On This Day in Working Class History

On this day, 13 August 1937, striking workers were massacred at the Union Flacq Sugar Estate in Mauritius. Primarily Indian labourers on sugar plantations on the island, then a British colony, had been organising for better pay, and police were being used to intimidate workers and break strikes.Workers on the Union Flacq estate were unhappy about low pay, poor quality food rations and inadequate hospital treatment. They went on strike, and on August 13, strikers were violently attacked by police, killing four and wounding six.In response to the killings, protesters set fire to sugarcane fields, and protests continued around the island for two weeks. Following a Commission of Enquiry into the incident, the British colonial government legalised labour unions, and set up an official framework for collective bargaining between workers and employers.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7741/mauritius-strike-massacreOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 12 August 1887, pioneering Colombian socialist and women's rights advocate María Cano, known as the "Flor del trabajo" ("Labour flower"), was born in Antioquia. At the time, women in Colombia could not hold most jobs, participate in elections, or even spend their own money.Cano was from a middle-class family, but came into contact with lots of people regularly at her local library, and began to support people living in poor neighbourhoods. At the age of 38 she became a socialist, and a leading activist in the Socialist Revolutionary Party, which made her the first woman political leader in the country. She toured widely, wrote agitational texts and gave fiery speeches to huge crowds of mining, oil and banana workers. She was placed under police surveillance, repeatedly arrested and security forces occasionally opened fire to disperse her audiences.Following a strike of banana workers in 1928 which was violently crushed that December, Cano was jailed for conspiracy, despite not having been present. She was subsequently purged from her Party as an "adventurist", but she continued her outreach work and strike solidarity until the end of her life in 1967.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8368/mar%C3%ADa-cano-bornOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 11 August 1958, civil rights activists in Wichita, Kansas won a key early successful sit-in protest against segregated lunch counters. Black students and young people sat at the counter in the Dockum's Drug Store in rotating shifts of 30 minutes to 2 hours, blocking sales and facing down police and racist harassment for 23 days until they won. After this victory, sit-ins spread rapidly across the Jim Crow states and desegregated many eateries. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8272/dockum's-drug-store-sit-in-winsOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 10 August 2005, the Gate Gourmet dispute began in London. British Airways (BA) had outsourced its airline meal production, primarily by Asian women workers, to Gate Gourmet, who cut wages and conditions. Planning on worsening conditions further, they brought in hundreds of agency workers to do the work of the permanent employees. Seeing agency workers in their usual posts, the workers assembled in their canteen to discuss and protest at what was happening. Gate Gourmet then sacked over 700 of the workers. BA baggage handlers then walked out on a wildcat sympathy strike, shutting Heathrow airport completely for 48 hours. But their union, the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU), ordered them back to work. And although the sacked workers set up picket lines, TGWU officials reached an agreement with bosses for some of the workers to be reinstated on the inferior terms and conditions which the workers had opposed in the first place. Many of the workers fought on until April the following year, but the union refused to make their action official, and they were eventually defeated. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8178/gate-gourmet-disputeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 9 August 1979, the women workers of the YH wig making company in Seoul, South Korea, occupied the headquarters of the opposition New Democratic Party in protest at the closure of their employer. The workers had gone on strike against the proposed closure, but to no avail, so they attempted to escalate their protest. However, the US-backed military dictatorship instead sent 2,000 riot police to attack the 187 women and evict the occupation. One woman, Kim Kyung Sook, was killed by police, while the union leaders were arrested and the other workers sent home by bus. While unsuccessful, the violent repression of the workers provoked mass anger, which was a major contributing factor to uprisings breaking out in Busan and Masan later that year.Learn more about this period of Korean history in our podcast series: https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/south-korea/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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 8 August 1883, over 3,000 people attended a benefit ball and concert for striking telegraphers in New York's Madison Square Garden. A procession of 800 striking workers, mostly employees of Western Union fighting for equal pay for men and women and an eight-hour day, were led into the ballroom by John Mitchell and Minnie Swan, who had emerged as key organisers of the strike in the city. They were serenaded by local regimental bands who had volunteered to play. The strike was later defeated, although Mitchell and Swan became romantically involved during the dispute and were subsequently married.