Today in Labor History

April 16  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Employers lock out 25,000 New York City garment workers in a dispute over hiring practices. The Int’l Ladies’ Garment Workers Union calls a general strike; after 14 weeks, 60,000 strikers win union recognition and the contractual right to strike - 1916

Five hundred workers in Texas City, Texas die in a series of huge oil refinery and chemical plant explosions and fires - 1947
(Are You Prepared? A Guide to Emergency Planning in the Workplace: Today’s headlines are filled with disaster, from the natural—fire, flood, hurricane, tornado and the like—to the man-made, such as workplace shootings, explosions, accidental releases of toxic chemicals or radiation, even nightmares such as bombings. Are you and your co-workers prepared to respond quickly and safely if disaster strikes? Steps you take today can save lives tomorrow, from having escape plans to knowing how to quickly turn off power and fuel supplies.)

An estimated 20,000 global justice activists blockade Washington, D.C., meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund - 2000