Today in Labor History May 2, 1886: Twenty-five hundred workers marched in Milwaukee for the 8-hour day. They chanted, “The workmen do not beg, they demand.” As a result, Governor Jeremiah Rusk supplied the Milwaukee National Guard headquarters with increased ammunition. He also provided the police force with additional artillery.
1900s-1910s
May 2, 1908: Members of the IWW and the International Union won a strike in Marble, Colorado.
Today in Labor History May 2, 1911: Wisconsin passed the nation’s first workers’ compensation law, providing benefits for employees injured in the workplace.
May 2, 1919: Soldiers murdered Gustav Landauer, Education Minister in the short-lived Bavarian workers Republic.
Today in Labor History May 2, 1919: A General Strike began in Brazil. Workers staged a series of strikes throughout Brazil from 1917-1919. They culminated in a failed anarchist revolution.
1920s-1930s
May 2, 1924: The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the involuntary sterilization of mentally disabled people.
Today in Labor History May 2, 1933: Adolf Hitler abolished all labor unions. Then the Nazis arrested and murdered thousands of communists, anarchists and labor activists.
1940s-1950s
May 2, 1945: The Nisei 522nd Field Artillery Battalion halted a death march from Dachau to Austria. As a result, the Japanese-American fighting unit saved hundreds of lives. Yet, even while they fought fascists in Europe, many had families in concentration camps within the U.S.
Today in Labor History May 2, 1955: Tennessee Williams won the Pulitzer for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.
1960s
May 2, 1963: Bull Connors jailed 958 children in Birmingham, Alabama. Those who weren’t jailed were attacked with fire hoses and dogs. National media broadcast these events. As a result, much of the country was horrified. And this helped galvanize support for the Civil Rights Movement.
Today in Labor History May 2, 1968: A Protest at University of Nanterre escalated into the French student strike. By May 20, six million workers were on strike. However, within a few days, it had grown to eleven million, or 20% of the country. Workers and students occupied buildings and held demonstrations. Because of the size and intensity of the protests, political leaders feared a revolution or civil war.
1970s-1980s
May 2, 1972: A fire at the Sunshine silver mine in Kellogg, Idaho, killed 91 workers. They died from breathing carbon monoxide, likely caused by toxic fumes emitted by burning polyurethane foam, used as a fire retardant.
Today in Labor History May 2, 1980: The South African government banned “Another Brick in the Wall,” by Pink Floyd. They did this because striking black teachers and students would sing it in their protests against inferior, segregated schools. The Apartheid government called the song “prejudicial to the safety of the state.” Ironic, considering the state, itself, was so prejudicial.
2000s
May 2, 2008: Cyclone Nargis killed over 138,000 people in Myanmar, making it the worst natural disaster in the history of the country. However, the ruling junta worsened matters by denying aid workers access to the country. More than a week after the disaster, only 10% of victims had received any aid.