Today in Labor History January 4, 1909: James Larkin founded the ITGWU (Irish Transport and General Workers Union) on this date in Dublin. Many of the original members of the ITGWU came from the socialist movement or from the IWW. Their logo was the Red Hand of Ulster. They were at the center of the syndicalist-led Dublin Lockout in 1913, in which 2 people died and hundreds were injured (mostly police). “September 1913,” one of the most famous of W. B. Yeats' poems, was published during the lock-out. After Larkin left for the U.S. in 1914, James Connolly led the ITGWU until his execution in 1916 for his leadership role in the Easter Rising. Connolly was a founding member of the IWW in the U.S. in 1905.

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