Today in Labor History July 19, 2021

 

The Great Strike of 1877

The Women’s Rights Convention opened in Seneca Falls, New York.  Delegates adopted a Declaration of Women’s Rights and called for women’s suffrage. – 1848

In the midst of the Great Strike of 1877, Pittsburgh workers drove soldiers out of town. Trainmen took control of the railroads in Pittsburgh to protest wage cuts. Two days later, the National Guard moved in, killing 20 people. – 1877

The 1939 Hatch Act, a federal law whose main provision prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity, was amended to also cover state and local employees whose salaries include any federal funds. – 1940