On This Day in Working Class History

On this day, 9 March 2020, tens of thousands of women across Mexico went on strike in protest at gender-based violence which kills thousands of women each year in the country.
Transport, banking, education and retail were amongst the industries affected by women either staying at home or taking to the streets, under the slogan "Un Día Sin Nosotras" ("A Day without Us").
One worker, Isaura Miranda, a biologist, told the New York Times why she took part: “I just realised I had to do something… I can’t carry on with this feeling of rage and impotence over so many deaths that are cruel, without dignity… Also, I don’t want my daughter to go out one day and never come back again."
Support for the action was so widespread that many large corporations and government departments were pressured into agreeing not to discipline women who took part in the action.
Mexico's left-wing president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, blamed "past neoliberal policies" for endemic violence against women, 10 of whom are murdered each day, and accused right-wing opponents of helping organise the strike.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10925/mexico-women's-strike

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

• See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
• Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
• Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
• Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
• If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 8 March 1922, seamen in Hong Kong and Canton (now Guangzhou) won pay rises of 15-30%, ending their strike which began in January. The British colonial government had declared the strike illegal, brought in the army and tried to use scabs from the Chinese mainland, and forced labour to break the strike. But the strike spread, was joined by rail workers, dockers, cooks and servants, and workers set up an armed militia to blockade food to the island by rail or sea. Eventually bosses were forced to cave in. They did not agree to a union shop, but they gave substantial pay rises, legalised the Seaman's Union, freed imprisoned strike leaders and back paid half pay to workers for the strike days. 
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10828/hong-kong-seamen's-strike-ends

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

• See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
• Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
• Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
• Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
• If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 7 March 1962, bagel bakers in New York City and Nassau county won a month-long strike for better conditions. Members of the bagel bakers union Local 338 voted to accept a deal granting their demand for an additional week's paid vacation, three more paid holidays and better wages.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10729/bagel-bakers-win-strike

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

• See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
• Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
• Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
• Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
• If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 6 March 1974, UK coal miners called off their four-week strike after accepting a 35% pay offer in a massive victory, which had already brought down the Conservative government.
The Conservatives had introduced regulation to limit pay increases to 7%, at a time when inflation was between 9 and 10%, and miners' basic pay was unable to cover the cost of living without adding considerable overtime hours. 
In November miners launched an overtime ban, after which the government implemented a three day week, restricting the functioning of industry and introducing rolling power cuts, in order to conserve coal to be able to withstand a potential strike. The government offered a pay increase of 16.5%, but this was rejected by the miners. 
When the National Union of Mineworkers launched a ballot for strike action, the Conservatives called a general election under the slogan "Who governs the country?" Meaning was that the government, or the unions. 
After the strike began, the Conservatives then lost the election, and the pay board recommended a 29% pay increase. The new Labour government agreed to implement a deal equating to a 35% increase, and the strike ended. The Trades Union Congress promised the government that it would not support strikes by other workers to achieve similar pay increases, and that union leaders would use their influence to reduce workers' pay demands.
Learn more about the dispute in our podcast episode 81: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e81-miners-strikes-1972-4/

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

• See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
• Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
• Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
• Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
• If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 5 March 1984, the great UK miners’ strike began when miners at Cortonwood colliery walked out in response to the Conservative government’s announcement of a pit closure plan. Some other pits were already on strike in other disputes, but the strikes against closures spread across Yorkshire, and four days later the National Union of Mineworkers called a national strike, which was joined by a majority of miners around the country.
Women, many of them miners’ wives, played a crucial role in supporting the strike, helping the workers to remain out for nearly a year.
Prime minister Margaret Thatcher and her government were determined to break the power of workers’ organisations and push through mass privatisation and free market reforms. They had learned from their previous defeats in miners’ strikes in 1972 and 1974. They built up coal stocks, so they could withstand a long strike, and then deliberately provoked the strike by announcing the closure plan in spring when coal was in less demand than during the cold winter months. 
The defeat of the miners, who had been the most well-organised and most militant group of workers in Britain, marked a decisive turning point in the balance of power between workers and employers in the country. It eventually led to the much more atomised and individualised nature of the working class in Britain today.
Learn more in our podcast series about the dispute. Episode 13 is about women in the strike, episodes 27-29 are about LGBT+ people during the strike, and episode 81 is about the miners’ strikes in 1972 and 1974. Episodes about the strike itself are coming soon: https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/1984-5-miners-strike/

