Thursday, May 17, 2018

Today in Labor History

Labor History May 17th
The first women’s anti-slavery conference was held on this date in Philadelphia. – 1838
Tom Mooney‘s scheduled date of execution was stayed while the case was appealed. Mooney ultimately spent 22 years in prison for the San Francisco Preparedness Day Parade bombing in 1916, a crime he did not commit. Mooney, along with codefendant Warren Billings, were members of the IWW and were railroaded because of their union affiliation. – 1917
President Truman ended a nation-wide railroad strike by threatening to take over the railroads and send in the army. -1947
The Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public schools. – 1954
Twelve Starbucks baristas in a midtown Manhattan store signed cards demanding representation by the Industrial Workers of the World, or Wobblies, declaring they couldn’t live on $7.75 an hour. – 2004
Fast food workers took to the streets of Milwaukee in a one-day work stoppage to demand a $15.00 an hour wage. – 2013

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