Bill Walby Rest in Peace

Received the sad news that long time pressroom supervisor Bill Walby passed yesterday. Mr. Walby worked three or four decades in the pressroom and experienced the many changes of how the newspaper was produced. We had a fun time working on Bill's crew as the beer flowed, as long as the newspapers also flowed from the printing press. Bill was an avid fisherman and gambler, as we took many trips to the casinos together. Bill was proceeded in death by his wife Sally. The photo at the right was taken at Mark Agnew's birthday party on September, 2022.

 

Saturday Night in the Blogosphere

 Newspaper racks are disappearing quickly

Churning toward disaster - Local News Initiative

Parting Thoughts for 2023 - Second Rough Draft

Editor’s pick: 10 must-read Poynter articles from 2023 - Poynter

Gen Z has discovered a whole new source for news - Business Insider

City of Salina website set to be the official city 'newspaper' for public notices - Salina Journal

Embezzlement of Oregon weekly newspaper’s funds forces it to lay off entire staff and halt print - AP

Today in Labor History December 30th, 2023

 

Ferdinand Marcos

Gathering in the back room of Behrens’ cigar shop in Sedalia, Mo., 33 railroad clerks form Local Lodge Number 1 of a union they named the Order of the Railroad Clerks of America - 1899

 
Idaho Gov. Frank Steunenberg, who had brutally suppressed the state’s miners, is killed by an assassin's bomb. Legendary Western Federation of Miners and IWW leader William "Big Bill" Haywood and two other men were put on trial for the death but were ultimately declared innocent - 1905
 
GM sit-down strike spreads to Flint, Mich., will last 44 days before ending in union victory - 1936

Former Philippines Senate president Ferdinand Marcos is inaugurated president of the Southeast Asian archipelago nation. Marcos’ regime would span 20 years and become increasingly authoritarian and corrupt.

Ferdinand Marcos was a law student in the late 1930s, when he was tried for the assassination of a political opponent of his politician father. Convicted in 1939, he personally appealed the case before the Philippine Supreme Court and won an acquittal. During the Japanese occupation in World War II, he allegedly served as leader of the Filipino resistance movement, but U.S. government records indicate he played little role in anti-Japanese activities.

In 1949, he was elected to the Philippines House of Representatives, thanks in large part to his fabricated wartime record. In 1959, he moved up to the Senate and from 1963 to 1965 served as Senate president. In 1965, he broke with the Liberal Party after failing to win his party’s presidential nomination and ran as the candidate of the Nationalist Party. After a bitter and decisive campaign, he was elected president. In 1969, he was reelected.

Important Events From This day in History December 30

 

1922 Establishment of the USSR

Saturday, 1922 : Vladimir Lenin the Russian revolutionary who created Leninism, an extension of Marxist theory proclaims the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Find More What happened in 1922

1903 U.S.A. -- Theater Fire in Chicago

The Iroquois Theater Fire in Chicago, Illinois, claims 602 lives, the theater had only been open for just over a month. This is still the worst single-building fire in U.S. history for the number of lives lost.

1986 England -- Canaries made redundant

Canaries have been made redundant from British Coal Mines and are being replaced by modern carbon monoxide detectors.

Canaries have been used in British mines to detect carbon monoxide fumes for over 70 years because they are particularly sensitive to toxic gases such as carbon monoxide which is colourless, odourless and tasteless.

1905 U.S.A. -- African American baby

The body of a two week old African American baby was found after searching the Potomac River. Its mother, Lottie Hawkins was held by police and was to be charged with infanticide.

1927 Jamaica -- Turkey For Xmas

Although Jamaicans continue to drink the rum that they produce there has been a change at the Christmas dinner table. Turkeys and chickens have taken the place of the traditional beef in Kingston and other parts of the country. Eating poultry is a novelty to many Jamaicans.

1934 Switzerland -- US Refuses To Join League of Nations

In Geneva the League of Nations had hoped that the U.S. would cooperate and become a member. However, President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull refused to get involved.

1936 U.S.A. -- Car Workers Strikes

Strikes by members of the United Automobile Workers closed seven General Motors (GM) factories in Flint, Michigan

1944 Bulgaria -- Radio Moscow

According to Radio Moscow, Russia, the U.S., and Britain gave three previous regents of Bulgaria to the Bulgarian government because they were the "main culprits committing Bulgaria to the war against the United Nations."

1957 East Germany -- Visas Required

In an attempt to push the West to recognize them, East Germany ruled that travellers to their territory had to possess East German visas instead of Soviet ones. This law was imposed on diplomats and travellers from Allied countries.

1958 Cuba -- Fidel Castro

Rebel guerrillas, led by Fidel Castro, are involved in heavy fighting around the town of Santa Clara, the capital of the province of Las Villas.

