Today in Labor History June 23, 1947: The anti-worker Taft-Hartley Act was passed, overriding President Harry Truman’s veto. The act rolled back many of the labor protections created by the 1935 Wagner Act. Taft-Hartley weakened unions in numerous ways, including the banning of the General Strike. It also allowed states to exempt themselves from union requirements. Twenty states immediately enacted anti-union open shop laws.

#LaborHistory #WorkingClass #TaftHartley #GeneralStrike #union #antiunion #antilabor

Today in Labor History June 15, 1917: President Woodrow Wilson signed the Espionage Act into law. The law targeted leftist, anti-war and labor organizations, especially the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), which was virtually destroyed because of the arrests and deportations of its members. When Eugene Debs spoke against the draft in Canton, Ohio, he was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He ran for president from prison in 1920, winning nearly 1 million votes (3.4% of the total). The government used the law to arrest anarchists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman and deport them to the Soviet Union. They used the law against the Rosenbergs, whom they executed. They also used it against Daniel Ellsberg, whose “Pentagon Papers” were published by the NY Times 50 years ago this week. The Espionage Act is still on the books and was used recently to prosecute Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #espionage #censorship #repression #PoliceState #antilabor #IWW #EugeneDebs #EmmaGoldman #anarchism #socialism #leftist #ChelseaManning #EdwardSnowden