Today in Labor History January 19, 1932: A General Strike turned into an anarchist insurrection in Alt Llobregat, near Barcelona, Spain. Armed miners and textile workers, members of the CNT, declared "Libertarian communism," including the abolition of money and property. The revolt quickly spread to other nearby towns. They cut telephone lines and replaced Republican flags with the red and black CNT flags. By January 27, the authorities had quashed the rebellion. They deported hundreds of rebels to African colonies. The detainees included Buenaventura Durruti, who would later lead the Durruti Column of anarchist soldiers against the fascist armies of Francisco Franco.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #spain #civilwar #antifascism #fascism #generalstrike #cnt #durruti #revolt #rebellion #communism #barcelona #miners #rebellion

Today in Labor History January 19, 1812: Luddites torched Oatlands Mill in Yorkshire, England. In order to avoid losing their jobs to machines, Luddites destroyed equipment in protest. Their movement was named for Ned Ludd, a fictional weaver who supposedly smashed knitting frames after being whipped by his boss. Luddite rebellions continued from 1811-1816, until the military quashed their uprising.

Chant no more your old rhymes about bold Robin Hood
His feats I but little admire
I will sing the Achievements of General Ludd
Now the Hero of Nottinghamshire.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #luddite #sabotage #vandalism #robinhood #rebellion #military #uprising #solidarity #technology #poetry @bookstadon

Today in Labor History January 19, 1932: A General Strike turned into an anarchist insurrection in Alt Llobregat, near Barcelona, Spain. Armed miners and textile workers, members of the CNT, declared "Libertarian communism," including the abolition of money and property. The revolt quickly spread to other nearby towns. They cut telephone lines and replaced Republican flags with the red and black CNT flags. By January 27, the authorities had quashed the rebellion. They deported hundreds of rebels to African colonies. The detainees included Buenaventura Durruti, who would later lead the Durruti Column of anarchist soldiers against the fascist armies of Francisco Franco.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #spain #civilwar #antifascism #fascism #generalstrike #cnt #durruti #revolt #rebellion #communism #barcelona #miners #rebellion

Today in Labor History January 19, 1812: Luddites torched Oatlands Mill in Yorkshire, England. In order to avoid losing their jobs to machines, Luddites destroyed equipment in protest. Their movement was named for Ned Ludd, a fictional weaver who supposedly smashed knitting frames after being whipped by his boss. Luddite rebellions continued from 1811-1816, until the military quashed their uprising.

Chant no more your old rhymes about bold Robin Hood
His feats I but little admire
I will sing the Achievements of General Ludd
Now the Hero of Nottinghamshire.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #luddite #sabotage #vandalism #robinhood #rebellion #military #uprising #solidarity #technology #poetry @bookstadon

Today in Labor History January 18, 1943: The start of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In the summer of 1942, over a quarter million Jews were deported from the ghetto to Treblinka and murdered. In response, the remaining Jews began building bunkers and smuggling weapons and explosives into the ghetto. On January 18, 1943, when the Nazis began their second deportation of the Jews, the armed insurgency began. They fought with whatever they could smuggle into the ghetto: handguns, gasoline bottles and a few other weapons. They inflicted enough casualties on the Nazis that the deportation was halted within a few days. Only 5,000 Jews were removed, instead of the 8,000 planned. They knew from the start that the uprising was doomed. Most of the Jewish fighters did not expect to survive. Rather, they saw their resistance as a battle for their honor and a protest against the world's silence. Marek Edelman, one of the few survivors, said their inspiration to fight was "not to allow the Germans alone to pick the time and place of our deaths."

