In today’s labor history, on this date in 1936, 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 International Ladies Garment Workers Union members. The show ran on Friday and Saturday nights only, because of the casts’ regular jobs. It ran for 1,108 performances before closing. Today’s labor quote is from “Doing the Reactionary” from “Pins & Needles,” sung here by none other than Barbra Streisand from the 25th anniversary studio cast recording in 1962: All the best dictators do it Millionaires keep steppin' to it The four hundred love to sing it Ford and Morgan swing it Hand up high and shake your head You'll soon see red Doing the reactionary Don't go left, but be polite Move to the right Doing the reactionary Union City Radio is supported by Union Plus, which offers Retiree Health Care Medicare options for union members and their families. Check out unionplus.org
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This is Chris Garlock, with the latest labor news, updates and history from the Metro Washington Labor Council.
In today’s labor history, on this date in 1910, six young women burned to death and 19 more died when they leapt from the fourth-story windows of a blazing factory in Newark, New Jersey. The floors and stairs were wooden; the only door from which the women could flee was locked. Just over a hundred years later, on November 24, 2012, a fire broke out at the Tazreen factory in Bangladesh. At least 112 workers were killed and many more were injured after they got trapped in the factory building. The windows of the nine-story building were blocked with bars to prevent theft. Fire exits were either non-existent or closed, making it impossible for most workers to escape the building. Many workers jumped to their deaths as they tried to escape the flames, others were burned alive. Today’s labor quote is by Nazrin, a 23-year-old machine operator at the Tazreen factory. Nazrin, who said: “At 6:40 PM the alarm went off. The manager said ‘nothing has happened, continue your work.’ After a few minutes we saw smoke. I jumped through a window that some workers had broken.” Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. Visit unionplus.org to find out how union members might take advantage of a limited-time wireless offer from AT&T. If you’re hitting the stores today for Black Friday sales, just a reminder to patronize union stores – check out the Union Shop listings at dclabor.org – and wherever you shop today, please, be extra nice to the hard-working folks at the stores; I promise you, they’re all doing their best!
In today’s labor history, roughly on this date in 1170BC, history’s first recorded strike took place, by Egyptians working on public works projects for King Ramses the Third in the Valley of the Kings. They were protesting having gone 20 days without pay – which in those days was portions of grain -- and put their tools down. Scholar John Rome tells us that the strike so terrified the authorities they gave in and raised wages. And in 1935, Mine Workers President John L. Lewis walked away from the American Federation of Labor to lead the newly-formed Committee for Industrial Organization. The CIO and the unions created under its banner organized six million industrial workers over the following decade. Today’s labor quote is by William Haywood, secretary-treasurer of the Western Federation of Miners. Troops were dispatched to Cripple Creek, Colorado on this date in 1903 to control rioting by striking coal miners, and Haywood later explained why the state and the mine owners tried to wipe out the union. Big Bill Haywood, who said that “We desire to obtain control of the government that we may improve the condition of the working people generally." Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. Visit unionplus.org to find out how union members might take advantage of a limited-time wireless offer from AT&T. Our friends at Labor 411 believe in hard work. But they also believe that employees should have an adequate number of days off to rest and spend with family and friends. And one of those days is Thanksgiving Day. Some stores, however, would rather make a few extra dollars than put people over profits. They include some of the biggest names in retail, including Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Macy’s, Sears and, of course, WalMart.
Go to labor411.org for a list of 14 stores forcing their employees to work today, and join us in boycotting every single one of them this Thanksgiving Day. In today’s labor history, 20,000 female garment workers were out on strike in New York City, where a judge told arrested pickets: “You are on strike against God” Today’s labor quote is by English mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead Thanksgiving is a time when we think about what we’re grateful for, and this quote works for that, but I’m also thinking it’s something that might be good for a lot of bosses to hear. Alfred North Whitehead, who said: "No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude." Union City Radio is supported by our friends at Union Plus. Visit unionplus.org to find out how union members might take advantage of a limited-time wireless offer from AT&T. |
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