Today in Labor History

Johnny Paycheck

Guards employed by the Agricultural Fertilizer Chemical Company in Chrome, New Jersey, opened fire on unarmed striking workers, killing two people and wounding eighteen others. The next day 31 deputy sheriffs were arrested, charged with first-degree murder, and held without bail. The workers eventually won a wage increase and nine of the deputies were convicted of manslaughter and received sentences of between two and ten years each. – 1915

N.Y. ruled that teachers could be fired for Communist Party membership – 1920

Mary Kenney O’Sullivan died on this date. She was the first American Federation of Labor (AFL) woman organizer and a co-founder of the National Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) – 1943

Yuba City, Calif. labor contractor Juan V. Corona found guilty of murdering 25 itinerant farm workers he employed during 1970 and 1971. – 1973

“Take This Job and Shove It,” by Johnny Paycheck, is listed by Billboard magazine as the most popular song in the U.S. – 1978CLICK TO TWEET

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