“Today, we mourn each treasured life taken away on the job. Those stricken by disease and fatal injuries as they keep America running deserve a dedicated day of grateful prayer and remembrance from the living. Workers Memorial Day impels us to work for a future where no one should have to risk their life for a paycheck.”
From his Proclamation on Workers Memorial Day, 2021. photo: at the VTA rail facility in San Jose, California on Wednesday. This week’s Labor History Today podcast: Shootout in Matewan; General strike in KC. Last week’s show: Passaic textile strike & LAWCHA preview
May 28 The Ladies Shoe Binders Society formed in New York - 1835 Fifteen women were dismissed from their jobs at the Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia for dancing the Turkey Trot. They were on their lunch break, but management thought the dance too racy - 1912 At least 30,000 workers in Rochester, N.Y. participate in a general strike in support of municipal workers who had been fired for forming a union - 1946 May 29 Animators working for Walt Disney begin what was to become a successful five-week strike for recognition of their union, the Screen Cartoonists' Guild. The animated feature "Dumbo" was being created at the time and, according to Wikipedia, a number of strikers are caricatured in the feature as clowns who go to "hit the big boss for a raise" - 1941 A contract between the United Mine Workers and the U.S. government establishes one of the nation's first union medical and pension plans, the multi-employer UMWA Welfare and Retirement Fund - 1946 The United Farm Workers of America reaches agreement with Bruce Church Inc. on a contract for 450 lettuce harvesters, ending a 17-year-long boycott. The pact raised wages, provided company-paid health benefits to workers and their families, created a seniority system to deal with seasonal layoffs and recalls, and established a pesticide monitoring system - 1996 May 30 The Ford Motor Company signs a "Technical Assistance" contract to produce cars in the Soviet Union, and Ford workers were sent to the Soviet Union to train the labor force in the use of its parts. Many American workers who made the trip, including Walter Reuther, a tool and die maker who later was to become the UAW's president. Reuther returned home with a different view of the duties and privileges of the industrial laborer - 1929 In what became known as the Memorial Day Massacre, police open fire on striking steelworkers at Republic Steel in South Chicago, killing ten and wounding more than 160 - 1937 The Ground Zero cleanup at the site of the World Trade Center is completed 3 months ahead of schedule due to the heroic efforts of more than 3,000 building tradesmen & women who had worked 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for the previous 8 months – 2002 May 31 Rose Will Monroe, popularly known as Rosie the Riveter, dies in Clarksville, Ind. During WWII she helped bring women into the labor force - 1997 Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) International President John Costa released the following statement on the fatal shooting at a VTA rail facility in San Jose, California: “We are shocked and deeply saddened by the multiple fatalities and injuries at a shooting today at a VTA rail facility in San Jose, California. Our hearts and prayers are with our sisters, brothers and their families at ATU Local 265. We are working to provide support and assistance to the victims’ families and everyone impacted by this tragic event.” click here for latest listings
DC Labor FilmFest: Celebrating 20 Years of Great Labor Films! Click here for tickets. All films available now: WORK SONGS * THE LUNCHROOM * IDA B. WELLS: A PASSION FOR JUSTICE * MISS MARX * THE CHAMBERMAID * THE WHISTLE AT EATON FALLS * NASRIN * THE NEW DEAL FOR ARTISTS Union City Radio: 7:15am daily WPFW-FM 89.3 FM; click here to hear today's report The Revised NAFTA & the Fight for Workers' Rights in North America: Thu, May 27, 11am – 1pm RSVP HERE Union City Radio: Your Rights at Work: Thu, May 27, 1pm – 2pm WPFW 89.3 FM or listen online. Latest on possible Teamsters strike/lockout at Washington Gas, Scabby The Rat at Strathmore and more labor news updates. Free LaborFest concert by DC Musicians: Thu, May 27, 3pm – 4pm Facebook Live Arlington Dems Labor Caucus: Thu, May 27, 6pm – 7pm Meeting of union members and community allies in Arlington. LABOR GOES TO THE MOVIES podcast Movie Club discussion: Thu, May 27, 7pm – 8pm Join podcast hosts Chris Garlock and Elise Bryant for a freewheeling discussion of the films in this year's DC Labor FilmFest! Today's guests: Archivist and historian Lincoln Cushing is the author of All Of Us Or None: Social Justice Posters of the San Francisco Bay Area and Agitate! Educate! Organize! - American Labor Posters; Harvey Smith is the author of Berkeley and the New Deal. PLUS: Carl Goldman (AFSCME, ret) on the brand-new film We Made Matzah Balls For The Revolution. RSVP HERE The Art of Ralph Fasanella: Thu, May 27, 7pm – 8pm Register Here! NoVA Labor Pride at Work: Thu, May 27, 7:15pm – 8:00pm Join us for the launch of the NoVA Labor LGBTQ caucus. Greta Nicholson, IBEW Local 26, will lead the discussion. Everyone is welcome! Labor Radio Podcast Weekly: Labor Radio on KBOO; 3rd and Fairfax; UComm Live; Heartland Labor Forum; LaborWave Radio; Laborlines. |