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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 7 August 1842, a mass meeting of 18,000 workers took place in the UK, organised by the Chartist movement. They decided to call a general strike beginning the following day, demanding universal male suffrage, and opposing pay cuts. The strikes began and spread rapidly around the country, to towns including Manchester, Burnley, Preston, Macclesfield, Oldham, Wigan, and many more.Workers set up “committees of public safety” which coordinated action and gave permission for essential services to operate, such as water pumps which were needed to prevent coalmines from flooding.By late September, up to half a million workers had taken part in the strike.Troops were sent against the workers, and opened fire in towns including Halifax, Skipton, and Preston, while large numbers of strike leaders were arrested, and the strike began to falter.The final remaining strikers returned to work by the end of September. While voting rights weren't achieved, a number of groups of workers were successful in reducing or reversing proposed pay cuts.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10685/chartist-mass-meetingOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 6 August 1970, up to 300 Yippies — countercultural radical youth — invaded Disneyland, protesting against the Vietnam war and calling for the liberation of Minnie Mouse from patriarchal captivity. Disney brought in extra security, and 150 armed riot police in preparation for the event: a theatrical "convention" called by the Youth International Party, whose members were nicknamed Yippies. The youths initiated a few provocations, including commandeering a raft to invade Fort Wilderness, openly smoking pot, snake-dancing down Main Street USA and demonstrating outside the in-park Bank of America branch before they were either arrested or expelled from the park. Learn more about the Vietnam war and opposition to it in our podcast series: https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/vietnam-war/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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 5 August 1981, after just two days on strike, 11,345 federal air traffic controllers were sacked by US president Ronald Reagan for refusing his order to return to work (content note: suicide). The workers in the extremely stressful industry had gone on strike demanding a pay increase and a reduction in working hours from 40 per week over five days to 32 per week over four days. Despite the threat of firing, only 1,300 workers crossed picket lines and returned to work. And Reagan, himself a former union leader, then fired all of the remaining strikers.The workers were then banned from federal service for life (lifted over a decade later), their union, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, was legally dissolved later in October, and military air traffic controllers were used as scab replacements until new hires could be trained. Some workers and their partners died by suicide. One striker's wife was found hanged in her kitchen by a pile of unpaid bills.The dispute was a landmark event in the relationship between workers and employers in the US, similar to the great miners' strike in the UK in 1984-5 which was defeated by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government. In both countries, much of the ability of workers to organise and win improved pay and conditions was destroyed, in a legacy which remains to this day.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10495/us-air-traffic-control-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On 4 August 1941, shovel operators in the Moengo bauxite mine in the then-Dutch colony of Suriname went on strike. The walkout of mostly Javanese and Creole workers was swiftly followed by mill, shipping and tow boat crews. They were soon all offered substantial pay increases, and the strikes ended. Mill workers also had their working days reduced from 12 to eight hours per day.Powerhouse workers were then given a pay increase without a strike, and workers in the electric shop threatened to strike and were given pay increases of 30 to 40%.Workers were demanding pay increases because the cost of living had gone up with the background of World War II. And they would strike again a few months later.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7953/moengo-miners-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 3 August 1945, a group in Melbourne called the Australian Soldiers' Legion (ASL) met up with a family called the Wagglens, which included a homeless, wounded World War II veteran, his wife and children, and squatted a house in Bell Street, Hawthorn. As members of the media watched on, ASL members entered the empty home and carried furniture in through the window. The group claimed to have identified 41 other empty houses, suitable for occupation, and to have settled 13 families in some of them in areas including Brighton, Newport, Camberwell and Kew. On the same day, a homeless veteran in Sydney squatted a house in the suburb of Auburn. They were emulating the actions of the Brighton Vigilantes in England, who had begun taking over empty properties. While the government officially commented that it "would not tolerate threatening act" and threatened police action, they did also announce they would introduce legislation to give local authorities power to install tenants in empty homes.On the same day in Sydney, a homeless ex-soldier squatted an empty home on Marion Street, Auburn. He told the communist newspaper the Tribune: "Forcible possession of homes will not solve the housing problem. Only new houses will do that. But what other avenue is open to a man in desperate circumstances like me?" More information, sources and maps for both of these stories in the On This Day section of our Stories app at https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/todayPictured: An Australian squatting family at this timeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 2 August 1917, the general strike in Rio de Janeiro ended as employers agreed to a 10% pay increase and a maximum 56-hour work week. The stoppage began with just one furniture worker the previous month, and the strike spread organically, despite the government declaring martial law and calling in police, the army and navy. