Today in Labor History December 5, 1492: Columbus became the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola, setting in motion the genocide of Indigenous Americans.
Today in Labor History December 5, 1798: Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was recruited to run a new orphanage in the Swiss town of Stans. This was immediately after the French sacked the town, leaving many children without families or homes. It was also Pestalozzi’s first major foray into education. He would go on to become a major influence on later progressive pedagogues, like Friedrich Froebel (creator of the first kindergartens). He also influenced anarchist educator Francisco Ferrer, founder of the Modern School movement.
Today in Labor History December 5, 1928: The Colombian military slaughtered up to 2,000 people in the Banana Massacre. Workers had been on strike against United Fruit Company since November 12. They were participating in a peaceful demonstration, with their wives and children. The Columbian troops set up machine guns on the rooftops near the demonstration and closed off the access streets so no one could escape. The soldiers threw the dead into mass graves or dumped them in the sea. U.S. officials in Colombia had portrayed the workers as communists and subversives and even threatened to invade if the Colombian government didn’t protect United Fruit’s interests. Gabriel García Márquez depicted the massacre in his novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” as did Álvaro Cepeda Samudio in his “La Casa Grande.”
Today in Labor History December 5, 1933: The U.S. Congress ratified the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting the sale and use of alcohol, leading to years of violent gang warfare over the sales and distribution of illegal booze.
Today in Labor History December 5, 1944: A wildcat strike occurred at the Dodge truck plant in Detroit, Michigan. It was one of many illegal strikes that occurred during World War II. Overall, there were 5 illegal auto strikes in 1944, more than the total number of legal strikes in 1937, and they occurred in spite of government threats and the pro-war no-strike clauses signed by their patriotic union bosses.
Today in Labor History December 5, 1952: The Great Smog began in London. A cold fog combined with terrible air pollution brought the city to a halt for 4 days. The smog was so dense that it seeped indoors, cancelling numerous indoor events. All above ground transport ceased due to poor visibility. A Ministry of Health report estimated that at least 4,000 people died from the smog and 100,000 were sickened or injured by it. However, more recent analyses suggest that 10,000 to 12,000 people likely died.
December 5, 1955: The American Federation of Labor merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations to form the AFL-CIO, ending a 20-year schism in the American trade union movement.
Today in Labor History December 5, 1955: E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott lasted until December 20, 1956, when the Supreme Court ruled that the Alabama and Montgomery bus segregation laws were unconstitutional.
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