Labor history Oct 20 Reagan asks PATCO 4 endorsment (he got it), Debs died, Un-American, more

[Omaha Steve]

October 20

October 20, 1912 - Thomas Van Lear, a leader of the Machinists Union and candidate for mayor of Minneapolis on the “Public Ownership” ticket, was the guest speaker at a meeting of the Beer Bottlers Union. Elected mayor in 1916, Van Lear advocated public ownership of gas, electricity and coal supplies and championed more funding for the public schools.

Eugene V. Debs, U.S. labor leader and socialist, dies in Elmhurst, Ill. Among his radical ideas: an eight-hour workday, pensions, workman's compensation, sick leave and social security. He ran for president from a jail cell in 1920 and got a million votes - 1926


The Bending Cross is a fascinating biography of Eugene V. Debs, a labor activist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who captured the heart and soul of the nation’s working people. 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. In the UCS bookstore now.

Hollywood came under scrutiny as the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) opened hearings into alleged Communist influence within the motion picture industry. Dozens of union members were among those blacklisted following as a result of HUAC’s activities - 1947

Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan writes to PATCO President Robert Poli with this promise: if the union endorses Reagan "I will take whatever steps are necessary to provide our air traffic controllers with the most modern equipment available and to adjust staff levels and work days so that they are commensurate with achieving a maximum degree of public safety." He got the endorsement. Nine months after the election, he fires the air traffic controllers for engaging in an illegal walkout over staffing levels and working conditions - 1980

Death of Merle Travis, songwriter and performer who wrote "Sixteen Tons" & "Dark as a Dungeon" - 1983

Labor history found here: http://www.unionist.com/big-labor/today-in-labor-history & here: http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?history_9_10_20_2011