Today in Labor History: Weekend Edition
May 24—After 14 years of construction and the deaths of 27 workers, the Brooklyn Bridge over New York’s East River opens. Newspapers call it “the eighth wonder of the world” – 1883
May 25—Thousands of unemployed WWI veterans arrive in Washington, D.C., to demand early payment of a bonus they had been told would get, but not until 1945. They built a shantytown near the U.S. Capitol but were burned out by U.S. troops after two months – 1932
May 26—Ford Motor Co. security guards attack union organizers and supporters attempting to distribute literature outside the plant in Dearborn, Mich., in an event that was to become known as the “Battle of the Overpass.” The guards tried to destroy any photos showing the attack, but some survived—and inspired the Pulitzer committee to establish a prize for photography – 1937
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Labor Video: Comp Time
Check the Republicans’ latest proposed “benefit” for working people: No more overtime pay. —Click here to watch the video.
Today in Labor History: May 23
The Battle of Toledo begins today: a five-day running battle between roughly 6,000 strikers at the Electric Auto-Lite company of Toledo, Ohio, and 1,300 members of the Ohio National Guard. Two strikers died and more than 200 were injured. The battle began in the sixth week of what ultimately became a successful two-month fight for union recognition and higher pay. One guardsman told a Toledo Blade reporter: “Our high school graduation is … tonight and we were supposed to be getting our diplomas” – 1934
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Labor Humor: Facing the End
A priest, a rabbi and a management consultant were traveling on an airplane. All of a sudden smoke started pouring out of the cockpit, the plane began to spin and plummet toward the earth. Everyone aboard was about to die. The priest began to pray and finger his rosary beads, the rabbi began to read the Torah and the management consultant… click here for the punchline.
—Got a labor joke you’d like to share? Email it to us at ucs@unionist.com; if we use it in the newsletter, you’ll get credit and a prize!
Today in Labor History: May 22
Eugene V. Debs imprisoned in Woodstock, Ill., for role in Pullman strike – 1895
(The Bending Cross: A Biography of Eugene V. Debs: Eugene V. Debs was a labor activist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who captured the heart and soul of the nation’s working people. He was brilliant, sincere, compassionate and scrupulously honest. A founder of one of the nation’s first industrial unions, the American Railway Union, he went on to help launch the Industrial Workers of the World — the Wobblies. A man of firm beliefs and dedication, he ran for President of the United States five times under the banner of the Socialist Party, in 1912 earning 6 percent of the popular vote.)
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Member Tip: Unwritten Laws of the Workplace
Besides what’s in the contract, or in the employer’s handbook or government regulations, every workplace has its unwritten rules. Just as in everyday life, there are ways of doing things in the workplace that may not be on a page anywhere to read but are accepted by everyone. When you’re waiting to get on an elevator, where is it written that you are required to make way for a parent with a toddler? Nowhere, but people understand that that’s the way it should be, so that’s the way it usually is. Similarly, it may not be written anywhere that it’s okay to knock off a little early on Christmas Eve, or that a phone call to check on your children at home is allowed, but that may have developed into the “law of the shop” in your workplace.
—Adapted from The Union Member’s Complete Guide, by Michael Mauer
Today in Labor History: May 21
Italian activists and anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, widely believed to have been framed for murder, go on trial today. They eventually are executed as part of a government campaign against dissidents – 1921
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Labor Cartoon: Cavemen
From the UCS Labor Graphics Service: eight to ten top-quality, union-oriented art and graphics tools every week, delivered via email. Click here to see the cartoon!
Today in Labor History: May 20
The Railway Labor Act takes effect today. It is the first federal legislation protecting workers’ rights to form unions – 1926
(Understanding the Railway Labor Act: The title of this book says it all. Wilner is the ultimate authority on labor-management relations in the railroad industry. His latest book is incredibly helpful to those seeking to learn more about rail labor history, the mechanics of rail labor law, and how railroads and their multiple unions bargain collectively under the RLA’s provisions. It is hugely helpful as well to those familiar with the RLA but seeking a reference work providing greater detail on the law’s provisions and how they impact negotiations at the national and local levels.)
—Click here for the complete posting.
Labor Quiz: Washington Monument
This Week’s Quiz: Which of the following unions placed a commemorative stone in the Washington Monument shortly after construction began in 1848? Click here and you could be next week’s winner of a labor music CD!
