Labor History in 2:00

May 8 Organizing the Rails

On this day in Labor History the year was 1863. That was the day that Division One of the Brotherhood of the Footboards was founded in Detroit, Michigan.  By the next year they had changed their name to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.  

May 7 Bloody Tuesday

On this day in Labor History the year was 1907.  That was the day known in the San Francisco labor movement as “Bloody Tuesday”  In the early twentieth century, San Francisco was a city with a strong union movement.  In early May, the Carmen’s Union called a strike against United Railroads, the company that ran the city’s transit system.  

May 6 Taking an Ax to Poverty Wages

On this day in Labor History the year was 1935. That was the day that began a strike of lumber workers across the Pacific Northwest.  Lumberman had enough of long hours, dangerous conditions, and low pay.  Plans for the strike began at a meeting of the Sawmill and Timber Workers Union in late March.  

May 5 The Battle of Harlan

On this day in Labor History the year was 1931. That was the day that became known as the “Battle of Harlan” or the “Battle for Evarts.” Harlan County, Kentucky was coal country. Miners worked long hours underground and faced dangerous, and often deadly working conditions. 

May 4 The Day that Changed the World

On this day in Labor History the year was 1886. That evening a worker’s rally in Chicago Illinois became known as the Haymarket Tragedy. On May 1, workers from across the city and country had held massive rallies for the eight-hour day. Two days later,the police had fired into a crowd of workers on strike outside of the McCormick Reaper plant in the Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen. 

May 3 The Voice of the Movement

On this day in Labor History the year was 1919. That was the birthday of folk musician Pete Seeger.  Seeger and his music would become staples of the US labor movement. He was born into a musical family.  

May 2 Birth of a Labor Pioneer

On this day in Labor History the year was 1830.  That was the birthday of Richard Trevellick, one of the early leaders of the US labor movement and the fight for the eight-hour work day. Of English descent, Richard was the son of a Cornish farmer. As a young man Trevellick took up the trade of a ship carpenter.  

May 1 MAY DAY International Workers Day

On this day in Labor History the year was 1886. That was the day that workers throughout the United States walked off their jobs in a coordinated, planned effort and demanded the eight-hour day. What made the strike truly revolutionary, was that the workers were not asking for reduced pay for reduced hours. They wanted their pay-level to stay the same.  

April 30 Regulating Obstruction and Intimidation

On this day in Labor History the year was 2012. That was the day that updated National Labor Relations Board rules regarding the formation of new unions went into effect.  The rules cut down the time between when workers announced they want to hold an election to form a union and when that election can actually take place.  The rule change was aimed at cutting down delaying tactics used by employers to stop unionization. 

April 29 The Mine Wars Get Ugly

On this day in Labor History the year was 1899. That was the day that Idaho miners detonated 50 cases of dynamite at the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mine in Wardner.  For nearly a decade Idaho miners and owners had been locked in bitter battle in the Coeur d’Alene District. The mining companies fought against unionization.