Two days later, Castro and his guerrillas had taken control and President Batista fled the country to the Dominican Republic

1965 Philippines -- Ferdinand Marcos

1965 : Ferdinand Marcos is inaugurated president of the Philippines

1968 Canada -- GNP

Canada had a mixture of prosperity mixed with high unemployment and rising inflation. The Gross National Product was 67 billion dollars.

1969 U.S.A. -- Tax Reduction Nixon

President Richard Nixon signed off on one of the most far-reaching tax reform bill in U.S. history, relieving nine million low-income citizens of the burden of paying taxes and cutting tax rates for all individuals by 5 percent.

1971 Iraq -- Iranians Deported

60,000 Iranian men, women and children are deported from Iraq following relations between Iraq and Iran ending.

1972 Vietnam -- US Stops Bombing

President Nixon orders a halt to the bombing of North Vietnam above the 20th Parallel to help with peace negotiations scheduled between Henry A. Kissinger and Le Duc Tho in Paris on Jan 8

1978 Guyana -- Radio Demerere

1978 : Radio Demerere was bought from the British to give the government of Guyana full control over broadcasting in their own country.

1984 Mexico -- World's Deepest Cave

Speleologists in Mexico had discovered what might be the world's deepest cave after going through a maze of underground tunnels in the jungle. The explorations took place in the state of Oaxeca.

1993 Israel -- Recognized Vatican

Israel and the Vatican agreed to recognize one another as countries.

1994 U.S.A. -- Abortion Clinics

1994 : Two women are shot dead and several others injured after a gunman opened fire at two abortion clinics in a suburb of Boston.

1994 Japan -- Earthquake

A huge 7.5 earthquake shook northern Japan and workmen tried feverishly to repair the wreckage. Two hundred and eighty-five aftershocks occurred and the quake originated in the Pacific Ocean 300 miles northeast of Tokyo.

https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/december31st.html

Today in Labor History December 27th, 2023

 

THE MONTGOMERY WARD SEIZURE

President Roosevelt seizes the railroads to avert a nationwide strike. His decision to temporarily place the railroads under the “supervision” of the War Department prompts the five railroad brotherhoods to agree to his offer to arbitrate the wage dispute - 1943

On December 27, 1944, as World War II dragged on, President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders his secretary of war to seize properties belonging to the Montgomery Ward company because the company refused to comply with a labor agreement.

In an effort to avert strikes in critical war-support industries, Roosevelt created the National War Labor Board in 1942. The board negotiated settlements between management and workers to avoid shut-downs in production that might cripple the war effort. During the war, the well-known retailer and manufacturer Montgomery Ward had supplied the Allies with everything from tractors to auto parts to workmen’s clothing–items deemed as important to the war effort as bullets and ships. However, Montgomery Ward Chairman Sewell Avery refused to comply with the terms of three different collective bargaining agreements with the United Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union hammered out between 1943 and 1944. 

In April 1944, after Sewell refused a second board order, Roosevelt called out the Army National Guard to seize the company’s main plant in Chicago. Sewell himself had to be carried out of his office by National Guard troops. By December of that year, Roosevelt was fed up with Sewell’s obstinacy and disrespect for the government’s authority. (The uber-capitalist Sewell’s favorite insult was to call someone a “New Dealer”–a direct reference to Roosevelt’s Depression-era policies.) On December 27, Roosevelt ordered the secretary of war to seize Montgomery Ward’s plants and facilities in New York, Michigan, California, Illinois, Colorado and Oregon.

In his announcement that day, Roosevelt emphasized that the government would “not tolerate any interference with war production in this critical hour.” He issued a stern warning to labor unions and industry management alike: “strikes in wartime cannot be condoned, whether they are strikes by workers against their employers or strikes by employers against their Government.” Sewell took the fight to federal court, but lost.

For much of the 20th century, Montgomery Ward, founded in 1872, reigned as one of the country’s largest department store and mail-order retail chains. Heavy competition from Wal-Mart, Target and similar discount stores forced the company to close all of its stores in 2000, though it retains a catalog and internet presence.

Important Events From This day in History December 27

 

1994 Rwanda -- Blood Bath

1994 : When Rwanda's president was killed in a plane crash the country was plunged into a blood bath and genocide. The Hutu majority slaughtered the Tutsis and a half a million people lay dead. A missionary exclaimed, "There are no devils left in hell. They are all in Rwanda."

1932 U.S.A. -- Radio City Music Hall

Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City opening with a spectacular stage show, featuring Ray Bolger and Martha Graham. The stage measures 66.5 feet (20 m) deep and 144 feet (44 m) wide and has the largest Wurlitzer pipe organ built for a movie theater. The Radio City Music Hall is also home to the women's precision dance team known as The Rockettes.

1907 Austria -- Emperor

Aging emperor Francis Joseph warned military man Don Miguel Braganza that he would be exiled if he did not stop plotting to overthrow the government of Portugal. In an interview with a reporter Braganza boasted about his seditious plans and as a result the emperor summoned him immediately.

