Today in Labor History: July 30
President Lyndon Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965, establishing Medicare and Medicaid – 1965
Former Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa disappears. Declared legally dead in 1982, his body has never been found – 1975
United Airlines agrees to offer domestic-partner benefits to employees and retirees worldwide – 1999
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Labor Quiz: The Battle of Blair Mountain
Last Week’s Quiz: Women still make only 77 cents to the dollar men earn in America. Worldwide, “women are paid 18 percent on average less than their male counterparts at work.” This pay gap has persisted without change for a decade. Congrats to Jody Oliver, an AFSMCE retiree from Cumberland, MD, this week’s quiz winner!
This Week’s Quiz: Which of the following occurred during the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain: 10,000 armed coal miners confronted 3,000 lawmen and strikebreakers; private planes were hired to drop homemade bombs on the miners; approximately one million rounds were fired; all of the above. Click here and you could be next week’s Quiz winner!
Labor Quote: “A strike we had to have”
“Considering the offer they gave us, it’s a strike we had to have.”
– Albert Williams, a Machinists union member and 19-year Caterpillar employee, as he picketed in 99-degree heat outside his plant in Joliet, Ill. Despite earning a record $4.9 billion profit in 2011 and projecting even better results for 2012, Caterpillar is demanding a six-year wage and pension freeze for most of the 780 production workers at the factory. It told the New York Times it “needs to keep its labor costs down to ensure its future competitiveness.”
GOT QUOTE? Click here to send us your favorite labor quote and we’ll consider it for future posts!
