Here’s today's labor history:
On this date in 1928, Alabama outlawed the leasing of convicts to mine coal, a practice that had been in place since 1848. In 1898, 73 percent of the state's total revenue came from this source. 25 percent of all black leased convicts died.
In 1936, the Walsh-Healey Act took effect on this date. It requires companies that supply goods to the government to pay wages according to a schedule set by the Secretary of Labor.
And, in 1998, up to 40,000 New York construction workers demonstated in midtown Manhattan, protesting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s awarding of a $33 million dollar contract to a nonunion company.
Today’s labor quote is by Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington, who said
“You can't hold a man down without staying down with him.”