Labor History in 2:00

March 28 - King’s Last March in Memphis

This is the day in Memphis that marked Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s final march for Civil Rights. 

If you are a regular listener to Labor History in 2, last month you heard about how AFSCME sanitation workers in Memphis went on strike to win union recognition.  

March 27 - Strike on the Canadian Northern

On this day in Labor History the year was 1912. Between six and seven thousand workers walked off the job, on strike against the Canadian Northern Railway.  Their issues included low pay, worker safety, and the poor quality of food and housing provided by the railroad. 

March 26 - Contract Farm Labor During Wartime

On this day in Labor History the year was 1943.  

The United States was in the midst of fighting World War II. 

And by 1943 there were more than 9 million people serving as military personnel.  

March 25 - Industrial Murder at Triangle ShirtWaist Factory

 

On this day in Labor History the year was 1911. Marking one the most tragic days in US labor history. 

 

146 women and girls died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.  

March 24 - Coalition of Labor Union Women is Founded

On this day in Labor History the year was 1974. 

It was the final day of a ground-breaking gathering of more than 3,000 women union members in Chicago to found the Coalition of Labor Union Women, or CLUW.

March 23 - The Norris-LaGuardia Act

Do you know that it used to be legal for employers in their United States to make their employees sign a contract promising not join a union? 

Such agreements were often referred to as “Yellow Dog Contracts.”  

March 22 - Mark Twain Speaks to the Power of Workers

At some time during your life you’ve probably read a book or heard a story by Mark Twain. 

But did you know that this renowned American author was also a strong supporter of labor? 

In 1835 he was born Samuel Clemens in town of Hannibal, Missouri.  

March 21 - WTUL Leader Alice Henry is Born

On this day in Labor History the year was 1857.  Labor activist, Alice Henry was born in Melbourne, Australia.

Alice originally went to work as a teacher, but then found her true calling as a journalist.

She wrote in support of the day’s progressive causes, including care for dependent children, labor reform, and women’s rights.  

March 20 - Police Attack Women Sit-Downers

On this day in Labor History the year was 1937.  Three hundred police men waited outside the Bernard Schwartz Cigar Factory in Detroit, MI. 

They were there to break up the peaceful sit down strike going on inside the Cigar plant.  During the winter and spring of 1937, Detroit had seen a wave of sit down strikes.  

March 19 - FDR Creates National Defense Mediation Board

Is it unpatriotic to go on strike when the nation is at war?  What if your workplace is in an industry critical to the war effort?  On this day in Labor History the year was 1941.

The world was at embroiled in the Second World War, and increasingly it seemed as if the United States would soon join the fighting.