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

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

Today in Labor History December 29, 1939: Madeleine Pelletier died. She was a first wave feminist, psychiatrist, and anarchist. During her lifetime, she advocated for the right to sexual pleasure for women, and access to contraception and abortion. In July 1906, she and other suffragists, including Caroline Kauffmann, invaded the French Chamber of Deputies and rained down from the gallery pink slips of paper containing an appeal for the right to vote. She was the first woman in France to receive a degree in Psychiatry. She was a member of the French Section of the Workers' International. She became hemiplegic in 1937 due to a stroke. Nevertheless, she was still found guilty of assisting an abortion on a teenage survivor of incest, in 1939, despite being physically incapable of assisting in the actual procedure, and was forced to spend the rest of her life in a mental asylum, where she died of a second stroke.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #feminism #birthcontrol #abortion #choice #anarchism #psychiatry #MadeleinePelletier

Today in Labor History December 29, 1939: Madeleine Pelletier died. She was a first wave feminist, psychiatrist, and anarchist. During her lifetime, she advocated for the right to sexual pleasure for women, and access to contraception and abortion. In July 1906, she and other suffragists, including Caroline Kauffmann, invaded the French Chamber of Deputies and rained down from the gallery pink slips of paper containing an appeal for the right to vote. She was the first woman in France to receive a degree in Psychiatry. She was a member of the French Section of the Workers' International. She became hemiplegic in 1937 due to a stroke. Nevertheless, she was still found guilty of assisting an abortion on a teenage survivor of incest, in 1939, despite being physically incapable of assisting in the actual procedure, and was forced to spend the rest of her life in a mental asylum, where she died of a second stroke.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #feminism #birthcontrol #abortion #choice #anarchism #psychiatry #MadeleinePelletier

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

Today in Labor History December 23, 1933: Dutch construction worker and council communist Marinus van der Lubbe was sentenced to death for burning down the Reichstag. In prison, he launched a hunger strike against prison conditions, but was forcibly fed. The Nazis beheaded him on January 10, 1934 by guillotine. In 2008, the German government posthumously pardoned him. Van der Lubbe claimed to have set the fire in order to inspire the German working-class to rise up against fascism. He also claimed to have acted alone. However, the Nazis tried to make it into a communist conspiracy and arrested several other communists, who were ultimately acquitted of involvement in the fire. Many on the left, including the Comintern, or Third International (1919-1943), falsely claimed he was a Nazi agent and provocateur, or that it was a Nazi-run false flag operation. Lenin, whom founded the Comintern, hated the Council (Left-wing) Communists and lambasted them in his 1920 screed: "Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder.”

#workingclass #LaborHistory #nazis #fascism #reichstag #communism #councilcommunism #marinusvanderlubbe

Today in Labor History December 23, 1933: Dutch construction worker and council communist Marinus van der Lubbe was sentenced to death for burning down the Reichstag. In prison, he launched a hunger strike against prison conditions, but was forcibly fed. The Nazis beheaded him on January 10, 1934 by guillotine. In 2008, the German government posthumously pardoned him. Van der Lubbe claimed to have set the fire in order to inspire the German working-class to rise up against fascism. He also claimed to have acted alone. However, the Nazis tried to make it into a communist conspiracy and arrested several other communists, who were ultimately acquitted of involvement in the fire. Many on the left, including the Comintern, or Third International (1919-1943), falsely claimed he was a Nazi agent and provocateur, or that it was a Nazi-run false flag operation. Lenin, whom founded the Comintern, hated the Council (Left-wing) Communists and lambasted them in his 1920 screed: "Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder.”

