Today in Labor History

Novelist Jack London is born. An American journalist, social activist and writer best-known for his novels "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang," London was a passionate advocate of unionization, socialism, and the rights of workers. He wrote several powerful works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel "The Iron Heel," his non-fiction exposé "The People of the Abyss," and "The War of the Classes."  - 1876
 
Seattle Mayor Ole Hanson orders police to raid an open-air mass meeting of shipyard workers in an attempt to prevent a general strike. Workers were brutally beaten. The strike began the following month, with 60,000 workers walking out in solidarity with some 25,000 metal tradesmen - 1919
 
President Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board to mediate labor disputes during World War II. Despite the fact that 12 million of the nation’s workers were women—to rise to 18 million by war’s end—the panel consisted entirely of men - 1942

Compiled/edited by Union Communication Services

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