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This week in Labor History (July 14th)
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This Week in Labor History
July 14
The Great Uprising nationwide railway strike begins in Martinsburg, W.Va., after railroad workers are hit with their second pay cut in a year. In the following days, strike riots spread through 17 states. The next week, federal troops were called out to force an end to the strike - 1877
Woody Guthrie, writer of "This Land is Your Land" and "Union Maid," born in Okemah, Okla. - 1912
 Italian immigrants and anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are convicted in Massachusetts of murder and payroll robbery—unfairly, most historians agree—after a 2-month trial, and are eventually executed. Fifty years after their deaths the state's governor issued a proclamation saying they had been treated unfairly and that "any disgrace should be forever removed from their names." – 1921
(Making the News: A Guide for Nonprofits and Activists: Sacco and Vanzetti made the news in a most unfortunate way. Today, it often seems that unions are either ignored or criticized. You can influence how your events make the news by following some of the excellent guidance offered by this easy-to-read book.)
July 15
Some 50,000 lumberjacks strike for 8-hour day - 1917
Ralph Gray, an African-American sharecropper and leader of the Share Croppers Union, is murdered in Camp Hill, Ala. - 1931
A half-million steelworkers begin what is to become a 116-day strike that shutters nearly every steel mill in the country. Management wanted to dump contract language limiting its ability to change the number of workers assigned to a task or to introduce new work rules or machinery that would result in reduced hours or fewer employees - 1959
July 16
Ten thousand workers strike Chicago's Int’l Harvester operations - 1919
Martial law declared in strike by longshoremen in Galveston, Texas - 1920
 San Francisco Longshoreman's strike spreads, becomes 4-day general strike - 1934
July 17
Two ammunition ships explode at Port Chicago, Calif., killing 322, including 202 African-Americans assigned by the Navy to handle explosives. It was the worst home-front disaster of World War II. The resulting refusal of 258 African-Americans to return to the dangerous work underpinned the trial and conviction of 50 of the men in what is called the Port Chicago Mutiny - 1944
July 18
 The Brotherhood of Telegraphers begins an unsuccessful 3-week strike against the Western Union Telegraph Co. - 1883
Some 35,000 Chicago stockyard workers strike - 1919
Hospital workers win 113-day union recognition strike in Charleston, S.C. - 1969
July 19
Women's Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, N.Y. Delegates adopt a Declaration of Women's Rights and call for women's suffrage – 1848
 (Public Speaking in Easy Steps: The women who spoke at the Women’s Rights Convention knew how to inspire an audience! How about you? For most of us, the thought of public speaking sends pulses racing and stomachs lurching. Public Speaking In Easy Steps guides you through the process, from planning, practice and props through relaxation techniques and tried and tested tips on the day itself. Try it—you might like it!)
An amendment to the 1939 Hatch Act, a federal law whose main provision prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity, is amended to also cover state and local employees whose salaries include any federal funds - 1940
July 20
New York City newsboys, many so poor that they were sleeping in the streets, begin a 2-week strike. Several rallies drew more than 5,000 newsboys, complete with charismatic speeches by strike leader Kid Blink, who was blind in one eye. The boys had to pay publishers up front for the newspapers; they were successful in forcing the publishers to buy back unsold papers – 1899
(Kids on Strike!: Read about the newsboys strike in this fascinating book. Nearly two million boys and girls were in the U.S. workforce by the early 1900s. Kids on Strike! tells the story of children who stood up for their rights against powerful company owners.)
Two killed, 67 wounded in Minneapolis truckers' strike—"Bloody Friday" - 1934
Postal unions, Postal Service sign first labor contract in the history of the federal government—the year following an unauthorized strike by 200,000 postal workers - 1971
—Compiled and edited by David Prosten |
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