Labor History in 2:00

On this day in Labor History the year was 1971. It was an historic day for the men and women who deliver the US Mail. It was the day that the American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers signed their first ever union contract. Although there had been earlier postal unions they did not have formal bargaining rights.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1993. That was the day that President Bill Clinton announced his “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He had campaigned for President promising to allow all citizens to serve in the military regardless of sexual orientation.  Once he was elected there was a great deal of opposition to his proposal.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1919. That Friday thousands of workers in the Chicago Stockyards walked off the job. A serious union organizing drive had been underway in the yards since June.  One of the organizers of the butchers was John Kikulski.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1934. The Teamster members of Local 574, in Minneapolis were back out on strike. Their strike had begun two months prior on May 16. The striking Teamsters had effectively shut down much of the commercial transportation in the city.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1862. That was the day that black-rights activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi. She was the oldest of eight children. Wells went to college, and then became a teacher in Memphis, Tennessee.  In Memphis, Ida B. Wells became active in speaking out against black oppression in the Jim Crow South.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1931. That was the day that Ralph Gray was attacked for trying to organize black farmers. Gray was a born to a large African American family in Alabama. Living in the Jim Crow South, he became a tenant farmer. He joined the Communist Party.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1912.  That was the day that Woody Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma.  Guthrie became one of the most prolific song writers to ever sing the stories of the working class. His most well-well known song is “This Land is Your Land” an anthem whose lyrics claim America for the common man.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1863. That was the day that draft riots broke out in New York City.  The Civil War had been raging for two years. For the first time in United States’ history, the government instituted a draft lottery. But those with enough money could buy their way out of the draft.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1850.  That was the birthday of Oscar Neebe.  Neebe was one of eight men convicted of inciting violence at a workers rally at Haymarket Square in Chicago in 1886.  He was born in New York City.  

On this day in Labor History the year was 1968. That was the day that the American Indian Movement began at a meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A group of 200 Native Americans gathered together to discuss a response to the US governments’ history of broken treaties and the devastating consequences on Native peoples.