Here’s today’s labor history:
On this date in 1936, some 1,200 workers sat down at Midland Steel in Detroit, forcing recognition of the United Auto Workers.
And in 1937, the pro-labor musical revue, “Pins & Needles” opened on Broadway with a cast of garment workers union members. The show ran on Friday and Saturday nights only, because of the cast’s regular jobs; The original cast was made up of cutters, basters, and sewing machine operators, all members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. The revue was also performed in 1938 in the White House for Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Today’s labor quote is from “One Big Union For Two” one of the songs from “Pins & Needles”:
I'm on a campaign to make you mine
I'll picket you until you sign
In one big union for two
No courts and junction can make me stop
Until your love is all closed shop
In one big union for two
Seven days a week I want the right
To call you mine both day and night
The hours may be long
But fifty million union members can't be wrong