1921 U.S.A. -- Tacoa Arica

Chile and Peruvian officials were meeting in Washington to try resolving their disputes. One of the main issues was over the fate of Tacoa Arica.

1936 Mexico -- Agrarian Reform law

Workers and peasants, the neglected masses, were benefited by President Lacaro Curdenas's Agrarian Reform law. Wealthy cotton areas were taken from the rich and given to the peasants. His Seventh Day Law paid workers seven days a week.

1943 Norway -- World War II

Nazi battleship, The Scharnhorst, was sunk by the British off the coast of Norway. The battleship was a 28,000 ton vessel that probably intended to strike a convoy near Murmansk.

1949 Indonesia -- Independence

Indonesia gains it's independence from the Netherlands after 400 years of Dutch Rule.

1954 France -- Germany To Join NATO

French lawmakers were saddled with the thorny problem of whether or not to allow West Germany to rearm and join NATO.

1960 France -- Atomic Bomb Test

France explodes it's third atomic bomb test in the Sahara desert in Africa.

1965 England -- Drilling Platform Capsizes

1965 : Britain's first off-shore drilling platform in the North Sea has capsized off the north eastern coast when two supporting legs gave way in the rough waters of the North Sea. The death toll is thought to over ten men lost.

1967 Cambodia -- Anti US

Prince Norodom of Cambodia rejected U.S. plans to close the Vietnam border to communists and accused the U.S. of interfering in Indo-Chinese affairs. U.S. and Cambodia did not have regular diplomatic channels, but usually communicated through Austria.

1975 India -- Coal Mine Explosion

A coal mine explosion followed by a flood at the Chasnala Colliery in Dhanbad, India kills over 350.

1977 England -- Star Wars

The long awaited film Star Wars which has been showing in the US since June, has had thousands of people are flocking to cinemas in the UK, many queued in London's Dominion, and Leicester Square cinemas from early in the morning waiting to get the few tickets that have not been pre booked for months.

1978 Italy -- Tullia Zacchelli

Tullia Zacchelli, aged 43, suffered from suicidal depression and had attempted to kill herself 5 times. She finally succeeded by jumping out of a 6th floor building by biting her husband's hand so he would let go of her.

1979 Afghanistan -- Soviet Union Seizes Control

The Soviet Union seizes control of Afghanistan. President Hafizullah Amin, who was overthrown and executed, has been replaced by Babrak Karmal.

1983 U.S.A. -- Recession More Jobs Lost

1983 : With the recession continuing to effect manufacturing in the United States. U.S. Steel announces that it would reduce its steel making capacity by roughly 20 percent laying off a further 4,600 bringing the total lay-offs for the year to 15,400.

1985 Rwanda -- Dian Fossey

The American Zoologist Dian Fossey, who had studied mountain gorillas in Rwanda, was found hacked to death at a research station in Rwanda.

1985 Italy / Austria -- Terrorist Attack

A twin terrorist attack at Rome and Vienna airports by gunmen on waiting passengers has left more than 100 people injured and reports of 15 fatalities.

1987 Canada -- Chrysler Motors

In Bramalea, Ontario Chrysler Motors had a new 1.8 million square foot factory where the 1988 Eagle Premier intermediate sedan would be built. The factory was L shaped and sat on 216 acres. One hundred and fifty thousand vehicles a year would be produced there providing thousands of local jobs.

2001 U.S.A. -- Guantanamo Bay

U.S. officials announced that Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners would be held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/december28th.html

 Union Stock Yard fire kills 21 firefighters

A group of building trades unions from the Midwest meet in St. Louis to form the National Building Trades Council. The Council disbanded after several years of political and jurisdictional differences - 1897

Twenty-one Chicago firefighters, including the chief, died when a building collapsed as they were fighting a huge blaze at the Union Stock Yards.  By the time the fire was extinguished, 26 hours after the first alarm, 50 engine companies and seven hook-and-ladder companies had been called to the scene. Until September 11, 2001, it was the deadliest building collapse in American history in terms of firefighter fatalities - 1910
 
Amid a widespread strike for union recognition by 395,000 steelworkers, approximately 250 alleged “anarchists,” “communists,” and “labor agitators” were deported to Russia, marking the beginning of the so-called “Red Scare” - 1919

(Mobilizing Against Inequality: Unions, Immigrant Workers, and the Crisis of Capitalism: Are immigrant workers themselves responsible for low wages and shoddy working conditions? Should unions expend valuable time and energy organizing undocumented workers? Unions in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States have taken various approaches to confront the challenges of this significant segment of the workforce. As U.S. immigration policy is debated, readers will gain insight into how all workers benefit when wages and working conditions for immigrant workers are improved.)

