August 15 --
To begin what proved to become one of
the world’s longest construction projects, workers lay the foundation
stone of Germany’s Cologne Cathedral, built to house the relics of the
Three Wise Men. The job was declared completed in 1880—632 years later -
1248
The Panama Canal opens after 33 years of construction and an
estimated 22,000 worker deaths, mostly caused by malaria and yellow
fever. The 51-mile canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans -
1914
Populist
social commentator Will Rogers killed in a plane crash, Point Barrow,
Alaska. One of his many classic lines: "I don't make jokes. I just watch
the government and report the facts" - 1935
President Richard M. Nixon announces a 90-day freeze on wages, prices and rents in an attempt to combat inflation - 1971
Gerry Horgan, chief steward of CWA Local 1103 and NYNEX striker in Valhalla, N.Y., is struck on the picket line by a car driven by the daughter of a plant manager and dies the following day. What was to become a 4-month strike over healthcare benefits was in its second week - 1989
Eight automotive department employees at a Wal-Mart near Ottawa won
an arbitrator-imposed contract after voting for UFCW representation,
becoming the giant retailer's only location in North America with a
collective bargaining agreement. Two months later the company closed the
department. Three years earlier Wal-Mart had closed an entire store on
the same day the government announced an arbitrator would impose a
contract agreement there - 2008
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Today in Labor History
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