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

• See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
• Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
• Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
• Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
• If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 4 March 1947 workers at the Biratnagar Jute Mill in Nepal went on strike demanding better pay and union recognition, among other things.
The ruling Rana dynasty sent troops to the town, who arrested strike leaders and put an end to the strike. But the Nepali Congress then organised a nationwide civil disobedience movement demanding the release of the strikers and all political prisoners, as well as the establishment of civil rights.
By May, the Prime Minister announced moves to begin enabling people outside the Rana family to enter the government. In August the remaining prisoners were eventually released after a request by Mohandas Gandhi.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7957/biratnagar-jute-mill-strike

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

• See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
• Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
• Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
• Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
• If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 3 March 1921, a workers' uprising began in Labin, Croatia, by a multinational group of around 2,000 miners. The miners were a mixture of Croatians, Hungarians, Slovaks, Poles, Czechs, Italians, Germans and Slovenians. 
On March 1, Italian fascists attacked and badly beat Giovanni Pipano, a miners' union leader. When his colleagues found out they were furious, and called a meeting for March 3. They decided to occupy their mine, declaring: “Kova je naša” ("the mine is ours"). Peasants came to support them, and the rebels organised armed detachments of Red Guards to maintain order. 
On March 7, the workers declared a Republic, raised a red hammer and sickle flag, and made decisions through mass assemblies, with every nationality represented. They drew up a list of demands to present to their employer, Societa Arsia, including a demand of a pay increase. When bosses refused, on March 21 the workers restarted production under their own control. 
On April 8, around 1000 troops and police officers attacked the mine, and while the miners put up a spirited defence, with their lack of arms and training they were eventually forced to surrender. Two miners, Massimiliano Ortar and Adalbert Sykora, were killed and dozens arrested. 
52 workers were later put on trial for charges including establishment of a soviet regime, possession of explosives and more. But because the miners refused to testify against one another, and because of their support from the local population, none were convicted.
This uprising is commemorated by our March T-Shirt of the Month, made under workers’ control by a cooperative, supporting grassroots unions in South Asia. Available here with global shipping: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/t-shirt-of-the-month-the-mine-is-ours

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

• See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
• Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
• Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
• Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
• If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

Mini podcast about this day in history, 2 March 2016, when Honduran Indigenous environmental activist Berta Cáceres was assassinated in her home. Of Lenca descent, she co-founded the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), and was a leading participant in defending Lenca land from illegal logging and US military bases. She was also an advocate for LGBT+ and women's rights, and believed that: “Mother Earth – militarized, fenced-in, poisoned, a place where basic rights are systematically violated – demands that we take action.” 
At the time of her murder, Cáceres was heavily in Indigenous protests against hydroelectric dams being constructed by energy company DESA alongside Chinese firm Sinohydro and the World Bank. Several members of COPINH were killed by the Honduran military and company security during protests, which eventually forced Sinohydro and the World Bank to withdraw from the project. Cáceres was eventually shot dead in her home. A Mexican environmentalist, Gustavo Castro Soto, was also shot twice but survived. 
Nine men were later arrested and charged for the murder. They included the executive president of DESA, who was also a former military intelligence officer, as well as three other current or retired military officers, two of whom had been trained by the US military at the notorious School of the Americas. Eight were subsequently convicted and jailed, including the DESA president.
Learn more about Cáceres' life and murder in this book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/who-killed-berta-caceres-nina-lakhani

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

• See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
• Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
• Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
• Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
• If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 1 March 1944, a series of coordinated general strikes took place across Nazi-occupied northern Italy. One estimate put the number of strikers at 1.2 million while an article in the New York Times claimed between three and six million.
The strikes were superficially about economic issues with demands like a freeze on food prices, increases in wages and rations, and the payment of bonuses. But the strikes were also aimed at undermining the fascist state and was organised by participants in the anti-fascist resistance.
Major factories in northern Italy, particularly in Milan and Turin, were shut down. There was also significant sabotage of rail and electricity infrastructure by partisan units to coincide with the walkouts while the country’s main newspaper, Corriere della Sera, was unable to publish for three days due to the printers' strike.
The repression of the strike was extremely harsh with many workers even being deported to concentration camps in Germany. But the strike was a major blow to Italy's Nazi-backed fascist regime and, by the following year, it had been brought down.
Learn more about the Italian resistance to fascism in our podcast episodes 77-80: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e77-80-italian-resistance/ 

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

• See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
• Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
• Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
• Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
• If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

Mini podcast of radical history on this date from the Working Class History team.

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

• See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
• Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
• Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
• Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
• If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History