1700s
Today in Labor History November 30, 1786: The Grand Duchy of Tuscany, under Pietro Leopoldo I, abolished the death penalty, becoming the first modern state to do so.
1800s-1830s
Today in Labor History November 30, 1803: The Balmis Expedition left Spain to vaccinate millions against smallpox in Spanish America and Philippines. The mission lasted from 1803 to 1806. The Spanish brought smallpox to the Americas, decimating the indigenous populations. Edward Jenner pioneered the vaccine in 1798. At that time, about 400,000 Europeans died each year from smallpox, a scale similar to that Covid19. Without a similar plan now for poor nations, and universal masking, we could continue to see high rates of transmission. This, in turn, could cause more new variants that are deadlier and more vaccine-resistant than Omicron.
Today in Labor History November 30, 1830: Agricultural laborers rioted at Shaftesbury, Dorset, in England, to win the release of five imprisoned comrades. Simultaneously, in Banwell, Somerset, paupers rioted at the poorhouse, then launched an attack on the prison, releasing its prisoners.
1850s
Today in Labor History November 30, 1854: “Fighting Mary” Eliza McDowell was born on this date. In 1902, McDowell helped organize the first women’s local union of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters. The union was made up mostly of the low-paid women working in packinghouse canning and labeling operations. Prior to that, she taught kindergarten and organized women at Hull House, with Jane Addams.
1930s-1940s
Today in Labor History November 30, 1930: Mother Jones died, age 100, in Silver Spring, Maryland. She was an organizer or “walking delegate” for the United Mine Workers (UMW), famous for her bravado. She and 3,000 women were imprisoned overnight by a militia in McAdoo, Pennsylvania. Next day, they marched straight to the hotel housing the soldiers and ate their breakfast. Even well into her 90s, she still roamed through the hills of West Virginia, encouraging miners to organize.
Today in Labor History November 30, 1947: The 1947–1949 Palestine war broke out after the UN adopted a resolution recommending the Partition Plan for Palestine. During the civil war, the Jewish and Arab communities of Palestine clashed. The British, who had the obligation to maintain order, did nothing. When the British Mandate expired in 1948, Israel declared itself a state and the neighboring Arab states (Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq & Syria) invaded.
1980s-1990s
Today in Labor History November 30, 1980: Anarchist, pacifist, and co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, Dorothy Day, died on this date in New York City.
November 30, 1999: Thousands of activists, students, union members, environmentalists and others shut down the World Trade Organization (WTO) summit in Seattle. It was the first large-scale demonstration in the United States protesting “globalization.” It marked the beginning of many similar protests that followed. The WTO protest raised awareness of corporate greed. It also promoted the delusion that, with a few reforms, capitalism and democracy would serve the needs of the people.