#workingclass #LaborHistory #holocaust #genocide #nazis #worldwartwo #uprising #warsaw #jews #antisemitism #ghetto #resistance #fascism #antifascism

Today in Labor History January 18, 1943: The start of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In the summer of 1942, over a quarter million Jews were deported from the ghetto to Treblinka and murdered. In response, the remaining Jews began building bunkers and smuggling weapons and explosives into the ghetto. On January 18, 1943, when the Nazis began their second deportation of the Jews, the armed insurgency began. They fought with whatever they could smuggle into the ghetto: handguns, gasoline bottles and a few other weapons. They inflicted enough casualties on the Nazis that the deportation was halted within a few days. Only 5,000 Jews were removed, instead of the 8,000 planned. They knew from the start that the uprising was doomed. Most of the Jewish fighters did not expect to survive. Rather, they saw their resistance as a battle for their honor and a protest against the world's silence. Marek Edelman, one of the few survivors, said their inspiration to fight was "not to allow the Germans alone to pick the time and place of our deaths."

#workingclass #LaborHistory #holocaust #genocide #nazis #worldwartwo #uprising #warsaw #jews #antisemitism #ghetto #resistance #fascism #antifascism

Dear all… if you're into #union issues and care about the #workingclass... or you're working for someone who says they do, then using AI to 'draft’ responses to common political questions is not the best idea!

#workers #NDP #CanPoli #CdnPoli #NDPLeadership #politics #AI #DonTBeLazy

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rob-ashton-artificial-intelligence-ndp-ama-9.7043887

Rocker still rocks!

#Anarchism #Syndicalism #AnarchoSyndicalism #WorkingClass #Anarchy #History

Rocker still rocks!

#Anarchism #Syndicalism #AnarchoSyndicalism #WorkingClass #Anarchy #History

Dear all… if you're into #union issues and care about the #workingclass... or you're working for someone who says they do, then using AI to 'draft’ responses to common political questions is not the best idea!

#workers #NDP #CanPoli #CdnPoli #NDPLeadership #politics #AI #DonTBeLazy

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rob-ashton-artificial-intelligence-ndp-ama-9.7043887

Yes, Walmart execs rake in huge profits by paying their employees a fraction of the value of their labor. So, little, in fact, that they must rely on govt assistance just to survive. Consequently, it is all of us, through our tax dollars, that subsidize and enrich this slimy welfare scammer. But the $6.2B in public assistance quoted in this meme was based on 2014, and the amount they collect today is most likely much higher. https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/04/15/report-walmart-workers-cost-taxpayers-6-2-billion-in-public-assistance/

Walmart is the single largest employer in the U.S. (1.6 million employees). The Walton family has a collective estimated net worth of $225 billion. They’re so rich they own two separate NFL teams: the Rams and the Broncos. However, 48% of the children living in Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart is headquartered, are living in poverty—higher than any other county in the state. And the city is ranked 15th out of 916 metro areas in terms of income inequality. A 2017 survey of >1,000 Walmart employees found that the company was probably violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. The New York Times said that the company “routinely refuses to accept doctors’ notes, penalizes workers who need to take care of a sick family member and otherwise punishes employees for lawful absences.” A 2013 report found that the U.S. taxpayers were paying $5,000/year per Walmart employee in govt. assistance.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #walmart #billionaires #exploitation #classwar #profit #ableism #disability #poverty

Yes, Walmart execs rake in huge profits by paying their employees a fraction of the value of their labor. So, little, in fact, that they must rely on govt assistance just to survive. Consequently, it is all of us, through our tax dollars, that subsidize and enrich this slimy welfare scammer. But the $6.2B in public assistance quoted in this meme was based on 2014, and the amount they collect today is most likely much higher. https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/04/15/report-walmart-workers-cost-taxpayers-6-2-billion-in-public-assistance/

Walmart is the single largest employer in the U.S. (1.6 million employees). The Walton family has a collective estimated net worth of $225 billion. They’re so rich they own two separate NFL teams: the Rams and the Broncos. However, 48% of the children living in Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart is headquartered, are living in poverty—higher than any other county in the state. And the city is ranked 15th out of 916 metro areas in terms of income inequality. A 2017 survey of >1,000 Walmart employees found that the company was probably violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. The New York Times said that the company “routinely refuses to accept doctors’ notes, penalizes workers who need to take care of a sick family member and otherwise punishes employees for lawful absences.” A 2013 report found that the U.S. taxpayers were paying $5,000/year per Walmart employee in govt. assistance.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #walmart #billionaires #exploitation #classwar #profit #ableism #disability #poverty

