Wednesday Afternoon in the Blogosphere

Ran into another former Los Angeles Times colleague, Glenn Uekert

National Journal will kill off its print edition - Nieman Lab

How Facebook and Twitter Became Your Newspapers - Recode

Trends in Newsrooms: Journalism after Charlie - Editors Weblog

Odd little story on Union-Tribune President Russ Newton - SDUT

WWD and LA Times Pair Up for Targeted Fashion Content - WWD

Zells donate $60 million to University of Michigan - Detroit Free Press

Charleston's rival newspapers just merged. Is two-paper Detroit next? - CJR

Media huffing, puffing not blowing down The Donald’s house (yet) - Poynter

Large Inflow of Money Witnessed in Tribune Media Company - Money Flow Index

GateHouse Media sells it's editing and design services to anyone willing to pay - CFN

Washington Post takes case of jailed correspondent to the U.N.

Washington Post takes case of jailed correspondent to the U.N.

Goodbye to all this - Native Intelligence

Goodbye to all this - Native Intelligence

Jon Christensen writes: Los Angeles is losing one of its fiercest critics and lovers just when we need her most. Emily Green is leaving LA after 17 years, during which she became a crucial, critical, incisive, and insightful voice on the sometimes arcane but always essential subject of water in Southern California and the American West.

Today in Labor History

July 22  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Newly unionized brewery workers in San Francisco, mostly German socialists, declare victory after the city’s breweries give in to their demands for free beer, the closed shop, freedom to live anywhere (they had typically been required to live in the breweries), a 10-hour day, 6-day week, and a board of arbitration - 1886
(From First Contact to First Contract: A Union Organizer’s Handbook is a no-nonsense tool from veteran labor organizer and educator Bill Barry. He looks to his own vast experience to document and help organizers through all the stages of a unionization campaign, from how to get it off the ground to how to bring it home with a signed contract and a strong bargaining unit.)

A bomb was set off during a "Preparedness Day" parade in San Francisco, killing 10 and injuring 40 more. Tom Mooney, a labor organizer, and Warren Billings, a shoe worker, were convicted of the crime, but both were pardoned 23 years later - 1916

July 21
Local militiamen are called out against striking railroad workers in Pittsburgh. The head of the Pennsylvania Railroad advises giving the strikers "a rifle diet for a few days and see how they like that kind of bread." - 1877

Compressed air explosion kills 20 workers constructing railroad tunnel under the Hudson River - 1880

IWW leads a strike at Hodgeman's Blueberry Farm in Grand Junction, Mich. - 1964

Radio station WCFL, owned and operated by the Chicago Federation of Labor, takes to the airwaves with two hours of music. The first and only labor-owned radio station in the country, WCFL was sold in 1979 - 1926

A die-cast operator in Jackson, Mich., is pinned by a hydraulic Unimate robot, dies five days later. Incident is the first documented case in the U.S. of a robot killing a human - 1984

July 20
New York City newsboys, many so poor that they were sleeping in the streets, begin a 2-week strike. Several rallies drew more than 5,000 newsboys, complete with charismatic speeches by strike leader Kid Blink, who was blind in one eye. The boys had to pay publishers up front for the newspapers; they were successful in forcing the publishers to buy back unsold papers - 1899

Two killed, 67 wounded in Minneapolis truckers' strike—"Bloody Friday" - 1934

Postal unions, Postal Service sign first labor contract in the history of the federal government—the year following an unauthorized strike by 200,000 postal workers - 1971

July 21
Local militiamen are called out against striking railroad workers in Pittsburgh. The head of the Pennsylvania Railroad advises giving the strikers "a rifle diet for a few days and see how they like that kind of bread." - 1877

For Disneyland’s 60th, The Orange County Register reprinted a 1955 souvenir edition

For Disneyland’s 60th, The Orange County Register reprinted a 1955 souvenir edition

Bob Baker, 67, former LA Times journalist - LA Observed

Bob Baker, 67, former LA Times journalist - LA Observed

Pre-Computer Newspaper Publishing Process: "Newspaper Story" 1950

The Boston Globe publishes typo of the day

The Boston Globe publishes typo of the day

Today in Labor History

July 17 - Union Communications Services, Inc.