Important Events From This day in History December 22

 

1989 Germany -- Brandenburg Gate Open

1989 : The Brandenburg Gate has been opened for the first time in almost three decades. The West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl walked through to be greeted by Hans Modrow, the East German Prime Minister, and thousands of German people flooded through from either side of the city.

1997 England -- BSE Inqiry Started

An independent inquiry into the BSE "disaster" and the devastation it wreaked on British farming has been announced by the government. Included in the Inquiry will be report on the origins and the way in which authorities responded to it and the development of its human equivalent Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, CJD.

The results of the inquiry published in October 2000 included

Poor enforcement of the 1989 ban on specified bovine offal (brain, spinal cord and other tissue)

The government at the time played down the links between BSE-infected beef and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD)

The government at the time misled the public about the risks posed by so-called mad cow disease

1906 Canada -- Japanese navy Visit

A visit from the Japanese navy was expected in Vancouver. Officials in Ottawa were informed that three vessels led by Rear Admiral Katouka would visit the following March.

1927 Philippines -- Leper Colony

An institution for saving the children of the Culion leper colony was run by the public welfare commissioner in Manila. The children were watched for signs of leprosy and given schooling.

1932 Spain -- Civil War

1932 : A war in Spain was causing deep divisions in U.S. politics and it was feared that the war would spark a massive European conflict.

1939 Germany -- Train Crash

Two trains collide in Magdeburg, Germany, killing more than 100 people.

1942 Italy -- German Supplies

Although Italy was politically and economically unstable and somewhat of a liability for Germany as a war ally, the Germans supplied Italy with coal, iron, and fuel in return for tanks, planes, weapons, and food.

1952 U.S.A. -- First Corvette

The first Corvette, a production-ready prototype, is completed, it is shipped to New York where it made its public debut at the GM Motorama show at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on January 17

more info at http://www.corvettemuseum.com/library-archives/timeline/1951.shtml

1956 U.S.A. -- Baby Gorilla Born

A baby gorilla named Colo enters the world at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, becoming the first-ever gorilla born in captivity

1959 Denmark -- Members Of Communist Party Sent To Jail

1959 : In Denmark seven Danish citizens were convicted and sent to jail for being members of the Communist Party and spying for East Germany. Their sentences were from 18 months to 5 years.

1968 Canada -- Voting Age

Canada and the U.S. were the only countries in the world where the voting ages differ according to which province or state you live in. Quebec and Saskatchewan allowed teenagers 18 years old to vote, whereas British Columbia allowed 19 year olds to vote.

1972 Argentina -- Plane Crash Andes

December 22nd, 1972 : 14 survivors from a plane that crashed in the Argentine Andes over two months earlier, two of the survivors reached civilization yesterday after a 10 day trek to get help. The survivors had lived on chocolate bars, sweets and light food they found in luggage.

1977 U.S.A. -- President Jimmy Carter

President Jimmy Carter had his first year as president. His White House staff was inexperienced, however Carter got strip-mine control legislation through Congress -- a matter which had stumped Republicans for years.

1984 U.S.A. -- Subway Vigilante

Bernhard Goetz shoots four black youths on a Manhattan subway, claiming they were about to rob him. He is dubbed the "Subway Vigilante" by the New York press and becomes a symbol of New Yorkers' frustrations with a high crime rate.

1987 Japan -- Minke Whales Killing

1987 : One hundred Minke whales were going to be killed in the Antarctic by Japan. Their Fisheries Department termed it "scientific whaling" but some felt it really was an excuse for commercial whaling.

1990 Poland -- Lech Walesa

Lech Walesa took the oath of office as Poland's first popularly elected president.

1991 Russia -- Soviet Union Ended

The Soviet Union was dead and 11 former republics announced that they represented a commonwealth, leaving President Mikhail Gorbachev an emperor without an empire. The commonwealth was ratified at Alma-Ata in Kazaka.

https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/december23rd.html

Today in Labor History December 15th, 2023

 

AFL convention passes a 1¢ per capita assessment to aid the organization of women workers (Exact date uncertain) - 1913
 
The Kansas National Guard is called out to subdue from 2,000 to 6,000 protesting women who were going from mine to mine attacking non-striking miners in the Pittsburg coal fields. The women made headlines across the state and the nation: they were christened the "Amazon Army" by the New York Times - 1921
 
Eight days after the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, the AFL pledges that there will be no strikes in defense-related plants for the duration of World War II - 1941
 
Meeting in its biennial convention, the AFL-CIO declares “unstinting support” for “measures the Administration might deem necessary to halt Communist aggression and secure a just and lasting peace” in Vietnam - 1967
 
The U.S. Age Discrimination in Employment Act becomes law. It bars employment discrimination against anyone aged 40 or older - 1967

(The Essential Guide To Federal Employment Laws, 4th edition: This is a well-indexed book, updated in 2013, offering the full text of 20 federal laws affecting workers’ lives, along with plain-English explanations of each. An entire chapter is devoted to each law, explaining what is allowed and prohibited and what businesses must comply.)
 
