Labor History in 2:00
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June 15 - Metal Trades Department Established
On this day in Labor History the year was 1908. That was the day that the Executive Board of the American Federation of Labor established its Metal Trades Department. The goal was to coordinate the o
June 14 - Miner Shot Dead, Trying to Organize
On this day in Labor History the year was 1921. During that summer the battle waged over the efforts to unionize the southwestern West Virginia coal mines. The miners had been evicted from their compa
June 13 - Trouble in the Ranks
On this day in Labor History the year was 1914. That was the day that the Miner’s Union Day parade was scheduled in Butte, Montana. In spite of the festivities trouble was brewing down in the coppe
June 12 - Hog Butcher for the World
On this day in Labor History the year was 1904. That was the day that 18,000 workers in the Chicago’s stockyards went out on strike. Work in the stockyards was often brutal and dangerous. Thousands
June 11 - The Death of an Icon
On this day in Labor History the year was 1969. That was the day that labor leader John L. Lewis died. Born to a Welsh-American Coal mining family in Iowa, Lewis became the leading champion of industr
June 10 - Paid Prep Time
On this day in Labor History the year was 1946. That was the day that the US Supreme Court handed down a decision that would have massive implication for American workers. The case was known as Ander
June 9 - McCarthy’s Downfall
On this day in Labor History the year was 1954. That was the day that marked the public downfall of Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy. Senator McCarthy had become the public face of anti-Communist hy
June 8 - Shot Down by the Colorado Militia
On this day in Labor History the year was 1904. That was the day that John Carley, a union miner, was shot down in Dunnville, Colorado. He was part of a strike in the Cripple Creek gold mining region
June 7 - Strike at Loray Mills
On this day in Labor History the year was 1929. That was the day that Police Chief Orville Aderholt was shot and killed, at a camp of striking textile workers in Gastonia, North Carolina. The textile
June 6 - Mine Owners Riot at Cripple Creek
On this day in Labor History the year was 1894. That was the day that the Colorado state militia troops came to Cripple Creek to intervene in a mining strike. But unlike every other time in US mining