Today in Labor History January 18th, 2025

 

U.S. Supreme Court rules in Moyer v. Peabody that a governor and officers of a state National Guard may imprison anyone—in the case at hand, striking miners in Colorado—without probable cause “in a time of insurrection” and deny the person the right of appeal - 1909

 
"Take This Job and Shove It," by Johnny Paycheck, is listed by Billboard magazine as the most popular song in the U.S. - 1978

(Stayin' Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class is a remarkable account of how working-class America hit the rocks in the political and economic upheavals of the 1970s.)

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

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

– 1973

On this day in labor history, the 2021 Hunts Point Produce Market strike began in the Bronx. The Hunts Point Produce Market, the nation's largest wholesale produce market and a vital part of New York City's food supply, faced its first strike in over 30 years.