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9165/rio-de-janeiro-general-strike-endsOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 1 August 1938, the Hilo massacre took place in Hawaii, when police opened fire at an unarmed group of striking dock workers, injuring 50. Longshoremen in different unions and of many different ethnicities united and staged a series of walkouts for equal pay with dock workers on the West Coast of the US. 200 workers gathered 1 August to protest against the arrival of a steamship, when police attacked and started shooting, injuring a quarter of all those present. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8051/hilo-massacreOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 31 July 1945, the newly elected Labour government sent 600 conscript troops into the Surrey docks in London to try to break a go-slow of dockworkers fighting for better pay. A Telegraph journalist described the go-slow: "In everything they did the men were unhurried in a way that looked deliberate. There was evidence that their actions were planned. True, the cranes were working and goods were passing from the dockside to the ship, but there was a leisureliness about the proceedings that made everything seem half-hearted. I soon learned the reason. At the moment bags of sugar were going aboard in slings. But it was pointed out that the slings were carrying only 4 at a time instead of the normal 12." More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10374/labour-government-sends-troops-to-break-dockers-go-slow Pictured: Troops working as scabs on the docksOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 30 July 1766, silver miners in Real Del Monte, Mexico, went on strike against a 25% pay cut in the first recorded strike against an employer in North American history. They faced down repression from the Spanish colonial bosses' private army and held out until September, when the employers caved in. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10292/real-del-monte-miners-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 29 July 2019, the Blackjewel coal blockade began in eastern Kentucky. Mine operator Blackjewel went bankrupt, leaving hundreds of coalminers out of work and with weeks of unpaid wages. So five workers decided to block a train full of coal worth $1 million from leaving a mine, demanding what they were owed. The number of occupiers grew to dozens over the coming weeks, and lasted 59 days. Blackjewel later agreed to pay the workers over $5 million in unpaid wages.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10106/blackjewel-blockadeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 28 July 1869, the first national women's labour union in US history, the Daughters of St Crispin, was founded in Lynn, Massachusetts. It was set up predominantly by shoemakers, a few years after a major strike of shoemakers in Lynn, in which women played a key part. The name was chosen to mimic the name of a men's shoemakers' union, the Knights of St Crispin. By the end of 1869 it had grown across eight states in New England, California and Illinois, and at its convention the following year it adopted the demand of equal pay for equal work with men. They organised various strikes: one in Lynn in 1872 won higher wages, while another in Stoneham the same year was defeated. The union was relatively short-lived, but some individual chapters remained strong and later joined the Knights of Labor.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10012/daughters-of-st-crispin-foundedOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 27 July 2017, bus drivers in Brisbane, Australia launched a fare strike where they refused to charge passengers for journeys in a protest demanding better pay and safety. Further fare strikes, as well as all-out strikes, continued intermittently over the coming weeks as workers pursued a 3.5% pay increase, rather than the 2.5% which had been offered over the following 3 years. The workers eventually agreed to a 2.5% increase plus a $500 bonus in September.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9915/brisbane-fare-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 26 July 1956, over 21,000 workers on strike at 13 BMC factories in the UK against job cuts were joined by 12,000 Briggs Motors workers in Dagenham who walked out. Some of Oswald Mosley's fascists showed up to "support" the workers and urge an end to the strike at the Longbridge plant. They were given short shrift by the strikers who trashed their van. Video footage of the event is included in our compilation video of anti-Mosley actions around this time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REbkAxFbo38Our 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 25 July 2011, 34 women workers, who promoted Angkor beer for Cambrew (a corporation partly owned by Carlsberg), went on strike demanding the payment of unpaid overtime and demonstrated in front of the company headquarters. Other Cambodian unions threatened to boycott Angkor beer, and some bars in the city stopped serving it during the dispute. One bar owner explained they wished to show support as "beer girls are among the most exploited workers in Cambodia". The workers agreed to suspend their strike on 4 August after the Phnom Penh deputy governor agreed to mediate between them and the company. A few days later Cambrew agreed to start obeying labour laws on overtime pay, and back pay three years of overtime payments it owed.