"I think somehow I give people a little hope in life, that life is a struggle, but if you have faith and determination you can go through life and come out ahead." Hale was the sole survivor of the SS Daniel J. Morrell (see Labor History, below). photo: Dennis Hale holds a picture of him on a raft being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard on November 31, 1966. The photograph was taken by Port Huron Times Herald photographer Ralph Polovich. This photo by Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press Click here to check out this week's edition of the award-winning Labor History Today podcast. Clerks, teamsters and building service workers at Boston Stores in Milwaukee strike at the beginning of the Christmas rush. The strike won widespread support—at one point 10,000 pickets jammed the sidewalks around the main store—but ultimately was lost. Workers returned to the job in mid-January with a small pay raise and no union recognition - 1934 The SS Daniel J. Morrell, a 603-foot freighter, breaks in two during a strong storm on Lake Huron. Twenty-eight of its 29 crewmen died; survivor Dennis Hale was found the next day, near frozen and floating in a life raft with the bodies of three of his crewmates. He had survived for nearly 40 hours in frigid temperatures wearing only a pair of boxer shorts, a lifejacket, and a pea coat – 1966 National Labor Relations Board rules that medical interns can unionize and negotiate wages and hours - 1999 photo: Picketers try to prevent a car from entering the Allis-Chalmers factory in Milwaukee on November 25, 1946. This is a different Milwaukee strike than the '34 Boston Stores strike described above; click here to read more about the history of strikes in Milwaukee. Painters DC 51's Apprenticeship Training Facility in Maryland was featured duringNational Apprenticeship Week earlier this month. U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta “learned more about IUPAT's training programs to develop hands-on skills in painting and glazing that lead to good, family-sustaining jobs,” during a visit to DC 51’s facility, which is led by Apprenticeship Director Brian Courtien. - Sylvia Casaro Newly-elected Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich will be honored "for his outstanding support of renters' rights" at the Montgomery County Renters Alliance’s fourth annual Building Community celebration on December 6. "We support the Renters Alliance because stable, quality, affordable housing is at the heart of a healthy workforce," said Gino Renne, president of UFCW 1994 which represents more than 8,000 public employees. "And I can think of no one in County government who has done more to protect renters' rights than Marc Elrich." The Renters Alliance is the only regional nonprofit dedicated exclusively to renter outreach, education, advocacy and organizing. Nearly 40% of Maryland residents now live in rental housing, with most renters working families and union members. Click here for tickets. |