Today in Labor History

Eugene Victor Debs, U.S. labor leader and socialist, dies (1926); House Un-AmericanActivities Committee opens hearings into alleged Communist influence in Hollywood; dozens of union members were among those blacklisted (1947); Ronald Reagan wins endorsement of the air traffic controllers union by promising to support their demands for better working conditions and staffing levels; nine months after the election, he fires them for striking over those same issues (1980);  American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist Merle Travis dies; his song's lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic exploitation of American coal miners, including classics like "Sixteen Tons" and "Dark as a Dungeon." (1983)…Read more
- compiled/edited by David Prosten at Union Communication Services ​​

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