1800s
Today in Labor History April 12, 1858: Puddlers met in Pittsburgh to form The Iron City Forge of the Sons of Vulcan. Puddlers are craftsmen who manipulate pig iron to create steel. In the 1870s, this was one of the strongest unions in the U.S. They later merged with two other unions to form the forerunner of the United Steel Workers.
1900s-1910s
April 12, 1900: Florence Reece was born on this day. Reece was an activist in the Harlan County, Kentucky, coal strikes, and author of the song, “Which Side Are You On?” She wrote the song in 1931, during a UMW strike. She wrote in response to Sheriff Blair’s thugs, who beat & murdered union leaders. Florence wrote the song on an old wall calendar while her home was being ransacked by Blair’s goons.
Today in Labor History April 12, 1912: Oregon Electric Railway workers went on strike, with the I.W.W. at the helm, to negotiate wages, hours, and food.
April 12, 1912: Twenty “girl millworkers,” attempted to relieve striking pickets at the Garfield, New Jersey, mill of Forstmann and Huffmann. Cops beat them for not moving fast enough when they ordered them off the site.
Today in Labor History April 12, 1912: Clara Barton, died on this day. She was a nurse and founder of the American Red Cross.
1920s
April 12, 1924: Chris Turner was born on this day in Floyd, Va. Turner, along with Fireball Roberts and Tim Flock, tried to organize the NASCAR drivers into a union in 1961. He was banned by NASCAR and lost his lawsuit to be reinstated. The court said he was an individual contractor, not an employee of NASCAR or any track.
Today in Labor History April 12, 1927: The Shanghai massacre of 1927 occurred on this day. Chiang Kai-shek ordered the execution of Chinese Communist Party members in Shanghai, ending the First United Front.
1930s
April 12, 1934: The Toledo (Ohio) Auto-Lite General Strike began on this day. Initially, 6,000 workers struck for union recognition and higher pay. In late May, there was a five-day battle between the strikers and 1,300 members of the Ohio National Guard. The militia fired on workers. They shot tear gas, which the workers threw back at them. They attacked with bayonets and the workers retaliated with bricks, injuring several soldiers. The “Battle of Toledo,” left two strikers dead and more than 200 injured. The strike lasted for two months and resulted in a win for the union. It was one of the most important labor struggles of the 20th century. During that same spring, there were General Strikes in San Francisco, Minneapolis and Toledo.
Today in Labor History April 12, 1935: 150,000 college students protested across the U.S. in the first nationwide student strike against war. Between 1936 and 1939, the movement mobilized at least 500,000 college students (almost 50% of all American college students at the time) in annual one-hour strikes against war.
April 12, 1937: The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Wagner Act (also known as the National Labor Relations Act) which created the structure for collective bargaining and rules for strikes and job actions.
1940s-1950s
Today in Labor History April 12, 1947: Author Tom Clancy was born on this day.
April 12, 1955: The Salk polio vaccine was declared safe and effective on this day. This was the first effective vaccine for the deadly disease. At the time, between 20,000 and 50,000 people caught polio each year in the U.S. The vaccine was 60-70% effective against Polio type 1, and over 90% effective against type 2 and type 3 polios. By 1961, there were only 161 new polio cases, thanks to the mass vaccination program. Starting in 1961, the safer and more-effective Sabin vaccine became available and became the predominant preventative against polio. As a result of these mandatory vaccines, schools can honestly tell parents their children are safe from polio at school. For some strange reason, they tell parents their children are safe from Covid, despite the fact that almost no children have been vaccinated yet.
1960s
Today in Labor History April 12, 1963: Mexican journalist and human rights activist, Lydia Cacho, was born on this day.
1980s
Today in Labor History April 12, 1981: Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, died on this day. Louis is considered one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He was also instrumental in integrating the sport of golf. And Adolf Hitler launched a vendetta against him for beating Max Schmeling in 1936.
April 12, 1989: Radical activist, Abbie Hoffman, died on this day. Hoffman cofounded the Yippies. He was active in the Civil Rights and free speech movements of the 1950s and 1960s. He was an anti-war activist and he was one of the Chicago 7 defendants.
April 12, 1989: Boxer Sugar Ray Robinson died on this day. He was also considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. His official record was 85-0, with 69 knockouts. He fought in the welter and middle weight classes.