Two ammunition ships explode at Port Chicago, Calif., killing 322, including 202 African-Americans assigned by the Navy to handle explosives. It was the worst home-front disaster of World War II. The resulting refusal of 258 African-Americans to return to the dangerous work underpinned the trial and conviction of 50 of the men in what is called the Port Chicago Mutiny - 1944

July 16

Ten thousand workers strike Chicago's Int’l Harvester operations - 1919

Martial law declared in strike by longshoremen in Galveston, Texas - 1920

San Francisco Longshoreman's strike spreads, becomes 4-day general strike - 1934

July 15

Some 50,000 lumberjacks strike for 8-hour day - 1917

Ralph Gray, an African-American sharecropper and leader of the Share Croppers Union, is murdered in Camp Hill, Ala. - 1931

A half-million steelworkers begin what is to become a 116-day strike that shutters nearly every steel mill in the country. Management wanted to dump contract language limiting its ability to change the number of workers assigned to a task or to introduce new work rules or machinery that would result in reduced hours or fewer employees - 1959

July 14

The Great Uprising nationwide railway strike begins in Martinsburg, W.Va., after railroad workers are hit with their second pay cut in a year. In the following days, strike riots spread through 17 states. The next week, federal troops were called out to force an end to the strike - 1877

Woody Guthrie, writer of "This Land is Your Land" and "Union Maid," born in Okemah, Okla. - 1912

Italian immigrants and anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are convicted in Massachusetts of murder and payroll robbery—unfairly, most historians agree—after a 2-month trial, and are eventually executed. Fifty years after their deaths the state's governor issued a proclamation saying they had been treated unfairly and that "any disgrace should be forever removed from their names." - 1921
(Making the News: A Guide for Nonprofits and Activists: Sacco and Vanzetti made the news in a most unfortunate way. Today, it often seems that unions are either ignored or criticized. You can influence how your events make the news by following some of the excellent guidance offered by this easy-to-read book.)

July 13

Southern Tenant Farmers' Union organized in Tyronza, Ark. - 1934

Detroit newspaper workers begin 19-month strike against Gannett, Knight-Ridder. The strike was to become a lockout, which lasted four years more - 1995

Most online local news sites make less than $50,000 a year

Most online local news sites make less than $50,000 a year

Today in Labor History

July 11  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Striking coal miners in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, dynamite barracks housing Pinkerton management thugs - 1892 
After seven years of labor by as many as 2,800 construction workers, the Triborough Bridge opens in New York. Actually a complex of three bridges, it connects the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens. Construction began on Black Friday, 1929, and New Deal money turned it into one of the largest public works projects of the Great Depression - 1936

A nine-year strike begins at the Ohio Crankshaft Division of Park-Ohio Industries in Cleveland. Overcoming scabs, arrests and firings, UAW Local 91 members hung on and approved a contract in 1992 with the company—now under new management—that included company-funded health and retirement benefits, as well as pay increases – 1983 

Post-Dispatch staffers resign, rescuing jobs of 4 staffers

Post-Dispatch staffers resign, rescuing jobs of 4 staffers

Hands-On Lesson About Gratitude by Sammy Maloof

"Don’t just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you’re really serving God." (Ephesians 6:6-7)

AFL-CIO chief asks Salon to voluntarily recognize workers’ union

AFL-CIO chief asks Salon to voluntarily recognize workers’ union

Today in Labor History

July 10  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Mary McLeod Bethune, educator and civil rights activist, born - 1875

Some 14,000 federal and state troops finally succeed in putting down the strike against the Pullman Palace Car Co., which had been peaceful until July 5, when federal troops intervened in Chicago, against the repeated protests of the governor and Chicago’s mayor. A total of 34 American Railway Union members were killed by troops over the course of the strike - 1894
(A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present: If your last serious read of American history was in high school—or even in a standard college course—you’ll want to read this amazing account of America as seen through the eyes of its working people, women and minorities.)

