On this date in 1927, six miners striking for better working conditions under the IWW banner were killed and many wounded in the Columbine Massacre at Lafayette, Colorado. Out of this struggle Colorado coal miners gained lasting union contracts…
In 1945, the United Auto Workers Union struck 92 General Motors plants in 50 cities to back up worker demands for a 30 percent raise. 200,000 workers went out… In 1980, a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas killed 85 hotel workers and guests and sent 650 injured people, including 14 firefighters, to the hospital… And on this date in 1993, Congress approved the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA; it took effect January 1 of the following year. Today’s labor quote is by Joseph Farrell, an apprentice Ironworker on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, completed on this date in 1964. The Verrazano, linking Staten Island and Brooklyn, was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time and is still the longest in the U.S. Three workers died over the course of the five year project. Joseph Farrell, who told radio station WNYC: "The way the wind blows over this water it would blow you right off the iron. That was to me and still is the most treacherous part of this business. When the wind grabs you on the open iron, it can be very dangerous." 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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This date in 1816 marked the first use of term “scab,” by the Albany Typographical Society. The word is used to describe a strikebreaker, a person who works despite an ongoing strike, crossing the picket line and betraying fellow workers…
In 1884, the American socialist leader Norman Thomas was born; be sure to check out this week’s Labor History Today podcast, which features historian Leon Fink talking about Norman Thomas… In 1888, the time clock was invented by Willard Bundy, a jeweler in Auburn, New York. Bundy’s brother Harlow started mass producing them a year later... In 1901, a mine fire in Telluride, Colorado killed 28 miners, prompting a union call for safer work conditions… And on this date in 1968, 78 miners were killed in an explosion at the Consolidated Coal Company’s No. 9 mine in Farmington, West Virginia. Today’s labor quote is by William Faulkner, who said: “Clocks slay time. Time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.” 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. On this date in 1915, Joe Hill, labor leader and song writer, was executed in Utah on what many believe was a framed charge of murder…
In 1954, the nation’s first automatic toll collection machine was used at the Union Toll Plaza on New Jersey's Garden State Parkway… And in 1981, the National Writers Union was founded, representing freelance and contract writers and others in the trade. I was there in New York City and I’m still a member today. In 1992 the National Writers Union become a local of the United Auto Workers. Today’s labor quote is by Joe Hill. Before he died he declared: “Don’t waste any time mourning. Organize.” 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. Hosted by Chris Garlock on WPFW 89.3FM
Guests: Assistant professor of history at the University of Rhode Island Erik Loomis on his new book “A History of America in Ten Strikes,” Louis Hyman, Associate Professor & Director, Institute for Workplace Studies, ILR School, Cornell University on “How Sears Helped Oppose Jim Crow,” joined by Georgetown labor historian Joe McCartin. Produced by Chris Garlock, engineered by “Magic” Mike Nasella |
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