Today in Labor History: Weekend Edition
Labor leader and Socialist Party founder Eugene V. Debs is imprisoned for opposing American entry into World War I. While in jail he ran for president, received 1 million votes – 1919
[The Bending Cross: A Biography of Eugene V. Debs is Ray Ginger’s terrific biography of the labor activist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who captured the heart and soul of the nation’s working people. Debs 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. In the UCS bookstore now.]
More than 100 Mexican and Filipino farm workers are arrested for union activities, Imperial Valley, Calif. Eight were convicted of “criminal syndicalism” – 1930
Teacher unionists gather at the City Club on Plymouth Court in Chicago to form a new national union: the American Federation of Teachers – 1916
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Cool Labor Site: Civil Rights Special Collection
This website captures the voices, images, and events of the Civil Rights movement and the ongoing struggle for racial equality in America.
Labor Video: Remember November
A moving video and song by union member Turner Corn that captures the frustrations of working families with today’s political climate and pairs it with a positive message of standing together to fight back. Click here to watch the video.