A powerful explosion rips through the Rolling Mill coal mine in Johnstown, Pa., killing 112 miners, 83 of whom were immigrants from Poland and Slovakia - 1902

The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce holds a mass meeting of more than 2,000 merchants to organize what was to become a frontal assault on union strength and the closed shop. The failure of wages to keep up with inflation after the 1906 earthquake had spurred multiple strikes in the city - 1916

Sidney Hillman dies at age 59. He led the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, was a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and was a close advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt - 1946

July 09
The worst rail accident in U.S. history occurs when two trains pulled by 80-ton locomotives collided head-on at Dutchman’s curve in west Nashville, Tenn. 101 people died, another 171 were injured - 1918

New England Telephone "girls" strike for 7-hour workday, $27 weekly pay after four years' service - 1923

New York City subway system managers in the Bronx attempt to make cleaning crews on the IRT line work faster by forcing the use of a 14-inch squeegee instead of the customary 10-inch tool. Six workers are fired for insubordination; a 2-day walkout by the Transport Workers Union wins reversal of the directive and the workers’ reinstatement – 1935

Fourteen volunteer firefighters and one Forest Service employee die fighting the Rattlesnake wildfire in California’s Mendocino National Forest. The blaze was set by an arsonist - 1953

United Packinghouse, Food & Allied Workers merge with Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen - 1968

Five thousand demonstrators rally at the state capitol in Columbia, S.C., in support of the "Charleston Five," labor activists charged with felony rioting during a police attack on a 2000 longshoremen's picket of a non-union crew unloading a ship - 2001

Friday Morning in the Blogosphere

Here we are in a drought and this worker is watering the astroturf in Beverly Hills

Photo Credit: Tony Pierce

What journalist’s skill do the best bosses employ? - Poynter

News Corp's Print Media Will Continue To Decline - Nasdaq

This just in: Greek newspapers running out of paper - Reuters

LA Times sells front page masthead to 'Minions' movie - LAObserved

How Irrelevant Is Print Media? Here's A Quantitative Look - Benzinga

Tribune Publishing Co Announces $0.18 Quarterly Dividend - Sleek Money

Thinking about 2025: scenarios for the future of journalism - Editors Weblog

Canadian journalist resigns over paper's refusal to publish his story - The Guardian

Kansas Newspapers Are Going Weekly, And It’s Helping Them Survive - KMUW

Do newspaper companies have a strategy beyond milking papers for profit? - Nieman Lab

UPS Hiring Materiel Handlers

Philly’s new union deals: What do they mean? A union view

Philly’s new union deals: What do they mean? A union view

Los Angeles Times Managing Editor S. Mitra Kalita memo to staff

To: The Staff
From: S. Mitra Kalita, Managing Editor

Here are four more reasons the @latimes is #winning.

We are pleased to announce additions to our audience engagement team under the direction of Alexandra Manzano. This will no longer be a team that only tweets or posts to Facebook. Platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are simply one component of our strategy to build readership. For our stories to “do better on social,” we must think about audience and shareability at the outset. Our new colleagues will work across the newsroom to guide experimental storytelling, story selection, distribution and partnerships, and conversations with and among Times readers.

Michelle Maltais becomes deputy director for audience engagement. Together, she and Ali will develop strategies that strengthen The Times’ connection to community and conversation. She’ll also help train staff around the newsroom on new tools and techniques, and resuscitate efforts around our coverage of parenting. Michelle started with the Times in 1996. She has been an award-winning copy editor, multimedia producer, web deputy, the newsroom’s first broadcast manager, a tech blogger and a reader engagement emissary. She earned her bachelor’s from Scripps College and a master’s in journalism from Columbia and is a proud graduate of the Metpro copy editing program. Michelle and her husband live in Baldwin Vista with their two kids, who are already huge fans of the L.A. Times and “Star Wars.”

