Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Today in Labor History

2013.11.18history-lexicon
First use of term “scab,” by Albany Typographical Society - 1816
(The Lexicon of Labor is an invaluable resource for all unionists, from rank-and-file activists to newsletter editors and webmasters to union leaders. It offers readable, informative descriptions of more than 500 key terms, places, people and events in American labor history, from explaining who the Wobblies and Knights of Labor were to reporting on the 1997 Teamster strike at UPS. It includes dozens of new terms and developments and introduces a new generation to the labor lexicon.)
Norman Thomas born, American socialist leader - 1884
The time clock is invented by Willard Bundy, a jeweler in Auburn, N.Y. Bundy’s brother Harlow starts mass producing them a year later - 1888
Mine fire in Telluride, Colo., kills 28 miners, prompts union call for safer work conditions - 19012013.11.18history-farmington
A total of 78 miners are killed in an explosion at the Consolidated Coal Company’s No. 9 mine in Farmington, W. Va. - 1968
The Great Recession hits high gear when the stock market falls to its lowest level since 1997. Adding to the mess: a burst housing bubble and total incompetence and greed—some of it criminal—on the part of the nation’s largest banks and Wall Street investment firms. Officially, the recession lasted from December 2007 to June 2009, but unemployment still hovers around the 7 percent mark today - 2008

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