Today in Labor History May 20, 1938: 500 unemployed workers began a sit-down strike in the Hotel Georgia, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Unemployed men had been drifting to British Columbia during the Depression because of the milder climate and relatively better pay in the forestry camps. In early ’38, the government had cut grants to the provinces. As a result, many of the relief camps shut down and jobs dried up. In response, protesters occupied the Hotel George, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the main post office beginning on May 20. They were led by communist organizers. The owner of the hotel refused to call the cops, fearing major property damage in the melee that would ensue. So, he bribed the men to leave. However, those in the post office and art gallery remained for weeks.

The conflict culminated on Bloody Sunday (June 19), when undercover Mounties brutally beat strikers in their attempt to evict them. 42 people were hospitalized, five of whom were cops. One striker lost an eye. Those who evaded arrest, along with onlookers and supporters on the outside, then marched to the East End, smashing windows. They caused $35,000 damage.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #SitDownStrike #strike #unemployment #poverty #starvation #vancouver #BloodySunday #communism #depression #PoliceBrutality #police #acab

Today in Labor History March 20, 1937: Detroit police evicted strikers from the Newton Packing Company. Three hours later, 150 police attacked sit-down strikers at a tobacco plant. By April 1, there were over 120,000 striking auto workers in Michigan.

#Workingclass #LaborHistory #strike #union #SitDownStrike #PoliceBrutality #detroit

Today in Labor History February 24, 1939: The Supreme Court of the U.S. ruled that sit-down strikes were illegal.

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Today in Labor History February 17, 1936: The United Rubber Workers launched a sit-down strike at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio. The United Rubber Workers formed in 1935 in response to the depression, low wages and poor working conditions. The union regularly used the sit-down strike. It was particularly effective on the assembly line because workers who refused to work up the line, prevented anyone down the line from working, even if they hadn’t planned to strike. It also kept the workers on the premises, making it harder to bring in scab workers. The IWW tried to organize the rubber workers in the 1910s. However, vigilantes and martial law crushed their organizing drive.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #IWW #strike #akron #ohio #SitdownStrike #vigilantes #MartialLaw #PoliceBrutality

Today in Labor History February 11, 1937: General Motors recognized the United Auto Workers (UAW) following a 44-day sit-down strike in Flint, Michigan, involving 48,000 GM workers. Two months later, company guards beat up UAW leaders at the River Rouge, Michigan plant. On January 11, police armed with guns and tear gas tried to storm the plant. Strikers repeatedly repelled them by throwing hinges, bottles and bolts at them. Fourteen strikers were injured by police gunfire during the strike.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #flint #SitDownStrike #gm #uaw #policebrutality #teargas

Today in Labor History January 29, 1936: Rubber workers engaged in a sit-down strike in Akron, Ohio. Their action helped establish the United Rubber Workers as a national union. Working conditions and pay were terrible and workers and virtually no benefits. They engaged in numerous sit-down strikes in the 1930s. Theirs preceded the more famous Flint sit-down strike of 1936-1937. The first American sit-down strike was probably in 1909, when 3,000 members of the IWW engaged in a sit-down strike against General Electric, in Schenectady, NY.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #akron #ohio #SitDownStrike #strike #union #flint #IWW #policebrutality

Today in Labor History January 11, 1937: Police tried to raid the Fisher Body plant during the Flint Sit-Down Strike against General Motors. Workers threw hinges, bottles and bolts at the cops, effectively holding them off. However, the cops injured 14 strikers with gunfire. They had been occupying the plant for nearly two weeks. And they would continue their sit-down strike until February 11. They won a 5% raise and the UAW signed up 100,000 members in the wake of the strike.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #flint #SitDownStrike #union #strike #uaw #police #acab #workerdeaths #occupation

Today in Labor History December 10, 1906: The IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) launched the first sit-down strike in the U.S. at a General Electric plant in Schenectady, New York. Their method was later adopted by the labor movement in the 1930s, with the Flint Sit-Down Strike being the most well-known.

#IWW #strike #SitDownStrike #revolutionary #union #workingclass #LaborHistory #flint #generalelectric