Labor History the year was 1981. It was a dark day in U.S. labor history. 

Nearly 13,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization had been out on strike for two days.  

August 4 - Teamsters Strike Big Brown

On this day in Labor History the year was 1997.  That was the day that 185,000 UPS workers and members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters went out on strike.  It was the biggest strike in the United States in more than a decade. 

August 3 - The Knights of Labor

On this day in Labor History the year was 1821. That was the day Uriah Smith Stephens was born near Cape May, New Jersey. 

Although he longed to be a Baptist minister, he worked as a tailors apprentice and taught school.  

August 2 - The Ginger Goodwin Strike

On this day in Labor History the year was 1918.  That was the day of the first general strike in Canadian history. 

The strike took place in Vancouver.  It was held to protest the police killing of labor leader Albert “Ginger” Goodwin.  

August 1 - The Hilo Massacre

On this day in Labor History the year was 1938. At 8:30 in the morning union members gathered at the port in Hilo, Hawaii.

They were there to protest the docking of a ship with non-union workers, the SS Waialeale.

July 31 - MLB Strikes Out

On this day in Labor History the year was 1981. That was the day the long Major League Baseball strike finally came to an end. 

The issue that motivated the strike was a dispute between players and management over free-agency.  

July 30 - The Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa

On this day in Labor History the year was 1975.  That was the day that began one of the greatest mysteries of the United States labor movement.  Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in Detroit.