Dexter Thomas joins us today to cover Black Twitter (which really is so much more complicated than that). He will work closely with the newsroom and #EmergingUS to find communities online (Black Medium to Latino Tumblr to Line in Japan) and both create stories with and pull stories from those worlds. Dexter is from San Bernardino and is a doctoral candidate in East Asian studies at Cornell University. He has taught media studies and Japanese and is writing a book about Japanese hip-hop. He began working in digital media at UC Riverside as a student director of programming at KUCR-FM (88.3), independently producing podcasts, music and news programs. He writes regularly on social justice, Internet and youth culture, and video games.

Annie Yu arrived recently as a producer. She will help define the voice of the L.A. Times and infuse shareability into our journalism through creative storytelling and packaging. Annie joins us after working at ProPublica in New York City as an audience engagement fellow. This video she created became ProPublica’s most successful piece of Facebook content ever. Before that, Annie reported on city hall for the Arizona Republic and local news for the Orange County Register. She is a Bay Area native and graduated from Azusa Pacific University, where she served as editor in chief of the newspaper.

Lisa Biagiotti joins us July 13 in a role straddling video and social. She will work closely with our photo, video, social, RealTime and Metro desks to help make multimedia offerings newsy, creative and shareable. Lisa, a New Jersey native who has been in L.A. for two years, has been an independent journalist and filmmaker. She was an inaugural Sundance New Frontier artist in residence at the MIT Media Lab. Lisa is the director-producer of “deepsouth” (2014), an award-winning documentary about poverty, HIV and LGBTQ issues in the rural American South. Lisa has produced work for the New Yorker, the Atlantic, The Times, PBS and NPR, among other media platforms. Her work in eastern Congo won the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for International Television. In 2001, she received a Fulbright Award to research Italian colonialism in Africa and Muslim immigration patterns throughout Europe. Lisa holds a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Please join us in welcoming our new hires. Following them on Twitter is a good start @mmaltaisLA,@AnnieZYu, @dexdigi and @lisabiagiotti.

The ‘Black Twitter’ beat raises questions of cultural competency and audience engagement for newsrooms

The ‘Black Twitter’ beat raises questions of cultural competency and audience engagement for newsrooms

Producing the Waxahachie Daily Light and the Midlothian Mirror

Wall Street Journal homepage down as New York Stock Exchange halts

Wall Street Journal homepage down as New York Stock Exchange halts

Report: Roll Call editor to take over LA Times politics - LA Observed

Report: Roll Call editor to take over LA Times politics - LA Observed

Fourth of July Parade in La Verne, California

I had a great time working as a volunteer for the parade in La Verne last Saturday, still a bit sore from riding a bicycle all day. We experienced very few problems, one of the older cars over heated and stalled, which we pushed to the curb, and the horses left a deposit onto the street. Besides that, everyone had a great time celebrating Independence Day.

With Mr. La Verne, Tim Morrison

Today in Labor History

July 08  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

First anthracite coal strike in U.S. - 1842

Labor organizer Ella Reeve "Mother" Bloor born on Staten Island, N.Y. Among her activities: investigating child labor in glass factories and mines, and working undercover in meat packing plants to verify for federal investigators the nightmarish working conditions that author Upton Sinclair had revealed in The Jungle - 1862

The Pacific Mail Steamship Co. fires all employees who had been working an 8-hour day, then joins with other owners to form the "Ten-Hour League Society" for the purpose of uniting all mechanics "willing to work at the old rates, neither unjust to the laborers nor ruinous to the capital and enterprise of the city and state." The effort failed - 1867

Founding convention of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W., or Wobblies) concludes in Chicago. Charles O. Sherman, a former American Federation of Labor organizer, is elected president - 1905
(Rebel Voices: An IWW Anthology: Originally published in 1964 and long out of print, Rebel Voices remains by far the biggest and best source on IWW history, fiction, songs, art, and lore. This edition includes 40 pages of additional material from the 1998 Charles H. Kerr edition by Fred Thompson and Franklin Rosemont, and a new preface by Wobbly organizer Daniel Gross.)

