Women shoemakers in Lynn, Mass., create Daughters of St. Crispin, demand pay equal to that of men - 1869 Harry Bridges is born in Australia. He came to America as a sailor at age 19 and went on to help form and lead the militant Int’l Longshore and Warehouse Union for more than 40 years - 1901 A strike by Paterson, N.J., silk workers for an 8-hour day, improved working conditions ends after six months, with the workers’ demands unmet. During the course of the strike, approximately 1,800 strikers were arrested, including Wobbly leaders Big Bill Haywood and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn - 1913 Federal troops -- under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur -- burn the shantytown built near the U.S. Capitol by thousands of unemployed WWI veterans, camping there to demand a bonus they had been promised but never received - 1932 Nine miners are rescued in Somerset, Pa., after being trapped for 77 hours 240 feet underground in the flooded Quecreek Mine – 2002 - compiled/edited by David Prosten at Union Communication Services. 10 Reasons Hillary Clinton Stands with Working People Working people recognize the high stakes in the 2016 presidential election. On one side, you have Donald Trump, who supports "right to work," which takes away power from working people, and thinks your wages are too high. On the other side, you have Hillary Clinton, who has a long history of advocating for families and working people... Three Points About the Republican Convention and the Fate of American Democracy AFL-CIO director of policy Damon Silvers asks "after the end of the Republican National Convention, what should people in unions, who above all care about the health of our democracy, make of this spectacle? The Berger-Marks Foundation is now accepting nominations for the annual Edna Award for Social Justice and the Kate Mullany Courageous Young Worker Award through September 16th. The Edna Award is a $10,000 award given by the Foundation to a young woman who has made significant contributions to social justice and whose leadership is fueling social change. The Award is named after Edna Berger, the first woman organizer of The Newspaper Guild, a longtime activist for social justice, and the Foundation's namesake. Nominations will be accepted through midnight on Friday, September 16, 2016 and must be submitted online. Award winners will be announced in December 2016 and honored at an event in Washington, DC on February 9, 2017. For more information about the Awards and links to the nomination forms, click here. On this date in 1869, William Sylvis died. Sylvis is best remembered as a founder of the Iron Molders' International Union and the National Labor Union, the latter being one of the first American union federations attempting to unite workers of various crafts into a single national organization. The founding convention of the National Labor Union in August 1866, was attended by 60 delegates, representing 43 local unions, 11 trade assemblies, four Eight-hour Leagues, and two national or international unions. Ironically, Sylvis was unable to attend the gathering due to illness. He became president of the National Labor Union in 1868 and advocated international labor cooperation and independent political action. At the time of his death at the age of 41, he was urging the formation of a national Labor Reform party. |