#OtD 31 Dec 1969 Dwight and Karl Armstrong stole a twin engined Cessna plane from outside Madison and dropped three bombs on the Badger Army Ammunition Plant in protest against the Vietnam War. The bombs failed to explode. More in our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/2020/09/23/e43-46-the-movement-against-the-vietnam-war-in-the-us/

#OtD 31 Dec 1941 ex-Man Utd manager Alex Ferguson was born. A union shop steward on Glasgow shipyards, he took part in a wildcat strike and led a successful footballers' strike at Falkirk. He later turned away from his youthful militancy https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10361/alex-ferguson-born

#OtD 31 Dec 2004 Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was punched in the face on the street in Rome. The attacker gave a simple reason for his action: "because I hated him" https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10364/silvio-berlusconi-punched

#OtD 31 Dec 1918 radical doctor, lesbian, @iww supporter and abortion provider, Marie Equi, was found guilty of sedition in the US for unfurling an anti-war banner. Sentenced to three years in San Quentin prison, she served one and a half. More info: https://workingclasshistory.com/2018/12/02/e16-women-in-the-early-iww/

#OtD 31 Dec 2004 Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was punched in the face on the street in Rome. The attacker gave a simple reason for his action: "because I hated him" https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10364/silvio-berlusconi-punched

#OtD 30 Dec 1930 Indigenous hacienda workers in Ecuador went on strike and were joined by others working nearby, demanding better pay and conditions. Govt sent in troops but the workers held firm and won concessions, sparking a wave of rural protest https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10273/ecuadorian-indigenous-strike

#OtD 30 Dec 1973 negotiations took place after what has been described as the first "strike" in space. Astronauts on Skylab 4 complained of overwork and micromanaging, and reported a temporary loss of radio contact. NASA denies a strike took place https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/clothing/products/t-shirt-of-the-month-space-struggle

#OtD 30 Dec 1913 Spanish anarchist, Isabel Mesa, was born. Seamstress, activist in @Cntsindicato, strike organiser and member of the underground resistance, she was arrested, tortured and twice sentenced to death by Franco's regime but got away https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10272/isabel-mesa-born

#OtD 30 Dec 1936 the great GM sitdown strike in Flint, MI, began with a wildcat strike of 50 workers against transfer of 3 inspectors. Workers occupied the plant until February, winning union recognition and decisively changing the balance of power. More: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/strike-jeremy-brecher

#OtD 30 Dec 1997 the community-run Chico Mendez Mural Garden in NYC’s Lower East Side was bulldozed by real estate developers after its unsuccessful occupation. Further protests against the sale of 112 other gardens led to their eventual protection https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10276/chico-mendez-garden-destroyed

#OtD 30 Dec 1905 former Idaho Gov. Frank Steunenberg was assassinated. Elected with workers votes, he later used federal troops to crush a strike. @iww Bill Haywood was charged but acquitted by jury of poor farmers, who actually thought he did it! https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10271/gov-steunenberg-assassinated

Recorded #OnThisDay 36 years ago:

John Chibadura & Tembo Brothers - Peel Session 1989

The complete session recorded by John Chibadura & Tembo Brothers on 19 November 1989 for the John Peel show on BBC Radio 1 and broadcast on 6 December 1989.

Tracklist:

1. Amai (0:13)
2. Shirah (4:33)
3. Mukadzi Wangu (9:13)
4. Diya Wangu (13:46)

https://vibracobra23.blogspot.com/2016/08/john-chibadura-tembo-brothers-peel.html

#JohnChibadura #PeelSessions #OTD #Rumba #AfricanMusic #Zimbabwe

#OtD 29 Dec 1968 the University of Tokyo was forced to cancel its 1969 entrance exams as it had been paralysed by a student strike and wave of occupations which had been ongoing since October in an ongoing conflict over unpaid internships https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10087/tokyo-exams-cancelled

#OnThisDay, 29 Dec 1975, the Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Acts came into effect in the UK. These made it unlawful to discriminate based on sex or marital status, and made it a requirement to pay men and women equally for equal work.

The laws were passed in 1970 but did not come into effect until 1975, giving employers time to prepare. One of the triggers for the laws had been the 1968 Ford machinists strike.

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #BritishHistory #Histodons

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#OnThisDay, 29 Dec 1975, the Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Acts came into effect in the UK. These made it unlawful to discriminate based on sex or marital status, and made it a requirement to pay men and women equally for equal work.

The laws were passed in 1970 but did not come into effect until 1975, giving employers time to prepare. One of the triggers for the laws had been the 1968 Ford machinists strike.

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #BritishHistory #Histodons

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#OtD 29 Dec 1890 the Wounded Knee massacre took place in South Dakota when US troops massacred over 200 Lakota men, women and children, many unarmed and fleeing. Learn more about Indigenous genocide and resistance in this book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/500-years-of-indigenous-resistance-gord-hill

#OtD 29 Dec 1923 the Catcher racist riots began in Arkansas. White residents began attacking Black people, killing one, smashing Black people's gravestones, digging up and burning their bodies and later executing two including Charles Rucks, pictured https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10085/catcher-racist-riot

#OtD 29 Dec 1939 French physician, libertarian socialist and women's rights activist, Madeleine Pelletier, died in an asylum where she had been interned for openly performing abortions https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10086/madeleine-pelletier-dies

#OtD 28 December 1894, Tuareg fighters attacked a French colonial patrol near Timbuktu, Mali. The French had been looting and abducting women into slavery. 2 French officers and 18 collaborators were killed. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/12722/Timbuktu-Tuareg-resistance