Labor History in 2:00

July 16 The Birth of Voice

On this day in Labor History the year was 1862. That was the day that black-rights activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi. She was the oldest of eight children. Wells went to college, and then became a teacher in Memphis, Tennessee.  In Memphis, Ida B. Wells became active in speaking out against black oppression in the Jim Crow South.  

July 15 Murdered for Standing Up

On this day in Labor History the year was 1931. That was the day that Ralph Gray was attacked for trying to organize black farmers. Gray was a born to a large African American family in Alabama. Living in the Jim Crow South, he became a tenant farmer. He joined the Communist Party.  

July 14 Happy Birthday Woody

On this day in Labor History the year was 1912.  That was the day that Woody Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma.  Guthrie became one of the most prolific song writers to ever sing the stories of the working class. His most well-well known song is “This Land is Your Land” an anthem whose lyrics claim America for the common man.  

July 13 The New York Draft Riot

On this day in Labor History the year was 1863. That was the day that draft riots broke out in New York City.  The Civil War had been raging for two years. For the first time in United States’ history, the government instituted a draft lottery. But those with enough money could buy their way out of the draft.  

July 12 The Birth of Oscar Neebe

On this day in Labor History the year was 1850.  That was the birthday of Oscar Neebe.  Neebe was one of eight men convicted of inciting violence at a workers rally at Haymarket Square in Chicago in 1886.  He was born in New York City.  

July 11 A Trail of Broken Treaties

On this day in Labor History the year was 1968. That was the day that the American Indian Movement began at a meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A group of 200 Native Americans gathered together to discuss a response to the US governments’ history of broken treaties and the devastating consequences on Native peoples. 

July 10 Debs Arrested

On this day in Labor History the year was 1894. That was the day that labor leader Eugene V. Debs was arrested for supporting the strike of Pullman Palace Car Company workers.  In May, the workers who made the popular train sleeping cars had walked off the job.  George Pullman had slashed workers’ wages, but had kept the rents in his company town steady.  

July 9 The Deadliest Commute

On this day in Labor History the year was 1918.  That was the day that went down in U.S. history as the Great Train Wreck.  The wreck occurred at Dutchman’s Curve, in Nashville, Tennessee. During World War I, the train industry was bustling across nation. Trains carried troops, as well workers to factories to support the war effort. 

July 8 Machinists Strike

On this day in Labor History the year was 1966. That was the day that the International Association of Machinists went out on strike. The day before “The Machinist” newsletter published out of Washington D.C., declared “Strike Set on Five Airlines.” During the first-half of the 1960s the airline industry had invested in new equipment and jet technology. 

July 7 Fighting Against Privatization

On this day in Labor History the year was 1998.  That was the first day of a 48-hour general strike in Puerto Rico.  The strike was called in support of telephone workers, who had walked off the job three weeks before.  The workers were protesting government plans to sell off the publicly owned telephone service to GTE, a private company based out of Connecticut.