California's longest nurses’ strike ended after workers at Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo and Pinole approved a new contract with Tenet Healthcare Corp., ending a 13-month walkout - 2003
 
Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers union organizer Clinton Jencks, who led New Mexico zinc miners in the strike depicted in the classic 1954 movie Salt of the Earth, dies of natural causes in San Diego at age 87 - 2005

Important Events From This day in History December 15

 

1944 England -- Glenn Miller

1944 : Glenn Miller one of the best selling recording artists of his time is killed when his U.S. Army plane disappeared over the English Channel. Some of his most popular recordings include, "In the Mood", "Tuxedo Junction", "Chattanooga Choo Choo", "Moonlight Serenade", "Little Brown Jug", and "Pennsylvania 6-5000".

1961 China -- United Nations

1961 : China under Chiang Kai-shek applied to become a member of the United Nations and the General Assembly was to vote on it. The discussion went on for two weeks and the U.S. was opposed to China being a part of the U.N. . The U.S. had kept the issue at bay for a decade.

1967 U.S.A. -- The Silver Bridge

The Silver Bridge across the Ohio River collapses during rush hour and a number of cars fall into the icy water killing 46 .

1791 United States -- Bill Of Rights

The first 10 ammendments to the U.S. Constitution ( Bill Of Rights ) introduced by James Madison which limit the power of the U.S. federal government are ratified by three-fourths of the States, The Bill Of Rights protect the natural rights of liberty and property including freedom of religion, freedom of speech, a free press, free assembly, and free association, as well as the right to keep and bear arms.

1904 Jamaica -- Debt Ridden

1904 : Jamaica as a country was deeply in debt. It owed 5,000,000 pounds with a population of only 800,000 people. However, Britain could not help financially because the Boer War had cost 200,000,000 pounds.

1921 U.S.A. -- National Guard Called In

In Kansas the Kansas national guard was called out to subdue protesting women who were going from mine to mine attacking non-striking coal miners in the Pittsburgh coal field.

1935 France -- German Army

1935 : Leon Archibald, a French army expert, predicted that Germany under Hitler would soon have a military of 1 million soldiers by 1936, whereas France only had 654,000 soldiers. Germany's military outnumbered France's by 5 to 3.

1940 Italy -- Egypt Invasion

Benito Mussolini's soldiers had invaded Egypt and were still there after three months, however their campaign was met with many calamities. They struggled with desert sand storms, salted water holes, and blown up wells.

1939 U.S.A. -- Gone With The Wind

1939 : The Movie "Gone With The Wind" based on the Pulitzer Prize Book Winner in 1937 starring Vivien Leigh ( Scarlett O'Hara ), Clark Gable ( Rhett Butler ) Leslie Howard ( Ashley Wilkes ) and Olivia de Havilland ( Melanie Wilkes ) has its world premiere in Atlanta, Georgia. Find More What happened in 1939

1953 Canada -- US Relations

1953 : Canadian-U.S. relations were at their lowest ebb in years. The American government even refused to allow Canadian planes to land in Tampa, Florida and the U.S. was angry over the alleged Russian spy, Igor Gouzenko incident. Americans felt that the Canadian government should have done more to help in rooting out Soviet espionage.

1973 Italy -- John Paul Getty III

John Paul Getty III who had been kidnapped in July is found safe and well after his grandfather paid the kidnappers $2.8 million for his safe return. During his kidnapping his ear was cut off and sent to the family to convince them the kidnappers were serious.

1974 England -- New Speed Limits

1974 : The British Government has imposed new speed limits to help with the conservation of fuel due to the large price increase of crude oil ( from $3.00 a barrel to $10.00 a barrel ) during the oil embargo by the Arab oil-producing countries (OPEC)on countries supporting Israel during the Arab-Israeli war.

1978 U.S.A. -- China Recognized

The American President Jimmy Carter announces America recognizes the People's Republic of China and cutoff all relations with Taiwan / Formosa. This was in response to China's claim that Taiwan was under the control of the People's Republic of China ( PRC ). ( The ongoing dispute between China and Taiwan continues even now with the PRC claiming sovereignty ) Taiwan does have it's own currency and government.

1979 Saudi Arabia -- Oil Prices

Fuel prices increased as a result of Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries raising the price from $18 to $24 a barrel. OPEC was convening in Venezuela to discuss oil prices.

1982 Gibraltar -- Access To Spain

1982 : After 13 years the gates connecting Gibraltar Known as the Rock have been opened to allow pedestrian access to Spain. ( Currently Only Spanish citizens or inhabitants of Gibraltar are allowed across ) The gates were closed during General Franco's Regime in 1969 as part of the siege of Gibraltar. Both the British government and the Spanish government would like sovereignty to move to Spanish control but the 30,000 inhabitants of Gibraltar have voted to stay under British control by large majorities in local referendum .