Some 35,000 members of the Machinists union begin what is to become a 43-day strike that shuts down five major U.S. airlines, about three-fifths of domestic air traffic. The airlines were thriving, and wages were a key issue in the fight - 1966

July 07
Striking New York longshoremen meet to discuss ways to keep new immigrants from scabbing. They were successful, at least for a time. On July 14, 500 newly arrived Jews marched straight from their ship to the union hall. On July 15, 250 Italian immigrants stopped scabbing on the railroad and joined the union - 1882

Mary Harris "Mother" Jones begins "The March of the Mill Children,” when, accompanied part of the way by children, she walked from Philadelphia to President Theodore Roosevelt's home on Long Island to protest the plight of child laborers. One of her demands: reduce the children’s work week to 55 hours - 1903

Cloak makers begin what is to be a 2-month strike against New York City sweatshops - 1910

Workers begin construction on the Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam) on the Colorado River, during the Great Depression. Wages and conditions were horrible—16 workers and work camp residents died of the heat over just a single 30-day period—and two strikes over the four years of construction led to only nominal improvements in pay and conditions - 1931

Some 500,000 people participate when a two-day general strike is called in Puerto Rico by more than 60 trade unions and many other organizations. They are protesting privatization of the island's telephone company - 1998

July 06
Two strikers and a bystander are killed, 30 seriously wounded by police in Duluth, Minn. The workers, mostly immigrants building the city’s streets and sewers, struck after contractors reneged on a promise to pay $1.75 a day - 1889

Two barges, loaded with Pinkerton thugs hired by the Carnegie Steel Co., land on the south bank of the Monongahela River in Homestead, Pa., seeking to occupy Carnegie Steel Works and put down a strike by members of the Amalgamated Association of Iron & Steel Workers - 1892

Rail union leader Eugene V. Debs is arrested during the Pullman strike, described by the New York Times as "a struggle between the greatest and most important labor organization and the entire railroad capital" that involved some 250,000 workers in 27 states at its peak - 1894
(The Bending Cross: A Biography of Eugene V. Debs: We’ve told you about this book before, but perhaps you still haven’t read it. You really should get a copy! Eugene V. Debs was a labor activist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who captured the heart and soul of the nation’s working people. He was brilliant, sincere, compassionate and scrupulously honest. A founder of one of the nation’s first industrial unions, the American Railway Union, he went on to help launch the Industrial Workers of the World -- the Wobblies. A man of firm beliefs and dedication, he ran for President of the United States five times under the banner of the Socialist Party, in 1912 earning 6 percent of the popular vote.)

Transit workers in New York begin what is to be an unsuccessful 3-week strike against the then-privately owned IRT subway. Most transit workers labored seven days a week, up to 11.5 hours a day - 1926

Explosions and fires destroy the Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea, killing 167 oil workers—the worst loss of life ever in an offshore oil disaster. The operator, Occidental, was found guilty of having inadequate maintenance and safety procedures, but no criminal charges were ever brought - 1988

