Today in labor history Sept 30 Leaving at least 100, perhaps several hundred blacks dead & more

[Omaha Steve]

September 30

29 strike leaders are charged with treason – plotting “to incite insurrection, rebellion & war against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” – for daring to strike the Carnegie Steel Co. in Homestead, Pa. Jurors refuse to convict them - 1892

September 30, 1912 - 12,000 textile workers walked out of mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to protest the arrests of two leaders of the “Bread and Roses” strike. Police clubbed strikers and arrested some and the companies fired 1,500. Industrial Workers of the World co-founder Big Bill Haywood had to threaten another general strike to get the workers reinstated. The trial of strike leaders Arturo Giovannitti and Joe Ettor ended 58 days later with their acquittal.

Black farmers met in Elaine, Ark. to establish the Progressive Farmers and Householders Union to fight for better pay and higher cotton prices. They were shot at by a group of whites, and returned the fire. News of the confrontation spread and a riot ensued, leaving at least 100, perhaps several hundred blacks dead and 67 indicted for inciting violence - 1919

September 30, 1960 - The animated series “The Flintstones” debuted on television. Fred and Wilma Flintstone and Barney and Betty Rubble depicted the working class, albeit in a stereotypical way.

September 30, 1989 - White and Hmong workers went on strike at the Quality Tool plant in St. Paul. Although the strike ultimately was broken through the use of strikebreakers, it showed that new immigrants were becoming a vital force in the labor movement. “Having a union is all of us brothers,” explained one Hmong striker.

Read more about the Quality Tool strike, http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_3022