On March 23, 1903, U.S. troops arrived in Honduras during a disputed election to protect fruit company interests. This is a moment to discuss the labor history of fruit workers in that nation, an incr
On March 20, 1882, workers at Homestead Steel won their strike, bringing the union into the steel works for the first time. One of the biggest victories for workers in the Gilded Age, it would lead to
On March 7, 1990, Jay Lovestone died. Lovestone has one of the tragic careers of the 20th century, someone deeply committed to social change and revolution who then became so disillusioned by Stalinis
On January 29, 1834, President Andrew Jackson orders the U.S. military to suppress workers attacking each other over scarce jobs along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. This is the first time in Americ
On January 23, 1749, a supposed slave conspiracy was reported in Charleston, South Carolina. This probably nonexistent conspiracy is a good window into the complexities of the slave labor system and t
On January 2, 2006, a coal mine near Sago, West Virginia exploded. Thirteen miners were trapped inside and only one of those survived the two days it took to get the miners out. Yet another example of
On December 21, 1907, the Chilean military massacred perhaps 2,000 striking nitrate miners, though possibly significantly more than that. The Santa Maria Massacre would go down as one of the most viol
On December 17, 1894, the American Federation of Labor annual convention begins in Denver. During the convention, AFL founding leader Samuel Gompers lost his reelection bid to John McBride due to the