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9752/cambrew-promoters-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On 24 July 2019 ferry workers in Ketchikan, Alaska, walked out on strike as part of a contract dispute during the busiest time of year.Around 400 members of the Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific rejected a new one-year contract which included a wage freeze. After nine days of strike action, employers agreed to a three-year contract including 3% pay increases and health coverage during the winter off-season.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7893/alaska-ferry-workers-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 23 July 1918, the Japanese rice riots began against high prices, a revolt up to then unparalleled in the country's history in terms of scope, size and violence, which eventually led to the fall of Prime Minister Terauchi's government. As well as multiple riots across the country, the revolt also involved strikes by miners, shipyard and factory workers.This movement is commemorated by our July T-shirt of the Month, made by a workers' cooperative supporting grassroots unions in Asia: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/search?q=Rice+riotsOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 22 July 2005, civil servants in the Kingdom of Tonga went on strike for 60-90% pay rise. The strike shut down the government and grew to include many other public sector employees and ending up being the most significant challenge to the island's monarchy in its history. The striking workers won their pay rise and forced the government to begin reforming itself. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9488/civil-servants-in-tonga-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 21 July 1945, members of the Irish Women Worker's Union staged a laundry strike demanding a second week of paid holiday, affecting many of Dublin's hotels. Hospital laundry workers were exempt from the strike action. The strike lasted 14 weeks and ended in victory for the women, and the following year the government conceded to giving two weeks paid holiday to all workers. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9387/laundry-women-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 20 July 1979, Native American political prisoner Leonard Peltier escaped from Lompoc Federal Correctional Institution, in California, with two other detainees, one of whom, Bobby Gene Garcia, was shot to death by a guard. Peltier, a leading member of the American Indian Movement, had been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the deaths of two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents. He had been warned by fellow Native American prisoner Standing Deer (a.k.a. Robert Wilson) that there was contract on his life in the prison.Peltier's original trial was riddled with inconsistencies and distortions. For example, an FBI ballistics expert claimed during the trial that a shell case found near the bodies matched Peltier's rifle, but his report stating that the cartridge did not match was withheld from the jury. And three witnesses who placed Peltier near the scene of the crime later recanted, stating that the FBI had tied them to chairs and coerced their testimony. The legal misconduct was so severe that Peltier has received support from individuals and groups as diverse as Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the European Parliament, and the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights. Peltier was recaptured three days later. Peltier eventually had his sentence commuted by President Joe Biden in 2025, and was released from prison to house arrest.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9281/leonard-peltier-escapes-custodyOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 19 July 1984, the Dunnes Stores anti-apartheid strike began in Dublin, Ireland. Shop worker Mary Manning refused to check out a customer's South African fruit, as members of her union, Idatu, had voted to not handle South African goods. Manning was then suspended, and she and 11 of her colleagues went on strike in protest. The stoppage went on for three years, ending when the Irish government introduced a ban on South African products.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9108/dunnes-stores-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 18 July 1887, the Argentinian anarchist bakers' union Sociedad Cosmopolita de Resistencia y Colocación de Obreros Panaderos (Cosmopolitan Society of Resistance and Placement of Bakery Workers) was founded in Buenos Aires. It was established with the assistance of Italian anarchists Errico Malatesta and Ettore Mattei. It would hold its first public event on August 4, which later became officially recognised as Bakers' Day, and initiated its first strike the following year.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8989/argentina-bakers'-union-formedOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

