Mary Kenney O'Sullivan is born in Hannibal, Mo. At age 28 she was to be appointed the first female general organizer for the American Federation of Labor by AFL President Samuel Gompers - 1864
(Rocking the Boat: Union Women’s Voices, 1915-1975: Women have had to fight for their rightful place in American life -- the right to own property, to vote, to work in "men’s" jobs. They’ve had to fight for their place in the labor movement as well, and this book does a great job of recounting that struggle. The authors tell the stories of eleven dedicated union women from a wide range of backgrounds and how they dealt with issues of work, sex, fear, leadership and tradition to become activists and leaders in their unions. Included are stories of Esther Peterson, who became an advisor to four U.S. Presidents; Steelworker local president Alice Peurala; Communications Workers union leader Catherine Conroy; teacher Lillian Herstein; and many more.)
Vigilantes beat IWW organizers for exercising free-speech rights, San Diego - 1912
Today in #LaborHistory : February 8 -- via -- www.unionist.com
Vigilantes beat IWW organizers for exercising free-speech rights, San Diego - 1912 ~De
The San Diego Free Speech Fight began officially on February 8, 1912. An ordinance that banned street-speaking in a six-square-block “congested” area went into effect.
The recently formed Free Speech League — an unlikely coalition of socialists, IWWs, single-taxers, trade unions, church groups, and businessmen — planned to test the ordinance. Starting near the city jail, at Second and G, protestors would march north to Third and F, from F to Sixth, then up Sixth to B. The parade permit ordered them to disband in a vacant lot at the northeast corner of Seventh and B.
Approved by commissioner John L. Sehon, the route navigated around Heller’s Corner, the center of Soapbox Row at Fifth and E. At dusk, a large crowd expecting fireworks had already assembled at Heller’s Corner. All San Diego knew the parade wouldn’t stop at a vacant lot.
At 7:30, Wood Hubbard, secretary of the Free Speech League, gave the order to move. Mounted police led the procession. The clomp of hooves cleared the street of pedestrians and stray dogs. Joseph Penbrook headed the protesters on horseback. Hubbard came next, waving a sign that read “Liberty and Justice Live, 1776–1912.” Laura Payne Emerson and Juanita McKamey walked beside him.
A “mass of humanity” followed, wearing hats and heavy coats. They marched four abreast with slow, steady steps. Some carried banners. Along the way, they encouraged onlookers to “fall in line, boys” — join the protest. When one did, the throng cheered.
At Sixth and E, the entrance to Soapbox Row, 20 police formed a dark-blue wall at the western crosswalk: arms crossed, long nightsticks in hand. The marchers continued up Sixth and across Broadway to B.
When they reached the vacant lot, instead of disbanding, they broke into Joe Hill’s “We Will Sing One Song” (to the tune of “My Old Kentucky Home”):
We will sing one song of the meek and humble slave,
The horny-handed son of the soil,
He’s toiling hard from the cradle to the grave,
But his master reaps the profits of his toil.
They kept marching.
They turned back down Sixth to E, where police, joined by reinforcements, still blocked the crosswalk. If protesters stayed in the street, they would “congest” it. Mass arrests would follow.
So, they formed two lines and walked single-file down both sidewalks to Fifth. “The police could not legally prevent this,” wrote the Sun the next day, “but they laid in wait at Fifth and E.”
There were two soapboxes: a small one halfway between Fifth and Sixth, and a larger one at Heller’s Corner.
At least ten policemen surrounded the small box. Holding his “liberty” sign high above a sea of hats, Wood Hubbard squeezed through the blue cordon and stood on the rostrum.
“Fellow workers,” he began, “the working class and the employing class have nothing in common.”
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2012/jun/06/unforgettable-big-noise-3/
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