1987 Iran -- Persian Gulf

Iranian frigates were harassing and attacking ships in the southern Persian Gulf. Two Greek tankers were slightly damaged by them. Iran was patrolling the area trying to prevent any Iraqi (enemy) cargo from getting through.

1992 Haiti -- President Bush

1992 : A Haitian priest who is Roman Catholic claimed that President Bush was the victim of a voodoo hex. The priest claimed that the president could undo the curse by changing the U.S.'s foreign policy to Haiti. He said that the proof of Bush's curse was the fact that the president vomited on the Japanese prime minister.

1999 Venezuela -- Mudslides

Heavy rains cause flooding and mudslides which kill thousands in shantytowns on the outskirts of Caracas .

https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/december16th.html

Today in Labor History

 

On December 12, 2006, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided six meat processing plants operated by Swift & Co.. The raids were part of Operation Wagon Train, the largest single worksite enforcement action in U.S. history. The raids were conducted in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas, Colorado, and Utah.

Important Events From This day in History December 12

 

1900 Ireland -- Irish Party

In Dublin, Ireland Irish delegates convened to create what they called the "Irish Party" and denounced British atrocities in the Boer War. An applauded John Dillon proposed a resolution passed that "the South African war was entered upon in pursuance of a conspiracy to deprive two free nations of their liberty in the interests of capitalists and mine owners."

1901 England -- Marconi

Marconi sends first wireless transmission over 2000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean from Poldhu in Cornwall, England, to Newfoundland, Canada . The transmission consisted of the Morse-code signal for the letter "s" which consists of three dots ( ... ).

1913 France -- The Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa is recovered Two years after it's theft from the Louvre Museum in Paris in Florence in Italian waiter Vincenzo Peruggia's hotel room.

1946 U.S.A. -- United Nations Headquarters

The millionaire benefactor John D. Rockefella Jr. offers the United Nations a six-block tract of Manhattan real estate for the site of U.N. headquarters, which is accepted by the UN.

1917 Israel -- Jerusalem

Major Vivian Gilbert of the British army revealed the inside story of how Jerusalem fell during the First World War. He said that an army cook was out looking for eggs and was presented with the keys to the city by the mayor. The British won the Holy Land back from the Turks.

1917 France -- Train Derailed

500 French soldiers are killed when their train derails in Modane, France.

1917 U.S.A. -- Boys Town

Father Edward Flanagan founds Boys Town dedicated to the care of at-risk children, with national headquarters in the village of Boys Town, Nebraska.

1925 U.S.A. -- First Motel Opens

1925 : The first Motel opens the Milestone Mo-Tel of San Luis Obispo, California as the midpoint stop between Los Angeles to San Francisco and costing $1.25 per night per room, The word Motel was a shortening of the words Motorists and Hotel. A motel allowed the customers to park their car outside their room or chalet.

1937 Italy -- Withdraws from the League of Nations

Benito Mussolini withdrew Italy from the League of Nations and challenged democracies to fight with his army. One hundred thousand fascists stood in the rain and someone shouted, "We are leaving a tumbling temple where there is no talk of peace, but where wars are prepared."

1937 U.S.A. -- U.S. Navy Gunboat Panay

Japanese Aircraft sink the U.S. Gunboat Panay in Chinese Waters, Japan appologises and makes reparations, This happened during Japan's war of Invasion against China and is not part of the second world war.

1944 Germany -- Mass Bombing By Allies

The U.S. 8th and 15th Air Force plus the RAF pummeled Germany in the biggest fighting force that was ever put in the air. Britain had 1,000 bombers and 800 fighters who bombed railways and other targets in Germany.

1956 Africa -- Odongo

The movie "Odongo" revealed more about Africa than any movie before it ever had. Stars like MacDonald Carey, Rhonda Fleming, and a boy named Juma all gave cameo appearances, but the most praise went to the wildlife and scenes of Africa.

1963 India -- Karruppanna Kamraj

1963 : Karruppanna Kamraj became a folk hero in India because he was determined to haul down the Union Jack and create an independent country. Kamraj was uneducated and ended up in a British prison for his seditious political activities, however, he managed the political underground even from jail. He ended up minister of Madras Province, and many wanted him as prime minister, but he did not speak Hindi which is India's main language.

1962 Iceland -- Military Base

Although Iceland is remote and does not have an army or navy, it had become an important military air base since World War II. Iceland's parliament is the oldest government in existence -- it is 1,032 years old.

1963 Kenya -- Independence

Kenya gained its independence from Britain and the Kenya African National Union (KANU) headed by Jomo Kenyatta takes over the country.

1969 Italy -- Milan Bank Bombing

A bomb is exploded in a bank in Milan, Italy 13 people have been killed and more than 100 injured .

