Labor History in 2:00

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.  

April 28 - Merging for Strength

On this day in Labor History the year was 1965. That was the day that American Federation of Hosiery Workers merged with Textile Workers Union of America. Hosiery workers had begun organizing as early as 1909.  By 1923 the American Federation of Full Fashioned Hosiery Workers, as the union was originally called, had affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. 

April 27 - The Fight for a Life

On this day in Labor History the year was 1825. That was the day that saw what is widely considered the first strike for the ten-hour work day.  It happened in Boston.  Journeymen carpenters had grown tired of being required to work from sun up to sun down.  They decided it was time to make a stand.

April 26 - In the Streets for Jobs

On this day in Labor History the year was 1975.  That was the day the AFL-CIO held a “Jobs Now” rally in Washington, D.C. A painful recession had pushed unemployment in United States to nine percent. Many workers across the nation thought that the Ford administration was not doing enough to address the problems facing working families. 

April 25 - The Fight for Equality

On this day in Labor History the year was 1978. That was the day of an important victory for any woman in the United States with a pension. The Supreme Court handed down its decision in a case known as Los Angeles Water Department versus Manhart. Manhart and a group of current and past female employees at the department had sued. 

April 24 - ILWU Strikes for Justice

On this day in Labor History the year was 1999.  A headline from the Los Angeles Times declared, “Dock Crews to Halt Work in Support of Death Row Inmate.”  Up and down the west coast the ports stood silent.  The International Longshoreman and Warehouseman’s Union had called their members off the job for a one-day strike.  

April 23 - The Canadian Labour Congress is Founded

On this day in Labor History the year was 1956. That was the day of the founding of the Canadian Labour Congress.  Today the Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labor organization in Canada representing some 3.3 million workers.  During the early 1950s, labor leaders in Canada were becoming increasingly uneasy about the rising influence of big business in the country.

April 22 - It’s Earth Day

On this day in Labor History the year was 1970. That was the first observation of Earth Day.  Across the United States, millions took to the streets and parks to demonstrate for clean air, water, a reduction in pollution and care for nature and the environment.  

April 21 - The Anaconda Road Massacre

On this day in Labor History the year was 1920.  That was the day remembered in Butte, Montana as “Bloody Wednesday” or the “Anaconda Road Massacre.”  Butte was in the heart of copper mining country.  

April 20 - The Bravest of Conductors

On this day in Labor History the year was 1853.  That was the day that Harriet Tubman led her first trip on the underground railroad, the clandestine network that helped enslaved people escape slavery and move north to freedom.  One of the most remembered ‘conductors’ on the railroad, Tubman had herself escaped slavery in eastern Maryland.