#workingclass #LaborHistory #nazis #fascism #reichstag #communism #councilcommunism #marinusvanderlubbe

Today in Labor History December 17, 2003: Sex workers rights activists established December 17 (or "D17") as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers to memorialize victims of Seattle’s Green River killer, who targeted prostitutes, and to highlight hate crimes and State violence against sex workers by police. The first event was organized by Annie Sprinkle and Robyn Few. The red umbrella was first used as a symbol for sex workers’ rights in Venice, Italy in 2001.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #hatecrime #sexwork #SexWorkIsWork #police #policebrutality

Today in Labor History December 17, 2003: Sex workers rights activists established December 17 (or "D17") as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers to memorialize victims of Seattle’s Green River killer, who targeted prostitutes, and to highlight hate crimes and State violence against sex workers by police. The first event was organized by Annie Sprinkle and Robyn Few. The red umbrella was first used as a symbol for sex workers’ rights in Venice, Italy in 2001.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #hatecrime #sexwork #SexWorkIsWork #police #policebrutality

Today in Labor History December 3, 1946: Women retail clerks at Hastings and Kahn’s launched the Oakland General Strike, the last General Strike to occur in the U.S. Other workers soon joined in. Overall, more than 100,000 workers participated in the 3-day Oakland General Strike, which was part of the 1945-1946 strike wave, the largest strike wave in US history. Over 5 million workers participated in the nationwide strike wave, including 225,000 UAW members, 174,000 electric workers struck, 750,000 steel workers, 250,000 railroad workers. There were several other General Strikes in 1946, too, including Lancaster, PA; Stamford, CT; Rochester, NY. In reaction to this strike wave, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, which severely restricted the powers and activities of unions. It also banned General Strikes, stripping away the most powerful tool workers had.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #oakland #GeneralStrike #strike #wildcat #union #tafthartley #solidarity

Today in Labor History December 9, 1842: The Anarchist formerly known as Prince, Peter Kropotkin, was born on this date in Moscow. Kropotkin was a geographer and anarcho-communist. His most well-known works include “Conquest of Bread,” “Fields, Factories,” and “Mutual Aid, A Factor of Evolution,” which explores the role of mutually-beneficial cooperation and reciprocity (i.e., mutual aid) in the animal kingdom and human societies both past and present. It was an argument against the theory of social Darwinism, popular at the time, that argued that existing social relations were the natural consequence of rich people’s inherent genetic superiority over the poor. Kropotkin argued that because mutual aid has pragmatic advantages for the survival of human and animal communities, it has proliferated through natural selection. In 1874, Kropotkin was arrested and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress for subversive political activity. In 1876, he escaped and fled to Switzerland. During his younger days, he served as a geographer for the Russian empire. In 1873, he published a scientific paper showing that the existing maps entirely misrepresented the physical features of Asia.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #kropotkin #russia #prison #geography #MutualAid #Revolution #books #writer #author @bookstadon

Today in Labor History December 9, 1842: The Anarchist formerly known as Prince, Peter Kropotkin, was born on this date in Moscow. Kropotkin was a geographer and anarcho-communist. His most well-known works include “Conquest of Bread,” “Fields, Factories,” and “Mutual Aid, A Factor of Evolution,” which explores the role of mutually-beneficial cooperation and reciprocity (i.e., mutual aid) in the animal kingdom and human societies both past and present. It was an argument against the theory of social Darwinism, popular at the time, that argued that existing social relations were the natural consequence of rich people’s inherent genetic superiority over the poor. Kropotkin argued that because mutual aid has pragmatic advantages for the survival of human and animal communities, it has proliferated through natural selection. In 1874, Kropotkin was arrested and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress for subversive political activity. In 1876, he escaped and fled to Switzerland. During his younger days, he served as a geographer for the Russian empire. In 1873, he published a scientific paper showing that the existing maps entirely misrepresented the physical features of Asia.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #kropotkin #russia #prison #geography #MutualAid #Revolution #books #writer #author @bookstadon

Today in Labor History December 5, 1955: E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott lasted until December 20, 1956, when the Supreme Court ruled that the Alabama and Montgomery bus segregation laws were unconstitutional.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #rosaparks #racism #jimcrow #alabama #boycott #segregation #SCOTUS #BlackMastodon

Today in Labor History December 5, 1955: E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott lasted until December 20, 1956, when the Supreme Court ruled that the Alabama and Montgomery bus segregation laws were unconstitutional.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #rosaparks #racism #jimcrow #alabama #boycott #segregation #SCOTUS #BlackMastodon

