"Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!"
- Originally from The Communist Manifesto, the phrase was used by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and has long been a mainstay on banners in May Day demonstrations. More than 60,000 workers in Myanmar have joined unions since 2012, when five decades of military rule came to an end. Farmers, garment workers and construction workers have joined unions affiliated with the Confederation of Trade Unions-Myanmar, and the Solidarity Center recently talked with some of those workers and the union organizers who are dedicated to helping workers gain a voice on the job.Read their stories here. Delegates from several East Coast cities meet in convention to form the National Trades' Union, uniting craft unions to oppose "the most unequal and unjustifiable distribution of the wealth of society in the hands of a few individuals." The union faded after a few years - 1834
President Franklin Roosevelt's Wealth Tax Act increases taxes on rich citizens and big business, lowers taxes for small businesses - 1935 OSHA publishes scaffold safety standard, designed to protect 2.3 million construction workers and prevent 50 deaths and 4,500 injuries annually - 1996 - compiled/edited by David Prosten at Union Communication Services. |