City of La Verne 4th of July 2015 Information

6:30 a.m. - 11:00 am  -- Pancake Breakfast Hosted by Boy Scout Troop 411. Come support the Scouts in the Methodist Church parking lot on D Street across from Bonita High School. Address: 3505 "D" Street, La Verne, CA 91750 Price: $5 each (includes 3 pancakes and 3 sausages) 7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. -- Skate Park The skate park will be open from 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Don't forget to wear your safety gear (helmet and elbow and knee pads). 9:40 a.m. -- Pre-parade: “La Verne 4th of July Patriotic Motorcycle Salute” 200 shiny motorcycles ride through the parade route carrying flags representing the United States, all 50 states, historical flags, and flags representing all branches of the military. To register, please contact Diane Davis atthumperseviltwin@aol.com or 909-969-1576. 10:00 a.m. -- Parade: "My Country" This is a traditional hometown parade on a 2.25 mile route through La Verne’s Old Town. Click here for the 4th of July Parade Application 2015. 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. -- Country Fair at Roynon Elementary School Entertainment, rides for all ages, crafts, food, contests, and much more! Hours of operation: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Click here for the 4th of July Booth Application 2015.Address: Roynan Elementary, 2715 "E" Street, La Verne, CA 91750 11:30 a.m. -- Free Watermelon hosted by La Verne Rotary Located at the Country Fair at Roynon Elementary School. Address: Roynan Elementary, 2715 "E" Street, La Verne, CA 91750 12:00 Noon - 4:00 p.m. -- FREE Swim at the Aquatics Center Come join the fun! The La Verne Aquatics Center, will host FREE swim on Saturday, July 4, from 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. Address: 3175 Bolling Ave., La Verne, CA 91750 4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. -- Deep Pit BBQ This event is in its 52nd year hosted by the Methodist Church. The menu features BBQ beef and turkey, baked beans, slaw, orange slices, cold drinks, and ice cream cups. Address: 3205 "D" Street, La Verne, CA 91750 6:00 p.m. -- Fireworks Show: "Freedom In The Sky" 5:00 p.m. Ticket Booths Open 6:00 p.m. Gates Open 7:00 p.m. Show Starts 9:30 p.m. Show concludes Admission: $7 - adults (13 & up); $6 - children (5 to 12); Children 4 and under are free Purchase pre-sale tickets for a $1 discount at City Hall, 3660 D Street, La Verne, and the Chamber of Commerce, 2078 Bonita Ave., La Verne. Show at Bonita High School, 3102 "D" Street, La Verne, CA 91750 **PLEASE NOTE: Bonita High School has an artificial turf field. NO BBQ's, open flames, other incendiary devices, pets, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, umbrellas, stakes, or any other items which may damage the turf are NOT permitted in the stadium or anywhere on the field.

Friday Morning in the Blogosphere

Ran into former Los Angeles Times Pressman Eddie Enriquez 

at the Speedway in Industry Hills

Gannett Internet usage stat questioned - Romenesko

Writers, editors at Salon move to unionize - Poynter

Tribune Media Group cuts 25 sales jobs - Robert Feder

Newspaper carriers provide link to a bygone era - the Dispatch

Weekly newspapers fold in Grosse Ile, Romeo - The Detroit News

A dose of the digital could revolutionise the print industry - Editors Weblog

How Newspapers Thrive or Flop Online in 6 Charts - Business 2 Community

Southern Vermont Newspapers Suffer More Layoffs - Vermont Public Radio

Philadelphia newspapers avoid strike but buyouts offered, reports say - NJ.com

Obama's Proposal Could Introduce American Journalists To Overtime Pay - Huff Post

New day for Gannett newspapers — they’re on their own

New day for Gannett newspapers — they’re on their own - Poynter

Missing newspapers in Brattleboro spark issue of what's free and what's stealing - SentinelSource.com: The Keene Sentinel Local News

Missing newspapers in Brattleboro spark issue of what's free and what's stealing - SentinelSource.com: The Keene Sentinel Local News: BRATTLEBORO — When about 1,500 copies of The Commons went missing Wednesday, the newspaper lost about 17 percent of its circulation.

Garcetti reaches two years, vows to block crackdown on homeless - LA Observed

Garcetti reaches two years, vows to block crackdown on homeless - LA Observed

News crew mugged while reporting from a crime scene

News crew mugged while reporting from a crime scene

Today in Labor History

July 03  --  Union Communications Services, Inc.

