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In the nation’s first general strike for a 10-hour day, 300 armed Irish longshoremen marched through the streets of Philadelphia calling on other workers to join them. Some 20,000 did, from clerks to bricklayers to city employees and other occupations. The city announced a 10-hour workday within the week; private employers followed suit three weeks later – 1835 Thirty-seven Black striking Louisiana sugar workers are murdered when Louisiana militia, aided by bands of "prominent citizens," shoot unarmed workers trying to get a dollar-per-day wage. Two strike leaders are lynched - 1887 Malbone tunnel disaster in New York City (above); inexperienced scab motorman crashes five-car train during strike, 97 killed, 255 injured - 1918 Some 400,000 soft coal miners strike for higher wages and shorter hours - 1919 The UAW begins what was to become a successful 172-day strike against International Harvester. The union turned back company demands for weakened work rules, mandatory overtime - 1979 Honda assembles the first-ever Japanese car manufactured in a U.S. plant, in Marysville, Ohio - 1982 Compiled/edited by Union Communication Services Comments are closed.
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