Labor History

Today in Labor History November 18, 1909: Two U.S. warships sailed to Nicaragua after its president, José Santos Zelaya, executed 500 rebels (including two Americans). 1910s Today in Labor History November 18, 1910: Black Friday: Hundreds of suffragettes marched to the British Parliament in London to demand voting rights for women. The police beat many of them. Today in Labor History November 18, 1918: An anarchist […]

Today in Labor History November 17, 1747: The Knowles Riot occurred in Boston, with hundreds of sailors, laborers and free blacks rising up against British Navy Press Gangs. Commodore Knowles routinely had Bostonians kidnapped and forced to work on his ships. Working class protestors rampaged through Boston. Ultimately, they kidnapped several of Knowles’ officers, holding

Today in Labor History November 16, 1849: Russian authorities gave a death sentence to author Fyodor Dostoevsky for anti-government activities linked to a radical intellectual group. He and his colleagues were lined up before the firing squad. At the last minute, a cart arrived with a letter from the Tsar, commuting their sentence. He still

Today in Labor History November 14, 1903: The National Women’s Trade Union League formed in Boston. They fought to get more women unionized and to end sweat shops. They supported many of the major strikes of the 1900s-1910s and helped pave the way for the ILGWU and ACWA. They were influenced by the settlement house