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News Article | October 31, 2011
Remembering Postal Heroes 10 Years Later
Just weeks after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, with the country still wracked with fear and anger, we learned of another deadly threat: Anthrax was being sent through the mail. Despite the dangers, postal workers kept the mail moving, as the nation confronted a new and unknown menace.
News Article | August 31, 2011
‘Si, Se Puede,’ Yes, We Can
It is next to impossible to think of the modern labor movement — and the struggles of farm workers in the United States — without César Chávez. A firm believer in nonviolence, Chávez beat the odds and successfully organized a union of farm workers. In the process, he became a symbol of hope to milli...
News Article | June 30, 2011
Maine Governor Removes Artist’s Labor Tribute
The Republican governor of Maine has censored an artist’s tribute to the state’s workers — infuriating unions and many others who called it a brazen attempt to erase decades of labor history.
News Article | March 31, 2011
Regina V. Polk: Breaking the Mold
“I only met Regina Polk once. Briefly. That’s a teamster? I thought. The beauty? The cape? The high heels? The perfect make-up? Where’s the beer belly and the donut? The scowl and the crowbar?” – Terry Spencer Hesser Regina V. Polk fought diligently for workers’ rights, working as a labor organizer...
News Article | December 31, 2010
Rev. James Orange: A Champion for Labor and Human Rights
Reverend James Orange played a critical role in actions that led to the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and later applied his organizing skills in the fight for economic justice for workers across the south.“He was the living embodiment of the connection between the union movement and the...
News Article | October 31, 2010
1913 Silk Strike United Diverse Workforce
A 1913 strike among silk industry workers in Paterson, NJ proved that laborers could stand up to the factory bosses who exploited them. The strike united men and women, immigrant and native-born, and skilled and unskilled workers, and although it was not entirely successful, it left an enduring lega...
News Article | August 31, 2010
Forty Years Later, The Fight for Safety in the Workplace Goes On
Before passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in December 1970, millions of Americans risked their lives every time they reported for duty: There were no national safety laws to protect workers. Forty years ago, the groundbreaking legislation created the Occupational Health and Safety Adm...
News Article | June 30, 2010
The Battle of Blair Mountain
Following a wave of strikes, by 1920 the United Mine Workers (UMW) had succeeded in winning union contracts for miners across much of the nation, but coal barons in the southern West Virginia were determined to keep workers down. Company bosses cut their pay, raised prices in company stores, and hir...
News Article | April 30, 2010
Bloody Showdown on the Road to Union Rights
The mines of Appalachia were no place for the timid during the “coal wars” of the early 20th century. Following World War I, coal companies exploited workers, who were forced to endure miserable, dangerous job conditions. Wielding dynamite, picks, and shovels, miners removed coal from cramped and di...
News Article | December 31, 2009
Black Women Advance Labor’s Cause In an Unlikely Setting: 1881 Atlanta
A little known yet largely successful job action waged in 1881 by black women in Atlanta is credited with helping to set the stage for a century of labor and civil rights struggles.
News Article | August 31, 2009
Studs Terkel: The Voice of Work and the American Worker
Late last year, the city of Chicago — and working people everywhere — lost a great voice when Louis “Studs” Terkel died at age 96. For more than 70 years, the radio and TV host and prolific author chronicled the aspirations of working people in their pursuit of the American Dream, and railed against...
News Article | June 30, 2009
Sports Unions Work to Level the Playing Field
Although their average salary is considerably higher and their “work year” is much shorter, members of the nation’s four major sports unions share much in common with their counterparts in other industries, especially the historical basis for their creation: Poor wages and unfair working conditions.
News Article | April 30, 2009
Esther Peterson: Advocate for Labor, Women, Consumers
Throughout her life, Esther Eggersten Peterson was “a powerful and effective catalyst for change,” notes a tribute to her in the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Among other achievements, she helped launch the women’s movement in the 1960s and was considered by many to be the driving force behind the...
News Article | December 31, 2008
Isaac Myers: Pioneer of the African-American Trade Union Movement
It’s not unusual for a labor leader to have humble beginnings. Isaac Myers started out literally at the bottom, applying sticky sealant to the hulls of oceangoing ships. But he had a natural leadership style, and while his determination to prosper ultimately resulted in contributions to the labor mo...
News Article | October 31, 2008
Jack London: Famous Author Chronicled Workers’ Struggles
Though best known as the author of widely acclaimed adventure stories such as The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and To Build a Fire, Jack London also chronicled the harsh lives many working people faced at the dawn of the 20th Century.