RE: https://thepit.social/@peter/115824339431975101

today’s #AltTxt #yaddayadda are images of a subreddit Confessions post: “I’m a developer for a major food delivery app. The 'Priority Fee' and 'Driver Benefit Fee' go 100% to the company. The driver sees $0 of it.”

transcript as AltTxt:
https://infosec.exchange/@jernej__s/115824510774751653

and as a post:
https://veganism.social/@faket/115825112372408975

we here #workingClass but a lot of y’all in the white-collar end of the class spectrum.

may y’all learn in 2026 class solidarity with new friends in the non-tech, gig economy, servant classes

RE: https://thepit.social/@peter/115824339431975101

today’s #AltTxt #yaddayadda are images of a subreddit Confessions post: “I’m a developer for a major food delivery app. The 'Priority Fee' and 'Driver Benefit Fee' go 100% to the company. The driver sees $0 of it.”

transcript as AltTxt:
https://infosec.exchange/@jernej__s/115824510774751653

and as a post:
https://veganism.social/@faket/115825112372408975

we here #workingClass but a lot of y’all in the white-collar end of the class spectrum.

may y’all learn in 2026 class solidarity with new friends in the non-tech, gig economy, servant classes

Today in Labor History December 25, 1831: The Great Jamaican Slave Revolt, the largest slave uprising in the British West Indies, began on this date. Samuel Sharpe, a black Baptist deacon, led the revolt of 60,000 enslaved people. The 11-day uprising began as a General Strike, but quickly turned violent. 14 whites and 207 enslaved black people died in the siege. However, another 340 rebels were executed afterward. The rebels had been inspired by the abolitionist movement in London and had intended to call for a peaceful uprising. The rebellion was depicted in Andrea Levy's 2010 novel, “The Long Song,” and in Herbert de Lisser’s The 1929 novel “The White Witch of Rosehall.”

#workingclass #LaborHistory #slavery #abolition #revolt #uprising #jamaica #samuelsharpe #rebellion #books #novels #writer #author #fiction #BlackMastodon @bookstadon

Based Baddy horsewhips boots for wage theft.

Today in Labor History December 31, 1918: U.S. courts found Marie Equi guilty of sedition for speaking out against World War One. Marie Equi was born to working-class immigrant parents in New Bedford, Massachusetts. As a young woman, she went to work in a textile mill. Her first documented experience as an activist came in 1893, when she horse-whipped Reverend Orson D. Taylor, a land developer and superintendent of the Wasco Independent Academy, after he reneged on paying her lover, Bessie Holcomb, her salary for teaching at the institution. Many local people considered Taylor as a crook and applauded her attack. In 1897, she moved to San Francisco to study medicine. She practiced medicine in Portland, Oregon, where she cared primarily for working-class and poor patients. However, she came back to San Francisco to volunteer during the 1906 earthquake.

In 1913, she went to support a strike by women cannery workers at Oregon Packing Company over low wages. When the IWW and socialists joined the strike, the demands broadened to include equal rights for women and the right to free speech. During that strike, police clubbed her as she protested their brutality toward a pregnant woman. The experience radicalized her and drew her into the anarchist and the radical labor movements. She became a leader in Portland’s unemployment crisis of 1913-14, supported the IWW’s free speech fights, and the labor battles of the region’s timber workers. Throughout her career as a doctor, she provided information on birth control and abortions despite both being illegal at the time, providing discounts to lower income women. She was imprisoned in 1916 for providing abortion literature.

