Today in Labor History September 18th, 2021

 

Textile workers went on a General Strike

Textile workers went on a General Strike on the east coast, with 325,000 striking in the south and 421,000 striking nationwide. 1.5 million struck in various industries. – 1934

The Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU)  was formally founded at an Ohio convention during a period of serious corruption in the union. Two years earlier at an International Brotherhood of Teamsters convention in Las Vegas, a union reform leader who (unsuccessfully) called for direct election of officers and a limit on officers’ salaries had been beaten by thugs. – 1978

A 20-month illegal lockout of 2,900 Steelworkers members at Kaiser Aluminum plants in three states ends when an arbitrator orders a new contract. The workers walked out over company demands to outsource jobs, limit wage and benefit improvements, increase productivity and lengthen the workday. Kaiser was forced to fire scabs and fork over tens of millions of dollars in back pay to union members. – 1999

One week after the September 11, 2001 attacks, anthrax spores are mailed by an unknown party to several news media offices and two U.S. senators. Five people exposed to the spores died, including two union-represented workers at Washington, D.C.’s USPS Brentwood facility: Thomas Morris Jr. and Joseph Curseen. – 2001