1910s-1920s Today in Labor History March 12, 1912: The IWW won their Bread and Roses textile strike in Lawrence, MA. This was the first strike to use the moving picket line, implemented to avoid arrest for loitering. The workers came from 24 different countries and spoke 22 different languages. To facilitate the challenging job of […]

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,

Today in Labor History March 9, 1841: The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that freed the remaining 35 survivors of the Amistad mutiny. In 1839, Portuguese slave traders had illegally transported 52 Mende people from west Africa to Cuba, on the Amistad, in violation of European treaties against the slave trade. Joseph Cinque led

Today in Labor History March 8, 1857: Women garment workers picketed in New York City, demanding a 10-hour workday, better working conditions, and equal rights for women.  Today in Labor History March 8, 1908: Thousands of workers in the New York needle trades (mostly women) launched a strike for higher wages, shorter hours and an

1860s Today in Labor History March 7, 1860: 6,000 shoemakers and 20,000 other New England workers participated in a mass strike in Lynn, Massachusetts, also known as the great New England Shoemakers Strike. It was the largest U.S. strike prior to the Civil War. Thousands of women marched through a blizzard carrying signs saying: “American