Labor History in 2:00

June 24 - Agnes Nestor

On this day in Labor History the year was 1880. Chicago labor leader Agnes Nestor was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her father had been a machinist and member of the Knights of Labor. Like many others families, the Nestor family moved to Chicago during the depression that swept the country in the mid-1890s.  

June 23 - Brown Lung

Chances are you have heard of “black lung,” the deadly disease that threatens coal miners. But have you ever heard of “brown lung?” On this day in Labor History the year was 1978. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA adopted standards to fight this workplace hazard.  

June 22 - United

On this day in Labor History the year was 1977. The eyes of the British Labor Movement were turned to the Grunwick Film Labor Processing Laboratories in northwest London.  Members of trade unions participated in a large demonstration at the factory.

June 21 - The Day of the Rope

On this day in Labor History the year was 1877. It became known in Pennsylvania labor history as “The Day of the Rope.” 

Twenty Irish miners were hung for allegedly belonging to a secret group of labor radicals known as the Molly Maguires. 

June 20 - The ARU is Founded

On this day in Labor History the year was 1893.  That was the day that Eugene V. Debs founded the American Railway Union.  The goal of the union was to organize railroad workers from different job classifications.  Previous railroad unions have been based on job type.

June 19 - The Women’s Day Massacre

On this day in Labor History the year was 1937. That was the day that would go down in labor history as the “Woman’s Day Massacre.” 

The Steel Workers Organizing Committee were attempting to bring union recognition to the Steel Industry.  

June 18 - Executive Order 8802

On this day in Labor History the year was 1941. That was the day that an historic meeting took place at the White House. 

Black labor leader A. Philip Randolph, along with the head of the NAACP sat down to talk with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 

June 17 - March of the Mill Children

On this day in Labor History the year was 1903. Mary Harris  better known as “Mother” Jones held a rally in Philadelphia. 

The famous Irish-American labor leader had come to Pennsylvania to support a strike of textile workers. As many as one-hundred thousand workers were out on strike.  

June 16 - Bankrupt

On this day in Labor History Pinkerton Detectives arrived at job sites across the US to escort workers off the premises. No--this was not at a railroad or coal mine in labor’s distant past.  It was at the offices of what was once the largest computer seller in the United States. And the year was 2000.  

June 15 - Justice for Janitors

On this day in Labor History the year was 1990. About 400 janitors were protesting at Century City, a large office complex in Los Angeles. 

It was part of SEIU’s Justice for Janitors campaign in LA.  The janitors had gone out on strike against International Service Systems.