Today in Labor History: October 22
Bank robber Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd is killed by FBI agents near East Liverpool, Ohio. He was a hero to the people of Oklahoma who saw him as a “Sagebrush Robin Hood,” stealing from banks and sharing some of the proceeds with the poor – 1934
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Labor Quote: Bitter Lessons
“I’m sorta worried that we’re about to run out of food or lose our home because my dad’s out of work for so long.”
– Ten-year-old Sophia Frank, whose father — along with 1,300 other members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union — has been locked out by American Crystal Sugar since August 2011; the AFL-CIO launched a boycott of the company on October 15.
Labor Quiz: John Sweeney’s First Union Job
This Week’s Quiz: John Sweeney was elected president of AFL-CIO in 1995; what was his first union staff job? Organizer, contract director or researcher? Click here and you could be next week’s winner!
Last Week’s Quiz: Eugene V. Debs ran for president from a jail cell in 1920 and got a million votes; he had been jailed for urging resistance to the World War I military draft. He was also imprisoned in 1894 for leading a strike against the Pullman Palace Car Company. He was a Socialist, although never jailed (at least not directly) for that reason. Congrats to Charlie Ridgell, a retiree from Takoma Park, MD, this week’s quiz winner!