As nationalism and jingoism increased during the years leading up to U.S. involvement in World War One, there were massive Preparedness Parades held throughout the country. Equi believed the war was about profits for capitalists at the expense of working-class people. During one Preparedness Parade in downtown Portland, she unfurled a banner that reading: Prepare to die, workingmen, JP Morgan & Co. want preparedness for profit. She was arrested at this protest, and again in 1918. They sentenced her to three years at San Quintin, which President Wilson commuted to one. After her release, she returned to Portland and invited IWW organizer Elizabeth Gurley Flynn to come live with her.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #marieequi #anarchism #feminism #lgbtq #antiwar #strike #police #policebrutality #abortion #birthcontrol #sedition #prison #IWW

Based Baddy horsewhips boots for wage theft.

Today in Labor History December 31, 1918: U.S. courts found Marie Equi guilty of sedition for speaking out against World War One. Marie Equi was born to working-class immigrant parents in New Bedford, Massachusetts. As a young woman, she went to work in a textile mill. Her first documented experience as an activist came in 1893, when she horse-whipped Reverend Orson D. Taylor, a land developer and superintendent of the Wasco Independent Academy, after he reneged on paying her lover, Bessie Holcomb, her salary for teaching at the institution. Many local people considered Taylor as a crook and applauded her attack. In 1897, she moved to San Francisco to study medicine. She practiced medicine in Portland, Oregon, where she cared primarily for working-class and poor patients. However, she came back to San Francisco to volunteer during the 1906 earthquake.

In 1913, she went to support a strike by women cannery workers at Oregon Packing Company over low wages. When the IWW and socialists joined the strike, the demands broadened to include equal rights for women and the right to free speech. During that strike, police clubbed her as she protested their brutality toward a pregnant woman. The experience radicalized her and drew her into the anarchist and the radical labor movements. She became a leader in Portland’s unemployment crisis of 1913-14, supported the IWW’s free speech fights, and the labor battles of the region’s timber workers. Throughout her career as a doctor, she provided information on birth control and abortions despite both being illegal at the time, providing discounts to lower income women. She was imprisoned in 1916 for providing abortion literature.

As nationalism and jingoism increased during the years leading up to U.S. involvement in World War One, there were massive Preparedness Parades held throughout the country. Equi believed the war was about profits for capitalists at the expense of working-class people. During one Preparedness Parade in downtown Portland, she unfurled a banner that reading: Prepare to die, workingmen, JP Morgan & Co. want preparedness for profit. She was arrested at this protest, and again in 1918. They sentenced her to three years at San Quintin, which President Wilson commuted to one. After her release, she returned to Portland and invited IWW organizer Elizabeth Gurley Flynn to come live with her.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #marieequi #anarchism #feminism #lgbtq #antiwar #strike #police #policebrutality #abortion #birthcontrol #sedition #prison #IWW

Today in Labor History December 30, 1936: Auto workers began their historic sit-down strike at the GM Fisher plant in Flint, Michigan. The protest effectively changed the United Automobile Workers (UAW) from a collection of small local unions into a major national labor union. It also led to the unionization of the domestic automobile industry. By occupying the plant, they prevented management from bringing in scabs and keeping the plant running and making money. Furthermore, by occupying the plant, they weren’t forced to picked outside in the snow. On January 11, police armed with guns and tear gas tried to storm the plant. Strikers repeatedly repelled them by throwing hinges, bottles and bolts at them. Fourteen strikers were injured by police gunfire during the strike. In February, GM got an injunction against the union by Judge Edward Black, who owned over three thousand shares of GM. The strikers ignored the injunction. And when the UAW found out about the conflict of interests, they got the judge disbarred. The strike ended after 44 days with GM recognizing the union and giving its workers a 5% raise. Filmmaker Michael Moore’s uncle participated in the strike. The first documented sit-down strike in the U.S. occurred when the IWW engaged in a sit-down strike against General Electric, in Schenectady, NY, in 1909.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #uaw #sitdownstrike #strike #union #gm #generalmotors #flint #michigan #IWW #newyork #generalelectric