
Today in Labor History March 10, 1762: French authorities tortured Jean Calas to death on the rack. They had wrongly convicted the Huguenot of killing his son. They based their conviction and the torture on his religion. The event inspired Voltaire to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform.
1800s

Today in Labor History March 10, 1848: The U.S. Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican–American War. The treaty also ceded California, Utah, Nevada and Colorado to the U.S., as well as most of Arizona and New Mexico. Over 1,733 U.S. soldiers and more than 5,000 Mexican soldiers died in the Mexican-American War. However, the Mexican death toll was probably closer to 25,000. That’s because so many died from disease and accidents related to the war.
1900s

Today in Labor History March 10, 1906: Coal dust exploded at the Courrieres mine in France. 1,099 miners died. It was the second worst mining disaster of the 20th century. (1,549 miners died in the Benxihu accident in China, in 1946). As a result of the Courrieres disaster, 45,000 miners went on strike, protesting the ongoing unsafe working conditions. The authorities sent in the military, which quashed the strike
1940s
Today in Labor History March 10, 1941: New York City bus drivers went on strike over wages, hours and working conditions. After 12 days without bus service and a large show of support by Irish-American strikers at the St. Patrick’s Day parade, the mayor ordered arbitration.
March 10, 1942: Workers won union recognition at the Brooklyn Union Gas Company.

March 10, 1944: The Greek National Liberation Front established the Communist-led Political Committee of National Liberation in order “to intensify the struggle against the conquerors … for full national liberation, for the consolidation of the independence and integrity of our country (…) and for the annihilation of domestic fascism and armed traitor formations.”
1950s-1960s

Today in Labor History March 10, 1959: Thousands of Tibetans surrounded the Dalai Lama’s palace to prevent his removal by China during the Tibetan uprising. The uprising was fueled by anti-Chinese sentiment and separatism. Initially, it was mostly peaceful, but clashes quickly erupted and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army brutally quashed the uprising. The Tibetan government in exile claimed that the Chinese killed 87,000 Tibetans in the struggle.
March 10, 1968: Cesar Chavez officially broke his fast at a mass in Delano, California, with Robert Kennedy by his side.