At midnight on 16 July 2015, 140 workers at the state-owned Qulliq Energy company in Nunavut, Canada, walked out on strike demanding pay increases to keep up with rising prices. The strike, by members of the Nunavut Employees Union who maintained power lines and plants in the region, continued for three weeks until the local government offered them a new three-year pay deal which included pay rises of 2% in the first year and 1.5% in each of the subsequent years, which the workers accepted.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7352/nunavut-power-workers-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 15 July 1966, national rail operator British Rail scrapped a "colour bar" preventing Black workers from higher paid employment at Euston station in London. At the time the bar was supported by unions but a Black train guard, Asquith Xavier, campaigned to overturn the bar, eventually finding some support in Parliament. Xavier was a member of the Windrush Generation who moved to Britain after World War II. In 2019 many of those who moved with him were to be criminalised and deported by the government. Despite the success of his campaign, when Xavier was promoted he faced racist abuse and had to work with a police guard, eventually the stress took its toll and he died in 1980.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8683/british-rail-scraps-colour-barLearn more about Black British workers' struggles in this book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/the-making-of-the-black-working-class-in-britain-ron-ramdinOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 14 July 1966 a group of US GIs were given the order to deploy to Vietnam. James Johnson Jr., David A. Samas, and Dennis Mora refused and became the Fort Hood Three: the most high profile US refuseniks to date. They were court-martialled and each jailed for five years. But they helped spark a militant anti-war GI movement which brought an early end to the conflict. Learn more about the GI resistance to the war in our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e10-the-gi-resistance-in-vietnam-part-1/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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 13 July 1917, thousands of workers joined a spontaneous strike in São Paulo following the police killing of a 21-year-old shoemaker, José (or Antonio) Martínez, at a demonstration against the high cost of living two days previously. The stoppage soon became a general strike, and workers could only be persuaded to return to work three days later after being given a 10% pay increase. More information and sources: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8481/s%C3%A3o-paulo-general-strikeThe strike wave at this time is commemorated by this T-shirt of the Month, made by a workers' co-operative and supporting grassroots unions in South Asia: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/t-shirt-of-the-month0523Our 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 12 July 1994, around 4,000 workers at Bridgestone-Firestone tyres in Decatur, Illinois, Akron, Ohio, Noblesville, Indiana, Des Moines, Iowa and Oklahoma City walked out on strike. Workers were protesting against the introduction of 12-hour shifts, pay and healthcare cuts, cuts to unemployment and injury benefits and a two-tier workforce. The workers, members of the United Rubber Workers union, joined 1,600 URW members who had already walked out at Dunlop in Alabama. To fight back, Bridgestone-Firestone hired 2,300 permanent scabs to replace the strikers. After 10 months, the strike was defeated, and many of the strikers were not rehired.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8406/bridgestone-firestone-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 11 July 1989, a huge strike began of miners in the Soviet Union demanding better food supplies, cleaner working conditions, adequate housing, better care of the environment in mining areas, and rights to share management of the mines.In March, two brief strikes occurred at the Lidiieka and Kirov mines in Donbass, Ukraine. In July a much bigger strike began in both the Donbass and the Kuznetsky basin in Western Siberia. Within a few days, the strike had grown to 100,000 workers, and threatened to become a general strike when sympathy strikes began.Most miners had returned to work by July 25, after officials agreed to most of their demands. These included more meat and soap, rights to share management and profits in the industry, and increases to pay, vacation time and other benefits.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7730/soviet-miners-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 10 July 1949, Black Industrial Workers of the World dockworker activist Ben Fletcher died at his home in Brooklyn, aged 59.Fletcher was the leading organiser in Local 8 of the union, which organised the multiracial workforce on the Philadelphia docks in the early part of the 20th-century, and he was one of dozens of IWW members imprisoned during World War I.His funeral was attended by old comrades who praised his lifetime of activism, his sense of humour, his effectiveness as a speaker and more. Sam Weiner said:“Ben, we won't forget the great part you played in the struggle to emancipate the workers, and we will carry on inspired by your example.”Learn more about his life and activism in our podcast episodes 73-74: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e73-ben-fletcher/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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 9 July 1919, bartenders in Allentown, Pennsylvania, went on strike to impress on citizens the "horrors" of prohibition which was due to be introduced. There was a working class movement of hundreds of thousands called "No beer, no work" which aimed to stop prohibition with strike action. However this is the only actual strike we are aware of.We have produced items commemorating the No beer no work movement, using their original artwork, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/no-beer-no-workOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 8 July, 1908, Black and white coal miners in Birmingham, Alabama, walked out on strike together against an attempt from bosses to eliminate the union. The strike grew quickly to a majority of workers in the area, including those who had previously been scabs. Bosses used evictions, armed thugs, scabs from the North, and forced convict labour to try to break the strike, and the press advocated vigilante attacks and tried to rouse white residents against the multiracial union. Eventually the Governor declared martial law and sent in the army against the workers, breaking the strike and marking a massive setback both to workers and to racial unity in the South. