Today in Labor History: September 27
Striking textile workers in Fall River, Mass. demand bread for their starving children – 1875
The International Typographical Union renews a strike against the Los Angeles Times and begins a boycott that runs intermittently from 1896 to 1908. A local anti-Times committee in 1903 persuades William Randolph Hearst to start a rival paper, the Los Angeles Examiner. Although the ITU kept up the fight into the 1920s, the Times remains nonunion to this day – 1893
International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union begins strike against Triangle Shirtwaist Co. This would become the “Uprising of the 20,000,” resulting in 339 of 352 struck firms — but not Triangle — signing agreements with the union. The Triangle fire that killed 246 would occur less than two years later – 1909
Twenty-nine west coast ports lock out 10,500 workers in response to what management says is a worker slowdown in the midst of negotiations on a new contract. The ports are closed for 10 days, reopen when Pres. George W. Bush invokes the Taft-Hartley Act – 2002
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Labor Book: The Bully at Work
Anyone who’s been bullied at work or wants to understand more about this silent epidemic will want The Bully at Work. You’ll learn that women and men are equally likely to be bullies, and women are more likely to be targets than men. You’ll learn that, overwhelmingly, bullies are likely to be supervisors rather than co-workers. And you’ll learn just exactly what constitutes bullying. But, most importantly, victims will learn how to combat it, not blame themselves; stop hurting and keep a job that would be OK – if you didn’t have to contend with a bullying jerk.
Labor Humor: Joke is on the Boss
The boss returned from lunch in a good mood and called the whole staff in to listen to a couple of jokes he had picked up. Everybody laughed uproariously, with the sole exception of a young woman. “What’s the matter?” grumbled the boss. “Haven’t you got a sense of humor?” “I don’t have to laugh,” she replied…click here for the punchline.
