Today in labor history Feb 1 NJ silk workers strike for eight-hour work day 1,800 were arrested

[Omaha Steve]

February 01

The Collar Laundry Union forms in Troy, N.Y, raises earnings for female laundry workers from two dollars to 14 dollars a week - 1864

February 1, 1865 - President Abraham Lincoln approved the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery.

Bricklayers begin working eight-hour days - 1867

25,000 Paterson, NJ silk workers strike for eight-hour work day and improved working conditions. 1,800 were arrested over the course of the six-month walkout, led by the Wobblies. They returned to work on their employers’ terms after six months - 1913

February 1, 1960 - Four young African-American students sat down at a segregated lunch counter in the Woolworth's in Greensboro, North Carolina. Their courageous protest galvanized the civil rights movement and led to hundreds of similar sit-ins at segregated facilities across the South.


February 1, 1978 - The first U.S. postage stamp to honor an African-American woman, Harriet Tubman, was issued.

International Brotherhood of Firemen & Oilers merge with Service Employees International Union - 1995