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10815/birmingham-coal-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 7 July 1864, Filipino labour leader Isabelo de los Reyes was born in Vigan. He became a journalist and opponent of Spanish colonial rule, for which he was jailed and tortured. He was then deported to Spain and held in the infamous Montjuic Castle in Barcelona, alongside many anarchist political prisoners.In 1901 he was allowed to return to the Philippines, and he brought with him a library of books by socialists like Karl Marx and anarchists like Mikhail Bakunin. He founded the Unión Obrera Democrática Filipina, and helped organise several strikes.See our timeline of his life and activism on our Stories app, including sources and maps: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/tag/9461/isabelo-de-los-reyesOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 6 July 1934, 800 workers from two plantations in Couva, Trinidad, demonstrated in front of the warden's office complaining at the lack of work. Violence erupted when police attempted to keep protesters away from businesses, to which workers responded by looting. Unrest spread to other plantations, two bosses were attacked and one company headquarters was stoned and set on fire. British colonial police arrested 12 demonstrators. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10627/trinidad-plantation-riotOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 5 July 1777, the word ‘scab', meaning ‘strikebreaker', was used in print for the first time. One of the most important words in the working class vocabulary! By the late 16th century the word "scab" had come to be used as an English insult, somewhat akin to "lowlife" or "scoundrel". But at some point it began to be used by workers in industrial disputes as a label for workers who crossed picket lines and worked while their colleagues were striking for better pay or conditions. It first appeared in print in the Bonner and Middleton's Bristol Journal, during a strike of shoemakers, where it reported: "The Conflict would not been [sic] so sharp had not there been so many dirty Scabs". On scabs, author Jack London famously wrote the following: “After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, the vampire, He had some awful substance left with which He made a scab. A scab is a two-legged animal with a cork-screw soul, a water-logged brain, a combination backbone of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles." This quotation is illustrated in one of our July T-Shirts of the Month, made by a workers' cooperative and supporting grassroots unions in South Asia. Available here with global shipping: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/search?q=scabOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 4 July 1998, best friends Lin "Spit" Newborn, 24, a Black skinhead and singer, and Daniel Shersty, 20, a white US air force serviceman - both members of Anti-Racist Action (ARA) - were murdered in the desert outside Las Vegas by a gang of white supremacists. Newborn's friend, PJ Perez, described him as "a madman. A poet. A motherfucker whose good side you'd want to stay on. He was a father, a son, a passionate and dedicated fighter for what's right." Shersty was born to a working class family in Florida, and joined the air force in order to fund college which his parents could not afford.The pair, both amateur musicians, met in Las Vegas, became fast friends and helped co-found the local chapter of militant anti-fascist group ARA. ARA took the fight to neo-Nazis who were recruiting in the local skinhead scene and attacking Black and Latine schoolchildren as well as white "race traitors".One neo-Nazi was swiftly jailed for the murders, and others were convicted in 2012. ARA continued their fight against white supremacists across the US, and helped disrupt many of their activities, and successfully drove them from many local youth subcultures.Learn more about Anti-Racist Action and the group's origins in Minneapolis in our podcast episode 49: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e49-anti-racist-action-in-minneapolis/And check out our book, We Go Where They Go, the definitive history of ARA, also available on the podcast episode page.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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 3 July 1918, a general strike began on the British dependency, the Isle of Man. Sailors, dockers, school workers, transport workers, shop assistants and others walked out on strike demanding that the price of bread remain at 9p – the same price it was in the UK, where flour was subsidised by the state. Previous agitation on the Isle of Man had pressured the local government to implement a subsidy as well for six months to match the price, amidst rising prices during World War I. But that subsidy just expired and the price was scheduled to be increased to 1 shilling (12p).Businesses that attempted to remain open were invaded by crowds of pickets and shut down. Fishing boats were allowed to dock, but fish had to be sold at prices set by a strike committee which was established by the workers. The strike committee also permitted shops in working class areas to open between the hours of 7 AM and 9 AM to allow people to buy food.On the second day of the strike, the governor approached the strike committee and offered them 10.5p per loaf. But this was refused. The governor then met with the legislative council, which caved in and agreed to restore the 9p price. As a result the strike ended on July 5.