Today in Labor History October 30th

 

Ed Meese

In an escalation of their attempts to intimidate and run the Industrial Workers of World out of Everett, Washington, Sheriff Donald McRae and his deputies rounded up 41 Wobblies who had come to town to support striking shingle workers, beat them, and forced them to run through a gauntlet of “law and order” officials armed with clubs and whips.  The IWW would return, however, with greater numbers on November 5. – 1916

1929: Black Tuesday and the Great Depression 

• On October 30, 1929, the stock market continued its crash with the headline "Wall Street Lays an Egg" in Variety.
• This was the final day of the "Great Crash," which led to the Great Depression, causing 25% unemployment and bank failures.

Ed Meese, Attorney General in the Ronald Reagan administration, urged employers to begin spying on workers in locker rooms, parking lots, shipping and mailroom areas and even the nearby taverns to try to catch them using drugs. – 1986