Labor History in 2:00

December 17 - The Fighting Deborah Samson

On this day in labor history the year was 1760. That was the day Deborah Samson was born in Plympton, Massachusetts. She was the first known woman to impersonate a man in order to fight in the Revolutionary War. Her family was poor. As a girl, young Deborah, became an indentured servant. 

December 16 - The Willmar 8

On this day in labor history the year was 1977.  That was the day that eight women in Willmar, Minnesota stood up for their rights in the work place. The women worked at Willmar Citizens National Bank. These women were paid considerably less than the male employees. 

December 15 - The Death of a Courageous Leader

On this day in labor history the year was 2005.  That was the day the labor movement lost a man who was willing to go to jail to fight for the rights of working people.  Clinton Jenks was born in Colorado Springs in 1918.  He learned of labor consciousness from his father, a postal worker.  

December 14 - Austerity No More! Workers Strike Back!

On this day in labor history the year was 1990.  That was the day that 20,000 workers in the city of Fez in the North African country of Morocco went out on strike. Austerity measures had hit the country’s working people hard during the 1980's.  A drought had made the situation even worse.  

December 13 - Remembering Samuel Gompers

On this day in labor history the year was 1924. That was the day that long-time leader of the American Federation of Labor, Samuel Gompers, died. Gompers was born to a Jewish family in England.  He was a cigar-maker by trade. 

December 12 - The Lights Return

On this day in labor history the year was 1964. That was the day that half of the labor force of France ended a strike that had ground the country to a halt.  The strike started on December 10.  It is estimated that nine million people participated in the work action. 

December 11 - The Colored Farmers’ Alliance and Cooperative Union

On this day in labor history the year was 1886. That was the day that black farmers formed the Colored Farmers’ Alliance and Cooperative Union in Houston County, Texas.  The Southern Farmers Alliance would not allow black members

December 10 - The First Sit-Down Strike

On this day in Labor History the year was 1906.  That was the day the workers at a General Electric plant in Schenectady, New York organized a sit-down strike.  It is considered to be perhaps the first time the sit-down tactic was used in the United States. 

December 9 - The Founding of the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor

On this day in Labor History the year was 1869.  That was the day a new union, named the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor was founded. It started in Philadelphia as a secret society of tailors. But soon the Knights expanded to workers in other trades. 

December 8 - NAFTA is Signed

On this day in Labor History the year was 1993. That was the day that President Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement into law. The stated aim of NAFTA was to increase trade between the United States, Mexico and Canada.