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7941/Isle-of-Man-general-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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 2 July 1848, enslaved people in St Croix (now the US Virgin Islands) rebelled, burned down plantations and besieged the town of Frederiksted. The Caribbean island was at that time a Danish colony, and it had been decreed that slavery would be abolished in 1859, but the enslaved workers refused to wait. After revolutions in Europe led to turmoil in nearby Martinique and Guadeloupe, hundreds of rebels seized the moment and rose up. By the end of the day, only the local military garrison, Fort Frederiksværn, had not yet been overrun. The following day, the governor general, Peter von Scholten arrived. Faced with demands from the enslaved people to immediately abolish slavery, or they would burn the town to the ground, he relented and shouted out: “Now you are free, you are hereby emancipated.”Technically von Scholten had no authority to abolish slavery, and he was strongly criticised by enslavers and Danish authorities. But faced with a fait accompli, Denmark had no real choice but to accept the situation. The agreement achieved by the formerly enslaved people went even further than just immediate emancipation, as the order issued on the night of July 3 also applied to the Danish colonies of St Thomas and St John, and directed that the enslaved had the right to keep their current housing and provisions for three months, and that elderly and ill labourers had to be looked after by the former enslavers "until further determination".The old enslavers subsequently sued the Danish government demanding recompense for the loss of their "property". Danish Parliament rejected their claim, on the grounds that "slavery [was] itself an institution in conflict with religion and justice". But they did then agreed to pay a relatively low compensation figure of $50 per enslaved person.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9191/st-croix-enslaved-revoltOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 1 July 1919, prohibition of the sale of alcoholic drinks stronger than 2.75% in the United States was due to come into force. Hundreds of thousands of workers in New York and New Jersey had voted to strike on this day if the law was enforced. They wore pins declaring "No beer no work". Strike action was called off by union leaders, and prohibition was eventually introduced the following year. We have reproduced the workers' original artwork to help fund our work: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/no-beer-no-workOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 30 June 1977, a riot and mass strike took place against police repression in Faridabad, India. Thousands of factory workers downed tools, shutting down local industry in protest against the death in police custody of Harnam Singh, a maintenance foreman, working in one of the leading companies of Faridabad. Violence had erupted in many parts of Faridabad and vehicles proceeding to the capital were stoned, looted and burnt. According to co-workers, Harnam Singh had been tortured to death by the police on the factory premises in the presence of the managing director, a sub-inspector of police, and some other senior company officials.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10304/faridabad-mass-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 29 June 1892, workers at the Homestead Carnegie steel plant in Pennsylvania were locked out after workers refused to accept new production demands. Andrew Carnegie was determined to break the Amalgamated Association of Iron Steel Workers, in which skilled workers at the plant were organised. His plant manager, Henry Clay Frick, locked out the union workers, then sacked them on 2 July. The non-union, so-called "unskilled" workers then walked out on strike in protest. Frick brought in 300 armed Pinkerton detectives to break the strike. They did kill nine strikers, but eventually a crowd of 10,000 workers, many of them armed, repelled the attack. The workers held out until November, when the governor brought in 8,000 militia to escort strikebreakers into the plant. The dispute basically destroyed the Amalgamated Association, and enabled Carnegie to implement pay cuts and longer working hours.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10109/homestead-steel-lockoutOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 28 June 1969, the Stonewall rebellion began in the early hours. The New York Police Department, as part of its policy of closing gay bars, raided the Stonewall Inn, which had a substantial poor and working class LGBT+ clientele. However, for the first time in the city, rather than submitting to arrest, a crowd began to gather around the police. Inside the bar, gender nonconforming people, trans women and lesbians began resisting invasive body searches. And outside, a butch lesbian fought back against police when they arrested her, calling on the crowd that had formed to “do something.” According to some eyewitnesses and her own account, this individual was Stormé DeLarverie, a biracial lesbian and drag performer, who was known as a “guardian of lesbians” in the Village, although this is disputed by others who point to the fact that the only police record for a lesbian arrested that night was of a Marilyn Fowler.The crowd, which included a significant number of Black, Latine, and white LGBT+ patrons and passersby, then began to physically fight the police, triggering riots that lasted for six days. Those involved in the disturbances included activists like Marsha P. Johnson and John O'Brien, popular folk musician Dave Van Ronk, as well as many others.In the aftermath, participants and other LGBT+ radicals set up the Gay Liberation Front, which revolutionised the gay rights movement. They organised anniversary protests on June 28 the following year in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and elsewhere. This became the annual Pride celebration that continues to this day all over the world.In our podcast episodes 25-26, participants in these events tell their story. