Labor History in 2:00

July 27 - The March of the Mill Children

On this day in Labor History the year was 1903. Labor leader “Mother” Mary Harris Jones was leading a march of child laborers to President Theodore Roosevelt’s summer home in New York. The long march had begun twenty days before in Philadelphia. Mother Jones was hoping to draw national attention to the plight of child workers. 

July 26 - ADA is Signed into Law

On this day in Labor History the year was 1990.  That was the day that George H. W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The ADA prohibits employment discrimination of people with disabilities, and requires public accommodations be accessible.  The passage of the act was the result of years of grassroots organizing by members of the ADA community and their allies.  

July 25 - The Colonial Conquest of Puerto Rico

On this day in Labor History the year was 1898. That was the day that United State armed forces invaded Puerto Rico. The invasion was part of the Spanish-American war.  In 1898 the US Department of State, noted “It seems to be conceded that every year we shall be confronted with an increasing surplus of manufactured goods for sale in foreign markets if American operatives and artisans are to be kept employed year round.”  

July 24 - Building a New Federation

On this day in Labor History the year was 1968. That was the first day of a new U.S. labor partnership, the Alliance for Labor Action.  The Alliance was forged by President of the United Automobile Workers, Walter Reuter and the President of the Teamsters, Frank Fitzsimmons.  The UAW had left the AFL-CIO over differences in how to approach labor organizing.  

July 23 - The More Things Change, The More They Are the Same

On this day in Labor History the year was 1877. That was the day that a mob began an attack on Chinese workers in San Francisco that killed four people.  During the mid-1870s a depression swept across the nation.  White workers from the east coast headed west, many to San Francisco, hoping to find a job.  Skilled Chinese workers who had completed their labor on the Transcontinental Railroad also came to the city.  

July 22 - The Nation’s First General Strike

On this day in Labor History the year was 1877. A group of labor leaders and members of the Workingmen’s Party met in St. Louis.  They were there because of the labor strike that had swept the nation.  The United States was in the grip of a terrible depression.  Railroad workers in Martinsburg, West Virginia had walked off the job, after their wages were slashed.  

July 21 - The Crazy Eights

On this day in Labor History the year was 1878. That was the day that a new song was introduced to the US labor movement. Reverend Jesse H. Jones set the lyrics of a poem that had been written by I. G. Blanchard more than a decade earlier. The song was called the “Eight Hour Day.”  

July 20 - Delivering Respect

On this day in Labor History the year was 1971. It was an historic day for the men and women who deliver the US Mail. It was the day that the American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers signed their first ever union contract. Although there had been earlier postal unions they did not have formal bargaining rights.  

July 19 - Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Announced

On this day in Labor History the year was 1993. That was the day that President Bill Clinton announced his “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He had campaigned for President promising to allow all citizens to serve in the military regardless of sexual orientation.  Once he was elected there was a great deal of opposition to his proposal.  

July 18 - Chicago Stockyards Workers Kick Off Historic 1919 Strike

On this day in Labor History the year was 1919. That Friday thousands of workers in the Chicago Stockyards walked off the job. A serious union organizing drive had been underway in the yards since June.  One of the organizers of the butchers was John Kikulski.