Labor History in 2:00

April 13 - Debs Goes to Prison

On this day in Labor History the year was 1919.  Labor leader and socialist Eugene V. Debs was sent to prison for speaking out against World War I.

April 12 - Florence Reese is Born

There are some songs that stand at the core of the labor movement. Year after year these songs ring out on picket lines, at labor rallies, and in union halls around the world. These Songs inspire and build solidarity between workers.  

April 11 - Ford Finally Comes to the Negotiating Table

On this day in Labor History the year was 1941. 

For years auto workers had participated in a series of sit down strikes and walk outs.  They had won union recognition from almost every major auto maker.  

April 10 - Dolores Huerta is Born

On this day in Labor History the year was 1930. That was the day that Dolores Huerta was born in the mining town of Dawson, New Mexico.  

April 9 - Bunting vs. Oregon, On the Road to the Eight Hour Day

The fight for an eight hour work day was one of the most difficult and important efforts of the US labor movement. 

Slogans such as “Eight hours for work, eight hours for sleep, eight hours for what we will!” became the rallying cry of working people.

April 8 - Convict Laborers Killed in Banner Mine Explosion

On this day in Labor History the year was 1911. At 6:30 in the morning an explosion shook the Banner Mine, owned by the Pratt Consolidated Coal Company. Banner was located near what would later become Birmingham, Alabama.  

April 7 - Justice for Janitors

Their slogan was “Justice for Janitors!” Their chant was “Si se puede!” “Yes we can!”

Their image was a red and black poster of a mop raised high in a clenched fist. 3,000 members of SEIU Local 1877 marched in the streets of downtown Los Angeles.  

April 6 - The New York Slave Revolt of 1712

Often Southern states are the focus of histories of slavery in the United States. 

But did you know that in the early 1700s one in five residents of New York were enslaved Africans? 

April 5 - The Longest Strike

On this day in Labor History the year was 1954. It began what some have called the “longest major strike in U.S. history.”  The strike was against Kohler, the Wisconsin-based manufacturer of bathroom fixtures

April 4 - The Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On this day in Labor History, the year was 1968.  This is a day of mourning. Today is the day an assassin’s bullet murdered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he was coming out of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.