Labor History in 2:00

April 16 - 581 Killed in Texas City Disaster

On this day in Labor History the year was 1947. 

The day dawned unseasonably cool in Texas City, TX, a port city forty miles south of Houston on the Gulf of Mexico.  

April 15 - Jackie Robinson Breaks the Major Leagues Color Barrier

On this day in Labor History the year was 1947. 

It was opening day of a truly new baseball season. 

April 14 - The Grapes of Wrath

On this day in Labor History the year was 1939.  This was the day readers were first introduced to John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.  

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.