"What a world this will be when human possibilities are freed, when we discover each other, when the stranger is no longer the potential criminal and the certain inferior! Click here to check out this week's Today in Labor History, a new podcast produced by Union City Radio and the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. Be a part of the podcast by calling in, just pick an event from this list and leave a voicemail.
February 23 W.E.B. DuBois, educator and civil rights activist, born - 1868 The National Marine Engineers Association (now the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association), representing deck and engine officers on U.S. flag vessels, is formed at a convention in Cleveland, Ohio - 1875 The Journeyman Bakers’ National Union receives its charter from the American Federation of Labor - 1887 William Randolph Hearst’s San Francisco Examiner began publishing racist articles on the "menace" of Japanese laborers, leading to a resolution in the California legislature that action be taken against their immigration - 1904 Woody Guthrie wrote “This Land Is Your Land” following a frigid trip—partially by hitchhiking, partially by rail—from California to Manhattan. The Great Depression was still raging. Guthrie had heard Kate Smith’s recording of “God Bless America” and resolved to himself: “We can’t just bless America, we’ve got to change it” - 1940 Association of Flight Attendants granted a charter by the AFL-CIO - 1984 Following voter approval for the measure in 2003, San Francisco’s minimum wage rises to $8.50, up from $6.75 - 2004 February 24 U.S. Supreme Court upholds Oregon state restrictions on the working hours of women, justified as necessary to protect their health. A laundry owner was fined $10 for making a female employee work more than 10 hours in a single day - 1908 Women and children textile strikers beaten by Lawrence, Mass., police during a 63-day walkout protesting low wages and work speedups - 1912 Congress passes a federal child labor tax law that imposed a 10 percent tax on companies that employ children, defined as anyone under the age of 16 working in a mine/quarry or under the age 14 in a “mill, cannery, workshop, factory, or manufacturing establishment.” The Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional three years later - 1919 February 25 Amalgamated Association of Street & Electric Railway Employees of America change name to Amalgamated Transit Union - 1965 The Order of Railroad Telegraphers change name to Transportation-Communication Employees Union - 1965 A crowd estimated to be 100,000 strong rallied at the Wisconsin state Capitol in protest of what was ultimately to become a successful push by the state’s Republican majority to cripple public employee bargaining rights - 2011 Compiled/edited by Union Communication Services Alvin Ailey dancers boycotted the company’s annual gala reception at the Kennedy Center earlier this month to protest substandard wages and benefits. “It is very concerning that Ailey’s artists, predominately African-American dancers, earn much less than dancers at comparable companies with similar or even smaller budgets,” said Leonard Egert, National Executive Director of the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA). “Management needs to promptly address this glaring disparity.” Read more here. photo courtesy @ArtistsofAiley Instagram Congratulate this year’s awardees at the Metro Washington Council’s Evening with Labor with an ad in the EWL program guide: deadline extended to 5:00pm today. Email your ad (PDF for best results) to [email protected]. Download the order form here.
|