1975 Canada -- Firearms Laws

1975 : A federal licensing of all firearms was recommended by the dean of law, Martin Friedland, who works at the University of Toronto. He said that gun users should have to pass a competency test and undergo a criminal record check.

1975 England -- Balcombe Street Siege

A six-day siege has ends peacefully at Balcombe Street in London after four IRA gunmen freed their two hostages and gave themselves up to police.

1980 England -- Leonardo da Vinci Auction

American oil tycoon Armand Hammer pays $5,126,000 at a London auction for a notebook containing writings written around 1508 by the legendary artist Leonardo da Vinci. When it went up for auction again in 1994 Bill Gates bought the Manuscript $30.8 million.

1988 England -- Clapham Junction Rail Crash

Three trains are involved in a collision during morning rush hour at Clapham Junction in south London, with 35 dead and 100 others injured.

1989 East Germany -- Going Forward

It was the first time since World War II that a prominent U.S. government official had gone to East Germany. Secretary of State James Baker met with East and West German politicians and talked about the new political realities since the crumbling of the Berlin Wall on November 9th.

1992 Scotland -- The Princess Royal

The Princess Royal the Queens daughter Princess Anne remarries and becomes Mrs Timothy Laurence after a small family wedding in Scotland

1993 Hungary -- More Chaplains Needed

Atheism is out and religion is with the Hungarian military which has 100,000 soldiers. After years of not having a single army chaplain Hungary wants one chaplain for every 1,000 soldiers. The change came about because a lot of the soldiers are Roman Catholics.

https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/december13th.html

Tuesday Morning in the Blogosphere

 This is the shape of the newspaper industry

Online news outlet launching in North Dakota - Bismarck Tribune

Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023 - Pew Research Center

San Diego Union-Tribune evicted from downtown building - CBS 8

TikTok Becomes the First Non-Game Mobile App to Generate $10 Billion - Data AI

Israeli attack that killed Reuters journalist, wounded others must be investigated as a war crime - Reuters

Today in Labor History December 11th, 2023

 

The Colored Farmers National Alliance and Cooperative Union

A small group of black farmers organize the Colored Farmers’ National Alliance and Cooperative Union in Houston County, Texas. They had been barred from membership in the all-white Southern Farmers’ Alliance. Through intensive organizing, along with merging with another black farmers group, the renamed Colored Alliance by 1891 claimed a membership of 1.2 million - 1886

Ten days after an Illinois State mine inspector approved coal dust removal techniques at New Orient mine in West Frankfort, the mine exploded, largely because of coal dust accumulations, killing 119 workers - 1951

The U.S. Department of Labor announces that the nation's unemployment rate had dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest mark in 15 years - 1968

Forty thousand workers go on general strike in London, Ontario -- a city with a population of 300,000 -- protesting cuts in social services - 1995

"They elected J. J. Shuffer president and H. S. Spencer secretary. Richard Manning Humphrey, a white, accepted the position of general superintendent. After the alliance received a charter from the federal government in 1888, Humphrey began organizing chapters throughout the South." - from http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/aac01

"R. M. Humphrey, a white Baptist minister of Irish decent who served in the Confederate Army, and who also served as the General Superintendent and the chief spokesman of the Colored Farmers Alliance, wrote in 1891 that "The total membership is nearly 1,200,000 of whom 300,000 are females, and 150,000 males under twenty-one years of age, leaving 750,000 adult males." - from http://www.populist.com/Colored.Populists.html

"But black labor was also caught in the racial realities of their day. The sheer existence of independent black labor was an affront to the southern society of the Gilded Age. Only 20 years after the end of the Civil War, much of the white supremacist violence used against African-Americans was about tying labor in place–powerless, cheap, and controllable." - from http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2012/12/this-day-in-labor-history-december-11-1886

Important Events From This day in History December 11

 

1946 U.S.A. -- UNICEF Established

The United Nations General Assembly establishes (UNICEF) United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II. Find More What happened in 1946

1936 Great Britain -- King Edward VIII Abdicates

1936 : Britain's King Edward VIII abdicates the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson, Edward had expressed his desire to marry his mistress, Mrs. Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite but the the marriage was opposed by the government on religious, legal, political, and moral grounds.

1961 Vietnam -- First Direct US Military Involvement

1961 : A U.S. aircraft carrier carrying Army helicopters arrived in Saigon the first direct American military support for South Vietnam's battle against Communist guerrillas.

1913 Canada -- To Much Cheese

In Moose Jaw W.S. Fiddler, who was moving some theatre equipment, died as a result of his excessive overindulgence in cheese. He fell down dead in from of the Majestic Theatre at the age of 50. Doctors claimed that acute indigestion from eating excessive amounts of cheese led to heart failure.

1923 Mexico -- Rebels

1923 : Rebels were fighting 28,000 of President Obregon's government troops in Vera Cruz and Jalisco. They captured 200 prisoners, many weapons, and horses. The fighting was very intense.

