Today in Labor History 7/16/1877: The Great Railway Strike (Great Upheaval) began in Martinsburg, WV, with strikes spreading across the country, despite the unions, which tried to block it. Boatmen, steelers, miners & workers of all ages, genders & races joined in. Militias & national guards were deployed. For the 1st time ever, federal troops were used to crush a strike. Workers fought back with rocks & bricks. They sabotaged equipment. Dumped railroad cars. Rerouted engines. Many of the poorly paid soldiers went AWOL & joined the strikers. In Lebanon, PA, they mutinied. Karl Marx called it “the first uprising against the oligarchy of capital since the Civil War.”

In Chicago & St. Louis, strikes were led by the communist Workingmen’s Party, affiliated with the First International. In Chicago, future Haymarket martyr, Albert Parsons, gave a fiery speech. In St. Louis, workers took over & ran the city for a week in what became known as the St. Louis Commune (after the Paris Commune of 1871). At a huge meeting in St. Louis, a black man asked: “Will you stand with us regardless of color?” The crowd replied: “We will!”

The Great Upheaval ended after 45 days, with over 100 workers slaughtered. In Pittsburgh, the militia killed 20 workers in 5 minutes. In Chicago, they killed another 20. In Scranton, up to 50 were killed. In the aftermath, unions became better organized, particularly the new Knights of Labor, which mushroomed in size. But the bosses learned many lessons, too. Many of the old stone armories we see across the country today were built after the Great Upheaval to provide cities with greater fire power for the next great strikes.

My novel, "Anywhere But Schuylkill," is part of the "Great Upheaval" trilogy.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #strike #wildcat #GeneralStrike #railroad #union #marx #uprising #rebellion #KnightsOfLabor #chicago #pittsburgh #StLouis #ParisCommune

Today in Labor History May 5, 1884: The Knights of Labor struck at Jay Gould’s Union Pacific over wage cuts and won. Because of their success in this strike, their membership rapidly grew. However, when the Knights struck again, in 1886, Gould defeated them and the union quickly started to unravel. 200,000 workers participated in the Great Southwest Train Strike of 1886. Gould hired Pinkertons to infiltrate union and to work as scabs. The Governor of Missouri mustered the National Guards. The Governor of Texas used the National Guards and the Texas Rangers against the strikers. At least ten people died during the strike.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #railroad #union #strike #KnightsOfLabor #TexasRangers #massacre

Today In Labor History May 1, 1884: The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, forerunner of the AFL, resolved that "8 hours shall constitute a legal day's work starting May 1, 1886." Ironically, this union, created as a conservative foil against the radical Knights of Labor, helped radicalize workers with its resolution.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #8HourDay #union #KnightsOfLabor

Today in Labor History March 7, 1868: The Knights of St. Crispin and the Daughters of St. Crispin organized to win regulation of machinery used in the shoe industry because it threatened handcrafted shoe makers. Shoemakers created the labor organizations in 1867, in Wisconsin. The Knights soon had over 50,000 members, but faded quickly in the 1870s due to poor organization. The union was also anti-Chinese, like the Knights of Labor.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #KnightsOfLabor #union #AntiAsianHate #racism #nativism

Today in Labor History February 9, 1886: President Cleveland declared martial law in Seattle because of anti-Chinese violence instigated by the Knights of Labor. The union, which was one of the first to organize workers of different ethnicities, as well as women, was notorious for their anti-Chinese sentiment. They participated in numerous other anti-Chinese riots and supported the xenophobic Chinese Exclusion Act.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #antiAsian #hate #riots #xenophobia #seattle #knightsoflabor #racism #union #martiallaw

THIS DAY IN LABOR HISTORY
> On February 6, 1886, white #KnightsOfLabor members in #Seattle started anti-Chinese riots, part of the larger racist white working class of the #WestCoast seeking to eliminate #Chinese workers from the labor market with maximum violence.

https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2023/02/this-day-in-labor-history-february-6-1886

