Today in Labor History Mar 7 Police fire with machine guns 4 marchers killed and 60 wounded, more

[Omaha Steve]

March 7

6,000 shoemakers, joined by about 20,000 other workers, strike in Lynn, Mass. They won raises, but not recognition of their union - 1860

March 7, 1868 - The Knights of St. Crispin and a companion group of women workers called the Daughters of St. Crispin organized in 1868. Their goal was to try to regulate the use of machinery in the shoe industry, which threatened handcrafted work. Organizing by groups like the Crispins set the stage for the birth of the Boot and Shoe Workers' Union.

3,000 unemployed auto workers, led by the Communist Party of America, braved the cold in Dearborn, Mich. to demand jobs and relief from Henry Ford. The marchers got too close to the gate and were gassed. After re-grouping, they were sprayed with water and shot at. Four men died immediately, 60 were wounded - 1932

And this: March 7, 1932 - More than 3,000 people, led by the United Auto Workers union, marched on the main Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, demanding jobs for laidoff Ford workers, a slowdown of the company's assembly line and a halt to evictions of unemployed workers from their homes. A fight broke out and police opened fire with machine guns. Four marchers were killed and 60 were wounded. The "Ford Hunger March" became a symbol of resistance to the capitalist system during the depths of the Great Depression.

Steel Workers Organizing Committee – soon to become the United Steel Workers – signs its first-ever contract, with Carnegie-Illinois, for $5 a day in wages, benefits - 1937

IWW founder and labor organizer Lucy Parsons dies - 1942


Musicians strike Broadway musicals and shows go dark when actors and stagehands honor picket lines. The strike was resolved after four days - 2003

Labor history found here: http://www.unionist.com/today-in-labor-history & here: http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?history_9_03_07_2011