In today’s labor history, eight members of the Musicians union died in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. According to survivors, they played their instruments until nearly the end. Five weeks later a concert was organized by the union to benefit the musicians' families. The evening ended with a rendering of "Nearer, My God, to Thee," the hymn being played as the ship went down.
And on this date in 1955, the first McDonald’s restaurant opened, in Des Plaines, Illinois, setting the stage years later for sociologist Amitai Etzioni to coin the term "McJob."
Today’s labor quote is by the Oxford English Dictionary, which defines a McJob as "an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, especially one created by the expansion of the service sector."