This week’s Labor History Today podcast: Marching on Washington: civil rights to voting rights. Last week's show: Sacco and Vanzetti; Midnight in Vehicle City. John Reed forms the Communist Labor Party in Chicago. The Party’s motto: "Workers of the world unite!" - 1919 10,000 striking miners began a fight at Blair Mountain, W.Va., for recognition of their union, the UMWA. Federal troops were sent in, and miners were forced to withdraw 5 days later, after 16 deaths - 1921 The Trade Union Unity League is founded as an alternative to the American Federation of Labor, with the goal of organizing along industrial rather than craft lines. An arm of the American Communist Party, the League claimed 125,000 members before it dissolved in the late 1930s - 1929 Solidarity workers movement founded as a strike coordination committee at Lenin Shipyards, Gdansk, Poland. The strike launched a wave of unrest in the Soviet Union that ultimately led to its dissolution in 1991 - 1980 325,000 unionists gathered in Washington, D.C. for a Solidarity Day march and rally for workplace fairness and healthcare reform - 1991 Detroit teachers begin what is to become a nine day strike, winning smaller class sizes and raises of up to four percent - 1999 - David Prosten Comments are closed.
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