Today in Labor History August 17, 1861: Coal miners in Australia refused to accept a 20% wage cut and walked out.
1910s
Today in Labor History August 17, 1910: Women strikers broke through police lines and demolished a New York garment factory that tried to open in defiance of a strike. Garment workers were toiling as much as 15 hours per day for as little as 50 cents. They tossed sewing machines out the windows and smashed furniture. The industry-wide strike had begun in June and quickly spread, with 60,000 striking up and down the east coast.
Today in Labor History August 17, 1918: 95 Wobblies (members of the IWW—Industrial Workers of the World) were sent to prison for up to 20 years for resisting the war.
1940s-1980s
Today in Writing History August 17, 1945: George Orwell’s novella Animal Farm was first published. The story portrays a group of animals rebelling against their farmer to create an egalitarian society. However, they end up with a dictatorship, led by a pig named Napoleon. It was an allegory for the lead up to and creation of the Soviet Union.
Today in Labor History August 17, 1985: Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) in Austin, Minnesota, went on strike against Hormel, makers of SPAM. They ignored the advice of their national union and struck anyway. Workers continued to strike, even after the company tried to reopen the plant with scabs. Even some union members crossed the picket lines. After ten months the strike ended, with no gains for union members.