Labor History in 2:00

September 27 - Uprising of the 20,000

On this day in Labor History the year was 1909. That was the day the International Ladies Garment Workers Union began a strike against the Triangle Shirtwaist Company.  Eventually, female workers struck at 339 of the 352 shirtwaist manufacturing firms in New York City. The strike was referred to as the “Uprising of the 20,000.”  

September 28 - The Journey Toward Equal Treatment

On this day in Labor History the year was 1904. A woman was arrested for smoking a cigarette in a car on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Women in the United States are no longer likely to be arrested for smoking cigarettes in public. They continue to face unequal treatment in the labor force.  

September 26 - Shays’ Rebellion

On this day in Labor History the year was 1786.  Daniel Shays led a group of farmers in an armed uprising.  They were angry about taxes levied by the State of Massachusetts.  Shays had been a captain in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. 

September 25 - Lewis Hine is Born

Can a photograph bring about social reform? Lewis Hine believed it could.  On this day in Labor History the year was 1874, renowned photographer, Lewis Hine, was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Hine studied sociology at the University of Chicago, Columbia Universityand New York University.  

September 24 - The Build of the Supreme Court

On this day in Labor History the year was 1789.  Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789. This act established the plan for U.S. Supreme Court.  At first the Court was comprised of just six justices appointed by the President with Senate confirmation.  

September 23 - The Nixon Plan in Philadelphia

On this day in Labor History the year was 1969. President Richard Milhous Nixon issued the Philadelphia Plan. The goal of the plan was to require building trades unions to admit black members into their ranks. Nixon believed this would show him as a civil rights supporter without having to give in to the more radical demands of the civil rights movement.  

September 22 - A Pepperoni Pizza and a Union

On this day in Labor History the year was 2006. Eleven Domino’s pizza delivery drivers in Pensacola, Florida formed what is thought to be the first ever union of pizza delivery drivers. The American Union of Pizza Delivery Drivers won recognition from the National Labor Relations Board as the bargaining agent for drivers at the Pensacola franchise. 

September 21 - The March of Mother Jones

On this day in Labor History the year was 1912. That was the day that labor activist, Mother Jones, led a march of miners’ children through the streets of Charleston, West Virginia. Her aim was to illustrate the effects of poverty.  

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.