Children, employed in the silk mills in Paterson, N.J., go on strike for 11-hour day and 6-day week. A compromise settlement resulted in a 69-hour work week - 1835
 
Feminist and labor activist Charlotte Perkins Gilman born in Hartford, Conn. Her landmark study, "Women and Economics,” was radical: it called for the financial independence of women and urged a network of child care centers - 1860

July 02

The first Walmart store opens in Rogers, Ark.  By 2014 the company had 10,000 stores in 27 countries, under 71 different names, employing more than 2 million people.  It is known in the U.S. and most of the other countries in which it operates for low wages and extreme anti-unionism - 1962
(Why Unions Matter: In Why Unions Matter, the author explains why unions still matter in language you can use if you happen to talk with someone who shops or works at Walmart. Unions mean better pay, benefits, and working conditions for their members; they force employers to treat employees with dignity and respect; and at their best, they provide a way for workers to make society both more democratic and more egalitarian. Yates uses simple language, clear data, and engaging examples to show why workers need unions, how unions are formed, how they operate, how collective bargaining works, the role of unions in politics, and what unions have done to bring workers together across the divides of race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation.)
 
President Johnson signs Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, forbidding employers and unions from discriminating on the basis of race, color, gender, nationality, or religion - 1964
 
The Labor Dept. reports that U.S. employers cut 467,000 jobs over the prior month, driving the nation’s unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent - 2009

July 01

The American Flint Glass workers union is formed, headquartered in Pittsburgh.  It was to merge into the Steelworkers 140 years later, in 2003 - 1873

Steel workers in Cleveland begin what was to be an 88-week strike against wage cuts - 1885

Homestead, Pa., steel strike.  Seven strikers and three Pinkertons killed as Andrew Carnegie hires armed thugs to protect strikebreakers - 1892

The Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers stages what is to become an unsuccessful 3-month strike against U.S. Steel Corp. Subsidiaries - 1901

One million railway shopmen strike - 1922

Some 1,100 streetcar workers strike in New Orleans, spurring the creation of the po’ boy sandwich by a local sandwich shop owner and one-time streetcar man. "Whenever we saw one of the striking men coming," Bennie Martin later recalled, "one of us would say, ‘Here comes another poor boy.’" Martin and his wife fed any striker who showed up – 1929
(Union Strategies for Hard Times, Helping Your Members and Building Your Union, 2nd Edition: Hard times then and hard times now, except po’ boy sandwiches have gone way up in price. What can unions do as the fallout of the Great Recession continues to plague workers and their unions, threatening decades of collective bargaining gains? What must local union leaders do to help their laid off members, protect those still working, and prevent the gutting of their hard-fought contracts—and their very unions themselves?)

In what was to be a month-long strike, 650,000 steelworkers shut down the industry while demanding a number of wage and working condition improvements.  They won all their demands, including a union shop - 1956

National Association of Post Office & General Service Maintenance Employees, United Federation of Postal Clerks, National Federation of Post Office Motor Vehicle Employees & National Association of Special Delivery Messengers merge to become American Postal Workers Union - 1971

Int’l Jewelry Workers Union merges with Service Employees Int’l Union - 1980

Graphic Arts Int’l Union merges with Int’l Printing & Graphic Communications Union to become Graphic Communications Int’l Union, now a conference of the Teamsters - 1983

Copper miners begin a years-long, bitter strike against Phelps-Dodge in Clifton, Ariz. Democratic Gov. Bruce Babbitt repeatedly deployed state police and National Guardsmen to assist the company over the course of the strike, which broke the union - 1983

Amalgamated Clothing & Textile Workers Union merges with Int’l Ladies' Garment Workers Union to form Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees - 1995

Int’l Chemical Workers Union merges with United Food & Commercial Workers Int'l Union - 1996

The Newspaper Guild merges with Communications Workers of America - 1997

United American Nurses affiliate with the AFL-CIO - 2001

The Blogging Pressman is back

The month of June was an extraordinary one for the food bank as we moved food seven days per week, so the blog lay dormant as I juggled family time with volunteer time. Yesterday was the first time in over thirty days I actually had nothing to move, and the break was well received on my part.

Pictured above is former Los Angeles Times Sports Writer Larry Stewart, part of our team at Sowing Seeds For Life. Appears everyone I cross paths with from the newspaper are former employees.

Regular posts will begin again this Monday.

SOWING SEEDS FOR LIFE

1350 Arrow Highway
La Verne, CA. 91750

(909) 392-5777