Monday, May 12, 2014

Today in Labor History

May 12
Laundry & Dry Cleaning Int’l Union granted a charter by the AFL-CIO - 1958
2014.05.12history-chix-feathers-bookcoverInt’l Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots merges with Longshoremen’s Association - 1971
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raid the Agriprocessors, Inc. slaughterhouse and meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa, arresting nearly 400 immigrant workers. Some 300 are convicted on document fraud charges. The raid was the largest ever until that date. Several employees and lower and mid-level managers were convicted on various charges, but not the owner—although he later was jailed for bank fraud and related crimes - 2008
(Chicken Feathers and Garlic Skin: Diary of a Chinese Garment Factory Girl on Saipan: Many workers around the globe leave all that’s familiar in an effort to find employment.  Newspaper and magazine reports tell us about how miserable life is for garment workers in Third World sweatshops.  But we’ve read very little in the workers’ own words, and that’s what this fascinating book offers.  In Chicken Feathers and Garlic Skin, 25-year-old Chun Yu Wang tells of her life as a Chinese emigrant to Saipan, searching for a better life 2,000 miles from her home.)

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