Today's Labor History

Click here to check out this week's Labor History Today podcast. On this week’s show: Fifty years ago, Reverend Ralph David Abernathy and 100 others were arrested while picketing a hospital in Charleston, South Carolina in a demand for union recognition. Charleston was – and still is -- a notoriously difficult place to organize, and our guest Leon Fink says it “stirred the soul of the whole city.” Matthew Hild and Keri Leigh Merritt’s new book, “Reconsidering Southern Labor History,” explores the nexus of race, class and power in the history of labor in the South, and how a new generation of southern labor scholars are changing our understanding of labor's past, present and future in the region. Beth English talked with Keri Leigh and Matthew on a recent episode of the Working History podcast.

April 26
The U.S. House of Representatives passes House Joint Resolution No. 184, a constitutional amendment to prohibit the labor of persons under 18 years of age. The Senate approved the measure a few weeks later, but it was never ratified by the states and is still technically pending - 1924
 
On the orders of President Roosevelt, the U.S. Army seizes the Chicago headquarters of the unionized Montgomery Ward & Co. after management defies the National Labor Relations Board - 1944

April 27
First strike for 10-hour day, by Boston carpenters - 1825
 
President Dwight Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10450: Security Requirements for Government Employment. The order listed “sexual perversion” as a condition for firing a federal employee and for denying employment to potential applicants - 1953

A cooling tower for a power plant under construction in Willow Island, West Virginia collapses, killing 51 construction workers in what is thought to be the largest construction accident in U.S. history. OSHA cited contractors for 20 violations, including failures to field test concrete. The cases were settled for $85,000—about $1,700 per worker killed - 1978

April 28
Coal mine collapses at Eccles, W.Va., killing 181 workers - 1914

A total of 119 die in Benwood, W.Va., coal mine disaster - 1924
 
Congress creates OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The AFL-CIO sets April 28 as “Workers Memorial Day” to honor all workers killed or injured on the job every year - 1971

First “Take Our Daughters to Work Day,” promoted by the Ms. Foundation, to boost self-esteem of girls with invitations to a parent’s workplace - 1993

Labor history courtesy Today In Labor History. 

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