 On this date in 1904, the New York City subway, the first rapid-transit system in America, opened. More than 100 workers died during the construction of the first 13 miles of tunnels and track.
In 1935, three strikes on works-relief projects in Maryland were underway today, with charges that Depression-era Works Projects Administration jobs were paying only about 28 cents an hour—far less than was possible on direct relief. Civic officials in Cumberland, where authorities had established a 50-cent-per-hour minimum wage, supported the strikers, And in 1951, the National Labor Council was formed in Cincinnati to unite Black workers in the struggle for full economic, political and social equality. The group was to function for five years before disbanding, having forced many AFL and CIO unions to adopt non-discrimination policies. - compiled/edited by David Prosten at Union Communication Services Comments are closed.
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