Today in Labor History Nov 11 Several gruesome deaths over several decades

[Omaha Steve]

November 11

Fire fighters from every New England state except Vermont respond to a call for help from Boston, where a fire has engulfed the city. 776 buildings were destroyed, 20 people died. Fire boxes in Boston were locked to prevent false alarms, therefore delaying the Boston Fire Dept. response by 20 minutes - 1872

Haymarket martyrs hanged, convicted in the bombing deaths of eight police during a Chicago labor rally - 1887

And this: November 11, 1887 - Four Haymarket Martyrs, including Albert Parsons and August Spies, were executed. Although they advocated armed struggle and revolution, there was no evidence they had any role in the bombing at Haymarket Square in May 1886. Like Sacco and Vanzetti, the Haymarket Martyrs have come to symbolize the injustices of the capitalist system.

November 11, 1918 - World War I ended. Originally celebrated as Armistice Day, November 11 is now commemorated as Veterans Day.

A confrontation between American Legionnaires and Wobblies during an Armistice Day Parade in Centralia, Ill. results in six deaths. One Wobbly reportedly was beaten, his teeth bashed in with a rifle butt, castrated and hanged: local officials listed his death as a suicide - 1919

November 11, 1919 - Wesley Everest, a young lumberjack who fought back against racist lynch gangs, was mutilated and murdered by a mob in Centralia, Washington. His life was immortalized in a sonnet by songwriter Ralph Chaplin.

57 crewmen on three freighters die over a three-day period when their ships sink during a huge storm over Lake Michigan - 1940

Labor history found here: http://www.unionist.com/today-in-labor-history & here: http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?history_9_11_11_2010