1936 U.S.A. -- American Jewish Congress

The Olympic games were to be held in Berlin in 1936 and the American Jewish Congress protested the fact that Nazi Germany was not giving Jewish athletes equality with the other athletes.

1941 World War II -- War Declared ON America

Hitler and Mussolini announce they are at war with America who retaliates with its own declaration of war .

1944 Canada -- Snow Storm

The city of Toronto is battered with its worst-ever snowfall on a single day with 20 inches of snow falling and 21 people died as a result of the record storm .

1945 Germany -- General George S. Patton Jr

News from Frankfurt Germany said that the famous tank General George S. Patton Jr. was suffering from a broken neck. A fracture of the third neck vertebrae was putting pressure on his spinal cord and the general became paralyzed.

1950 Korea -- US Troops

1950 : Exhausted and frozen U.S. troops with shot up vehicles landed on the Hamhung shore in North Korea. The 20,000 American soldiers were engaged in a fifty mile long battle with Chinese communists.

1997 Royal Yacht Britannia decommissioned

1997 : The Royal Yacht Britannia was decommissioned 1997. Royal Yacht Britannia Timeline

1967 Vietnam -- Viet Cong

Forty-six American soldiers were wounded and seven were killed in three confrontations with the Viet Cong 50 miles north of Saigon. Packages of heroine were found on some of the Viet Cong soldiers. An army doctor speculated that it makes them intoxicated so that they don't fear getting injured or dying.

1975 Iceland -- Cod War

An Icelandic gunboat opens fire on unarmed British fishery support vessels in the North Atlantic Sea, as part of the ongoing COD WAR caused when Iceland extended its control over fishing rights from 50 to 200 nautical miles from its coast .

1979 Cuba -- Castro Regime

1979 : Huber Matos, a favoured lieutenant under Castro, came to despise his former leader. Matos was to spend 20 years in prison under inhuman conditions because he didn't't believe in what Castro was doing. Matos claimed that Castro became communist rather than trying democracy because under communism he could rule Cuba for a lifetime.

1979 Rhodesia -- Britain Gets Back Control

The Rhodesian Parliament hands power back to Britain until democratic elections can take place. The country will be renamed Zimbabwe after the elections.

1981 El Salvador -- 900 killed in Massacre

Salvadoran armed forces kill nearly 1000 civilians as part of an anti-guerrilla campaign in the village of El Mozote and surrounding areas in El Salvador. The news was suppressed for a month by the authorities but reporters from the New York Times and the Washington Post did visit and confirm the murders and exposed them in January 1982

1985 U.S.A. -- The Unabomber

The Unabomber kills his first victim, Hugh Scrutton who is killed in his computer store in Sacramento, California, by a mail package that explodes in his hands. The Unabomber had detonated his first bomb in May 1978 on the Chicago campus of the University of Illinois

1986 Spain -- Pesticides

Scientists have discovered that pesticides have poisoned 5,000-10,000 birds during the previous September in Spain.. The enormous numbers of deaths occurred in a rice growing region on the Atlantic seaboard in southern Spain.

1986 England -- AIDS

As the number of people infected with the AIDS virus increases in England new campaigns are launched including the "Play Safe" campaign which aims to encourage people to have only one sexual partner and to use a condom as protection against diseases. And the "Aids: Don't die of ignorance". campaign which explains how the disease is spread.

1990 U.S.A. -- Ivana Trump

Ivana Trump a former Olympic athlete and fashion model filed for divorce from real estate mogul Donald Trump after he had an affair with a former beauty queen from Georgia, Marla Maples.

1993 Malaysia -- Tower Block Collapses

One block of the Highland Towers apartment building collapses killing 48, the cause of the collapse was through structural failure caused by improper construction of the pilings. Following the collapse the other 2 towers that made up Highland Towers are closed and abandoned due to safety concerns.

1993 Ukraine -- Soldiers Visit US

Ukrainian soldiers who a couple of years ago were sworn enemies of the U.S. were hosted at Fort Drum and got to see all the American military equipment. The U.S. Defense Department explained the visit "as part of our effort to expand the defense relationships between the U.S, Ukraine, and other countries."

1994 Chechnya -- Russia Sends In Troops

1994 : Russian President Boris Yeltsin orders tanks and troops into the rebel region of Chechnya to restore constitutional order, the mostly Muslim region had declared independence from Moscow and had been having problems with rebels who it is believed were funded by Moscow. The war continued for nearly 2 years when Chechnya was given substantial autonomy but not full independence.

1997 Japan -- Kyoto Protocol

150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to take steps to control the greenhouse gas emissions, The objective of the Kyoto Protocol is to achieve "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system

2001 Great Britain -- Post Office Workers

Consignia who now runs the Post Office service has announced up to 30,000 Post Office workers could lose their jobs over the next 18 months, as part of a £1.2bn cost-cutting package.

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