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Erik Loomis

@ErikLoomis

9 Apr

This Day in Labor History: April 9, 1865. The traitor Robert E. Lee surrenders, ending the Civil War and its Treason in Defense of Slavery. Let's talk about how it was the slaves who freed themselves as part of an uncoordinated general strike and won the war!

This draws from what W.E.B. DuBois noted in his 1935 book Black Reconstruction: An Essay Toward A History of the Part Which Black Folk Played in the Attempt to Reconstruct Democracy in America, 1860-1880, which you should all read!

Slaves wanted freedom from the moment they were enslaved.

Read 33 tweets

Erik Loomis

@ErikLoomis

8 Apr

This Day in Labor History: April 8, 1952. President Truman nationalized the steel industry in order to forestall a strike scheduled the next day that would have shut down steel production during the Korean War, a move that horrified the steel companies! Let's talk about it!

The steel industry was probably the most hostile large industry to organized labor.

Although the Steel Workers Organizing Committee managed to force U.S. Steel to negotiate a contract in 1937, the smaller steel companies held on until Franklin Roosevelt forced their hand in 1942, engaging in some of the harshest labor violence of the 1930s along the way.

Read 34 tweets

Erik Loomis

@ErikLoomis

7 Apr

This Day in Labor History: April 7, 1947. Telephone operators for the major phone companies walked off the job. This action was the precursor to the formation of the Communication Workers of America, one of the most important unions in the nation today!!! Let's talk about it!

Telephone operators struggled with low pay. A large chunk of the workforce, since telephones required the direct connections of lines, it was also dominated by women

As per always, certain types of work are defined as “women’s work” precisely so employers can pay them less and have greater control over their workers’ lives. Teachers are a great example of this. In the early 19th century, most teachers, even for small children were men.

Read 26 tweets

Erik Loomis

@ErikLoomis

6 Apr

This Day in Labor History: April 6, 1712. Slaves revolt in New York City. Let's talk about one of the earliest slave revolts in what would become the USA!

The Dutch had brought African slaves to New Amsterdam, but day-to-day, those slaves had a relatively high amount of freedom, at least compared to other slaves in the Americas.

In fact, under the Dutch, slaves had some legal rights, including the right to marry and the right to own property. When the English took the small colony over in 1664 and renamed it New York, those rights started to disappear.

Read 23 tweets

Erik Loomis

@ErikLoomis

5 Apr

This Day in Labor History: April 5, 1938. Oral arguments began before the Supreme Court in the case of NLRB v. Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company. It allowed for companies to hire permanent strikebreakers to replace strikers. Let's talk about the Court's anti-labor stance!

The silver capitalist John Mackay started what became Mackay Radio & Telegraph in 1884 to provide transatlantic telegraph service. The company expanded into radio and other telecommunications over the years.

In 1934, the American Radio Telegraphists Association, which would later change its name to the American Communications Association when it joined the CIO, organized Mackay, starting with the radio operators.

Read 26 tweets

Erik Loomis

@ErikLoomis

4 Apr

This Day in Labor History: April 4, 1936. The Strutwear strike in Minneapolis was won by the workers, a significant victory not just for the workers of Minnesota, but specifically for the women who made up most of this workforce. Let's talk about gender and labor in the 1930s!

In 1934, the Teamsters local in Minneapolis, led by a group of Trotskyites that put it at odds with the international union, went on one of the most epic strikes of the Great Depression, part of that amazing, transformational year of militant organizing.

This victory gave unions a lot of momentum in Minnesota and a culture of solidarity in Minneapolis developed that would have major implications of expanding that movement over the next decade.

Read 33 tweets

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