Today in Labor History May 23, 1933: The "Battle of Toledo" erupted when sheriffs' arrested picket leaders at the Auto-Lite plant in Toledo, Ohio, and beat an old man. 10,000 strikers blockaded the plant for seven hours, preventing strikebreakers from leaving. Ultimately, the crowd was broken up with tear gas and water cannons. The National Guard was called in the following day. The strikers held their ground against the troops, who shot and killed two of their members and wounded 15 others. The strike lasted from April 12 to June 3. The American Workers Party, led by Marxist A.J. Muste, supported the strikers. On June 2, the union and management came to an agreement, that included union recognition and a 5% raise, but only after the threat of a General Strike.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #strike #union #GeneralStrike #toledo #PoliceBrutality #WorkerDeaths #murder #communism #toledo #NationalGuard

Today in Labor History May 19, 1950: 31 dockworkers died and 350 were injured when four barges carrying 420 tons of ammunition blew up at South Amboy, New Jersey. The blast destroyed nearby businesses and homes and caused $10 million in property damage. The men were loading anti-tank and anti-personnel mines destined for Pakistan and Afghanistan. Three years later, they unearthed sixty-two live mines scattered throughout the waterfront area. Kilgore Manufacturing Company was later charged with 9,000 counts of munitions violations. The indictment documents weighed thirty pounds. The Coast Guard was also cited with negligence in supervising the loading.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #munitions #explosion #disaster #NewJersey #mines #WorkerDeaths #imperialism #pakistan #afghanistan

Global News BC: 2022 deadliest year for B.C. workers in past decade, calls for action made on day of mourning https://globalnews.ca/news/9659943/2022-deadliest-year-b-c-workers-calls-for-action-day-of-mourning/ #globalnews #britishcolumbia #news #mostdeadlyyearforBCworkers #nationaldayofmourning #bcfederationoflabour #BCworkerdeaths #WorkerDeaths #WorkSafeBC #BCworkers #DavidEby #Economy #Canada #Health #wbc #BC

Today in Labor History February 19, 2006: A methane explosion in a coal mine near Nueva Rosita, Mexico, killed 65 miners. Workers had gone on strike at least 14 times against the company for safety violations.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #mexico #mining #strike #union #WorkerDeaths #WorkplaceSafety #SafetyViolations #CorporateGreed

Today in Labor History January 27, 1891: The Mammoth Mine Explosion in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, killed over 100 workers. Many were Polish, Hungarian and Italian immigrants. A miner's oil lamp ignited firedamp in the mine, causing the explosion. However, the explosion killed very few of them directly. Most died from suffocation due to afterdamp.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #mining #explosion #disaster #workerdeaths #immigrants #workplacesafety

Today in Labor History January 16, 1862: 204 men and boys died in the Hartley Colliery disaster in the UK. The disaster led to a new law requiring all collieries to have two independent means of escape. The Avondale disaster, in Pennsylvania, 1869, killed 110 men and boys. It also had only one means of escape. It is quite likely that many would’ve survived had there been another means of egress.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #mining #disaster #workerdeaths #workplacesafety #coal

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 January 10, 2007: Workers in Guinea launched a General Strike to force President Lansana Conte out of office. By January 21, at least ten workers had been killed. However, on January 22, there were demonstrations across the nation. Police opened fire on protesters in the capital, Conakry, killing at least 17 more. In February, the government imposed martial law. The International Crisis Group warned of civil war that could draw in neighboring Sierre Leone, Liberia and the Ivory Coast.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #generalstrike #guinea #police #acab #workerdeaths #massacre #civilwar

Today in Labor History January 10, 1860: The Pemberton Mill suddenly collapsed in Lawrence, Massachusetts, trapping 900 workers, mostly Irish women. The mill then caught fire, killing 88 and seriously injuring 116. The inquest found that the construction was inferior, too weak to support the brick walls and heavy machinery. The engineer in charge of construction, Captain Charles Bigelow, was aware of this, but acquitted anyway.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #irish #women #immigrant #workerdeaths

Today in Labor History January 6, 1975: 12,000 workers struck at the Vaal Reefs gold mine in South Africa. It was the world’s largest gold mine at the time. In 1994, 104 miners at Vaal Reefs were killed when an underground train fell into the elevator shaft.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #workerdeaths #southafrica #mining

Today in Labor History January 5, 1933: Construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Bay. Eleven men died from falls during the construction. Ten of these deaths were completely avoidable. They occurred on February 17, 1937, when the safety net failed after a scaffold had fallen. Nineteen other workers were saved by the net. They became members of the Half Way to Hell Club.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #sanfrancisco #goldengate #workerdeaths

Today in Labor History January 3, 1870: Construction began on the Brooklyn Bridge by the corrupt Tammany Hall-controlled New York Bridge Company. According to sworn testimony, Boss Tweed facilitated up to $65,000 in bribes to city aldermen to get their backing for a $1.5 million bond. He then became the primary holder of bridge stock. He also planned to skim money from the city’s bridge contracts, like he had done with previous large public works. However, the authorities arrested him in 1871, before he could benefit from his plan. An average of 264 individuals worked on the caissons each day. Many of them got the bends. Several became paralyzed. Others fell from the 276-foot-high towers or were hit by falling debris. At least 20 workers died during the construction.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #brooklyn #workerdeaths #bribery #corruption

Today in Labor History December 21, 1910: 344 miners died when the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit exploded in Westhoughton, England. It was the third worst mining disaster in British history. The original owner of the mine, William Hulton, once served as sheriff. In that role he sentenced 4 people to death, including a 12-yer-old boy, for taking part in a Luddite attack in 1812. His orders also led to the Peterloo Massacre in 1819, in which the cavalry charged a crowd of 60,000 workers and peasants fighting for suffrage. Many had just returned from Waterloo. Hulton paid the lowest wages of any colliery owner in Lancashire and he violently opposed any attempts to organize. His son and grandson, who later took over control of the colliery, were no better.

For a really good portrayal of the Peterloo events, see Mike’s Leigh’s 2018 film, “Peterloo.” Several recent novels portray Peterloo, including Carolyn O'Brien's “The Song of Peterloo” and Jeff Kaye's “All the People.” Isabella Banks wrote the novel “The Manchester Man” in 1876, based on her own interviews with survivors of the massacre. Additionally, there is a graphic novel in 'verbatim' form, Peterloo: Witnesses to a Massacre, as well as a 2016 Doctor Who audio adventure based on the Peterloo Massacre.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #miners #PeterlooMassacre #luddites #disaster #film #workerdeaths #novel #fiction #historicalfiction @bookstadon

Qatar says worker deaths for World Cup ‘between 400 and 500’

#Qatar #WorldCup #workerdeaths
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