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or here on our website: https://workingclasshistory.com/2019/05/13/e21-22-the-stonewall-riots-and-pride-at-50/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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 27 June 1905, the revolutionary union the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was founded in Chicago, Illinois.One of the first multiracial unions in the US, the IWW advocated that all workers unite into one big union, taking control of society and abolishing capitalism.Its founding conference lasted from June 27 to July 8, and was attended by over 200 workers, including legendary labour organisers like Mother Jones, 'Big' Bill Haywood and leading Black anarchist, Lucy Parsons.It organised large swathes of previously unorganised workers in the US, and pioneered many innovative new types of industrial action like slowdowns and sabotage. Parsons, at its founding convention, delivered a speech arguing for sit-in strikes, which would sweep the US 30 years later, declaring:"My conception of the strike of the future is not to strike and go out and starve, but to strike and remain in and take possession of the necessary property of production."The IWW won big improvements for hundreds of thousands of workers, and for its troubles faced brutal repression from employers, with many organisers beaten, jailed and murdered. It also spread to other countries, including Chile, Australia and South Africa.The union still exists today, although much smaller than it was, and its members are active in many organising projects.Learn more in our podcast series about the union: https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/iwwOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 26 June 1993, 4,000 workers took to the streets in Decatur, Illinois to protest against their employers. Workers from A.E. Staley, who had been working to rule against imposition of a new, inferior contracts, joined striking coal miners as well as Caterpillar workers who were on a go-slow across the midwest. The following day, A.E. Staley locked out its nearly 800 production workers in an attempt to force them to agree to a switch from eight to 12-hour shifts. So began a mammoth struggle which would only come to an end in December 1995 when, after betrayal by the leadership of the United Paperworkers International Union, a majority of strikers voted to accept the contract. Some union members were so angry at the result that company security and police had to be used to protect the union local president, Jim Shinall. Meanwhile, workers at Caterpillar also walked out on strike for 17 months until the United Auto Workers called off the action in defeat. Bridgestone-Firestone workers in Decatur and four other plants were also forced to accept 12-hour shifts following the defeat of their 10-month strike.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9840/decatur-workers-protestOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On 25 June 2021, oil workers employed by ExxonMobil on the Doba oilfield in Chad went on strike when the potential sale of the oilfield was announced. The workers were demanding that in the event the sale went through that they would still receive benefits and redundancy pay they were previously entitled to.The stoppage continued for two weeks, and worker protests continued for some time. In September, Chad's government announced they would work to ensure the workers kept their jobs.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7908/doba-oil-workers-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 24 June 1980, a two-day general strike began in El Salvador protesting against the US-backed military dictatorship and its counter-insurgency death squads. 85% of the economy was shut down and 80,000 people took to the streets. Police and soldiers killed two people building barricades in the suburb of Delgado.Noam Chomsky described the crackdown of the right-wing regime which began in March 1980: "the war against the population began in force (with continued US support and involvement). The first major attack was a big massacre at the Rio Sumpul, a coordinated military operation of the Honduran and Salvadoran armies in which at least 600 people were butchered. Infants were cut to pieces with machetes, and women were tortured and drowned. Pieces of bodies were found in the river for days afterwards. There were church observers, so the information came out immediately, but the mainstream US media didn't think it was worth reporting. Peasants were the main victims of this war, along with labour organisers, students, priests or anyone suspected of working for the interests of the people."More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9669/el-salvador-general-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On 23 June 2015 municipal workers on the French island of Saint Pierre went on strike demanding a pay increase to compensate for rising prices. The strike was initiated by Force Ouvrière, but supported by other unions, and lasted until June 25, when the local government agreed to pay increases averaging €150 per month to its workers from January 2016.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7876/saint-pierre-strikeOur 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/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History