Today in Labor History January 27, 1850: Class traitor Samuel Gompers was born. He became president of the Cigar Makers’ Union in 1875. He helped found the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in 1881. This later became the American Federation of Labor, which quickly surpassed the Knights of Labor in size and power. Gompers supported the U.S. imperialist intervention in Cuba and its war against Spain. He later sided with the anti-imperialists in their opposition to the U.S. annexation of the Philippines. However, his motivation had nothing to do with compassion for the Philippine people, nor for the lives of working-class Americans sent there to kill. Rather, he feared competition from low-paid Filipino workers. For this same reason, he opposed immigration to the U.S. and supported xenophobic legislation, like the Chinese Exclusion Act. Gompers, and the AFL, supported “class harmony” and the right of bosses to exploit workers. Gompers supposedly said that the “greatest crime an employer can perpetrate against his employees is to fail to operate at a profit.” He led the anti-socialist faction within the AFL and only lost to them once. And he collaborated with the federal government in their harassment and arrests of members of the IWW.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #gompers #IWW #socialism #union #strike #imperialism #knightsoflabor #xenophobia #philippines #AmericanFederationOfLabor

Today in Labor History January 22, 1890: The Knights of Labor Trade Assembly No. 135 and the National Progressive Miners Union merged to form the United Mine Workers of America. Their initial goals were improved mine safety, impendence from company stores, and collective bargaining. In 1898, they won the 8-hour day. By the 1930s, the UMW had over 800,000 members. However, their history was filled with bloody strikes. On April 3, 1891, deputized members of the National Guard killed at least 10 striking UMW members in the Morewood massacre. The cops killed 19 striking UMW members in the Lattimer Massacre, September 10, 1897. Eight UMW members and five private detectives died in the Battle of Virden, in October 1898.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #KnightsOfLabor #UnitedMineWorkers #umw #strike #massacre #mining #8hourday

Today in Labor History January 22, 1849: Terence Powderly, leader of the Knights of Labor, and mayor of Scranton, PA, was born on this date. the KOL attracted and spawned many radicals, including Daniel DeLeon, who went on to cofound the IWW and the Socialist Labor Party. Two of the Haymarket martyrs were also KOL members. The KOL, like its more radical cousin, the IWW, called for the abolition of the wage system. Like the IWW, their slogan was, “An Injury to One is the Concern of All.” And like the IWW, they claimed to fight for all workers, regardless of country, creed, gender or color. However, in reality, the union was xenophobic and racist, particularly toward the Chinese and participated in several anti-Chinese pogroms.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #KnightsOfLabor #IWW #union #strike #racism #haymarket #AntiAsianHate

Today in Labor History January 14, 1895: The Knights of Labor (KOL) initiated the Brooklyn trolley strike over wages and safety (lasting until Feb. 28). It was the largest strike Brooklyn had ever seen. The bosses brought in scabs from Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The drivers cut the wires, surrounded trains and assaulted the scab drivers. 2 people died. On January 19, the mayor called out the National Guard and declared martial law. Militiamen, with fixed bayonets, battled workers in the streets. Sympathetic locals threw rocks and bottles at the militiamen. When a supporter tried to disarm a soldier and was subsequently stabbed, the crowds of supporters swelled into the thousands. One New York paper called it another Paris Commune. However, the KOL had been weakened by years of poor leadership, and by the witch hunt that followed the Haymarket Bombing, and its membership had dwindled to under 100,000. They hadn’t waged a successful strike in years. In the end, the militia effectively quashed the strike and things returned to business as usual without the workers winning any of their demands.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #brooklyn #trolley #strike #knightsoflabor #union #martiallaw #haymarket #wages #scabs

Today in Labor History December 28, 1869: Uriah Stephens founded the Knights of Labor (KOL) on this date. Though the leadership often denounced socialists and anarchists, the KOL attracted and spawned many, including Daniel DeLeon, who would go on to later cofound the IWW and the Socialist Labor Party, as well as two of the Haymarket martyrs. The KOL also denounced strikes, yet, like its more radical cousin, the IWW, it called for the abolition of the wage system and fought to organize all workers into one big union, including women and immigrants. And, like the IWW, one of the KOL’s slogans was, “An Injury to One is the Concern of All.”

#knightsoflabor #iww #union #strike #workingclass #LaborHistory #immigrants #socialism #anarchism

Today in Labor History December 9, 1869: The Knights of Labor was founded on this date in Philadelphia as a secret society open to all members of the producing classes except "parasites" like stockbrokers, gamblers and lawyers. The Knights were one of the most important labor organizations of the late 1800s, reaching a membership of 700,000 by 1886. While other unions were fighting for a 10-hour work day, the Knights were demanding an 8-hour day, as well as an end to child and convict labor. They were also one of the earliest labor organizations to accept blacks and women, and one of the first organized by industry, rather than craft. Yet they also supported the Chinese Exclusion Act and participated in anti-Chinese riots.

#knightsoflabor #industrialunionism #union #racism #AntiAsianHate #feminism #8hourday #strike #labor #workingclass #immigrant