Today in Labor History December 3, 1946: Women retail clerks at Hastings and Kahn’s launched the Oakland General Strike, the last General Strike to occur in the U.S. Other workers soon joined in. Overall, more than 100,000 workers participated in the 3-day Oakland General Strike, which was part of the 1945-1946 strike wave, the largest strike wave in US history. Over 5 million workers participated in the nationwide strike wave, including 225,000 UAW members, 174,000 electric workers struck, 750,000 steel workers, 250,000 railroad workers. There were several other General Strikes in 1946, too, including Lancaster, PA; Stamford, CT; Rochester, NY. In reaction to this strike wave, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, which severely restricted the powers and activities of unions. It also banned General Strikes, stripping away the most powerful tool workers had.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #oakland #GeneralStrike #strike #wildcat #union #tafthartley #solidarity

Today in Labor History November 28, 1990: Margaret Thatcher resigned in tears after a mass non-payment of her hated poll tax forced her out of office. The tax was a flat tax, hugely unfair, charging all adults, regardless of their wealth or income, the same amount. At the height of the campaign, nearly half of all British adults, 17 million people, had refused to pay the tax. The Labour Party refused to back any protest of the tax. But Anti-Poll Tax Unions formed across the country, and there were thousands of demonstrations, many of which became riots after mounted police charged the protesters. Over 100 were injured and more than 330 were arrested in the protests.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #polltax #margaretthatcher #protests #demonstrations #directaction #anarchism #socialism #tax

Today in Labor History December 2, 1980: Four American missionaries were raped and murdered by a Salvadoran death squad. The Salvadoran Civil War began after a 1979 military coup. Catholic activists protested against the junta's oppression of the poor and working class. Death squads assassinated Óscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador, March 24, 1980. After the four Americans were murdered, U.S. President Jimmy Carter suspended aid to El Salvador. However, succeeding President, Ronald Reagan, promptly authorized increased military aid. He also sent more U.S. military advisers, escalating attacks on civilians. His foreign policy advisor, Jean Kirkpatrick, claimed that "the nuns were not just nuns; they were political activists," as if this justified their rape and murder. After the release of declassified documents in the 1990s, New Jersey congressman Robert Torricelli stated that it was "now clear that the Reagan Administration was certifying human rights progress in El Salvador they knew the terrible truth that the Salvadoran military was engaged in a widespread campaign of terror and torture." During the Civil War, over 65,000 civilians were killed, plus another 5,300 disappeared, with over half a million people internally displaced, and another half million fleeing to other countries as refugees.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #elsalvador #rape #reagan #romero #deathsquads #murder #massmurder #SchooloftheAmericas

Today in Labor History November 27, 1978: Former cop and city supervisor Dan White assassinated San Francisco’s mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk. White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, rather than first-degree murder, and only served five years in prison, based on the defense that he suffered diminished capacity due to depression, manifested in his switch from healthy foods to Twinkies and other junk foods.

This travesty of justice led to the White Night Riot, after decades of police harassment and physical abuse of San Francisco’s LGBTQ community. During the protests, people attacked the windows of City Hall and set at least a dozen cop cars on fire. When the cops tried to defend City Hall, protesters hurled rocks and bottles at them, forcing them to run inside. Protesters also busted windows in the financial district and in other government buildings. The riot caused hundreds of thousands of dollar’s-worth of property damage. And when the riot was finally subdued, the cops made a retaliatory raid on the Elephant Bar, in the Castro District, where they beat patrons and arrested 24.

The double assassination of Moscone and Milk dramatically altered the political landscape of San Francisco. Under Moscone and Milk, the city had been moving in a progressive, pro-neighborhood direction. With the new mayor, Diane Feinstein, city politics returned to the traditional, conservative, pro-Chamber of Commerce, law and order framework that preceded Moscone and Milk. And Feinstein parlayed her success as SF mayor into a long and sordid career in Congress, where she was a strong proponent of Capital Punishment, vitriolic opponent of the Green New Deal, supporter of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, and generally supported U.S. imperialist policy abroad.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #HarveyMilk #lgbtq #georgemoscone #twinkiedefense #riot #protest #dianefeinstein #police #assassination #castrodistrict #sanfrancisco #policebrutality #palestine #zionism