This week’s Labor History Today podcast: The death of “Big Steve” Sutton; Last week's show: Working on Earth Day. April 29 Coxey’s Army of 500 unemployed civil war veterans reaches Washington, DC – 1894 When their demand that only union men be employed was refused, members of the Western Federation of Miners dynamited and destroyed the $250,000 mill of the Bunker Hill Company at Wardner, Idaho – 1899 April 30 An explosion at the Everettville mine in Everettville, W. Va., kills 109 miners, many of whom lie in unmarked graves to this day – 1927 Obama Administration’s National Labor Relations Board implements new rules to speed up unionization elections. New rules are largely seen as a counter to employer manipulation of the law to prevent workers from unionizing. These rules were subsequently undone under the Trump administration in December 2019. – 2012 May 1 Eight-hour day demonstration in Chicago and other cities begins tradition of May Day as international labor holiday – 1886 Mother Jones’ 100th birthday celebrated at the Burgess Farm in Adelphi, Md. She died six months later – 1930 Rallies in cities across the U.S. for what organizers call “A Day Without Immigrants.” An estimated 100,000 immigrants and sympathizers gathered in San Jose, Calif., 200,000 in New York, 400,000 each in Chicago and Los Angeles. In all, there were demonstrations in at least 50 cities - 2006 - David Prosten Comments are closed.
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