Last Week’s Quiz: The answer is None of the Above. There are no criminal penalties levied against an employer for firing a pro-union worker during an organizing campaign. An employer is, however, required to offer reinstatement to an illegally fired worker, with back pay—after deducting any pay he may have earned from another employer in the interim. Congrats to Ann Hoffman of the NWU in Washington, D.C., this week’s quiz (and labor music CD) winner!
Today in Labor History: Weekend Edition
May 17—Twelve Starbucks baristas in a midtown Manhattan store, declaring they couldn’t live on $7.75 an hour, signed cards demanding representation by the Industrial Workers of the World, or Wobblies. Management roadblocks continue to deny the workers their union to this day – 2004
May 18—In what may have been baseball’s first labor strike, the Detroit Tigers refuse to play after team leader Ty Cobb is suspended: he went into the stands and beat a fan who had been heckling him. Cobb was reinstated and the Tigers went back to work after the team manager’s failed attempt to replace the players with a local college team: their pitcher gave up 24 runs – 1912
May 19—Two hundred sixteen miners die from an explosion and its aftermath at the Fraterville Mine in Anderson County, Tenn. All but three of Fraterville’s adult males were killed. The mine had a reputation for fair contracts and pay—miners were represented by the United Mine Workers—and was considered safe; methane may have leaked in from a nearby mine – 1902
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Labor Video: Baseball Star’s Work Ethic: Look to Union Dad
Check out Washington Nationals star outfielder Bryce Harper talking about his work ethic—and where he learned it, from his dad, a union ironworker in Las Vegas. The clip comes from a special aired by ESPN, “Bryce Begins.” Click here to watch the video.
Today in Labor History: May 16
Minneapolis general strike backs Teamsters, who are striking most of the city’s trucking companies – 1934
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Labor Humor: A Bad Taste
Two lions were walking down a path. The one in back stepped up and licked the other’s backside. The one in front turned and growled. A few steps down the path the same thing happened and again a third and fourth time. The one in front finally stopped dead, turned and growled menacingly. “Why do you keep licking my backside?” he asked. “Sorry,” the back lion replied… click here for the punchline.
—Thanks to Chris Garlock, DC Metro Labor Council.
Today in Labor History: May 15
Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathon Kwitney reports that AFL-CIO President George Meany, Secretary-Treasurer Lane Kirkland and other union officials are among the 60 leading stockholders in the 15,000-acre Punta Cana, Dominican Republic resort. When the partners needed help clearing the land, the Dominican president sent troops to forcibly evict stubborn, impoverished tobacco farmers and fishermen who had lived there for generations, according to Kwitney’s expose – 1973
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Labor Song: Mean Talking Blues
Woody Guthrie was labor’s foremost troubadour during the 1940s and 1950s. He could be found at demonstrations and on picket lines all across the country, supporting the struggles of working men and women with his inspirational, often cutting lyrics. The author of such classic songs as “This Land is Our Land” and “Hard Travelin’,” he inspired a generation of younger musicians ranging from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen to John Cougar Mellencamp. Click here to listen to the song.
Today in Labor History: May 14
Milwaukee brewery workers begin 10-week strike, demanding contracts comparable to East and West Coast workers. The strike was won because Blatz Brewery accepts their demands, but Blatz was ousted from the Brewers Association for “unethical” business methods – 1953
(The Negotiation Handbook is a helpful tool for anyone whose union work puts him or her at the negotiating table. The author is a former chairman of the National Mediation Board, where he spent five years helping labor and management work out their bargaining deadlocks. While his biography shows that he comes from the management side of the labor-management dynamic, his pointers on negotiating tactics and strategies—and his stories about difficult negotiations and how seemingly insurmountable conflicts were resolved—make for interesting and instructive reading. Sections include understanding hidden motivations, credibility, ego, “last issue” pressure, pointers on dealing with the media, and much more. If you spend any amount of time in negotiations, you’d benefit from this book.)
—Click here for the complete posting.
Today in Labor History: May 13
Some 10,000 IWW dock workers strike in Philadelphia – 1913
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Labor Quiz: Labor Law Quiz
This Week’s Quiz: What’s the penalty against an employer who fires union supporters during an organizing campaign? Click here and you could be next week’s winner of a labor music CD!
Last Week’s Quiz: The Rolling Stones, Joan Baez, the Grateful Dead and other stars of the era refused to allow their music to be played on San Francisco’s progressive rock radio station KMPX-FM as a show of support for disc jockies during a strike in 1968. Congrats to Fred Bevis of IATSE Local 835, Orlando, Fla., this week’s quiz (and labor music CD) winner!
