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Erik Loomis

@ErikLoomis

21 Nov

This Day in Labor History: November 21, 1927. Colorado state police massacred six striking coal miners at the Columbine Mine in Serene, in what was just one of so many instances in American history of government using police forces as the private strikebreaking army of employers!

Colorado miners, both in coal and hard-rock, had helped define American labor history for decades before 1927. The Cripple Creek strike in 1894 was one of the only times in the Gilded Age when the state came down on the side of the workers and thus, they won.

As there are almost no examples of major strikes in American history succeeding when the state and employers unite against them, this intervention was crucial.

Read 34 tweets

Erik Loomis

@ErikLoomis

15 Nov

This Day in Labor History: November 15, 1975. Wages for Housework opened its storefront on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn. This date allows us to explore this fascinating intersection between the feminist movement and ideas of work, with many lessons for the present!

While the idea of being paid for housework had a strongly international dimension, we will focus on the American side of this story for today.

As feminism rose as political force in the late 60s and early 70s, there were lots of debates on what its political objectives should be.

Read 26 tweets

Erik Loomis

@ErikLoomis

2 Nov

This Day in Labor History: November 2, 1909. The Industrial Workers of the World called a free speech strike in Spokane, Washington. Let's examine this issue but also why we should resist romanticizing the IWW over the free speech fights.

It's very easy to romanticize the IWW for the following reasons--1) They liked big propaganda actions and could pull them off. 2) They used very radical language and sometimes backed that up. 3) They were not bureaucratic like the rest of the labor movement.

But romanticizing the IWW doesn't actually help us learn anything from them, or even worse, learning the wrong lessons. So let's take a more critical view of the IWW here to try and learn something more useful.

Read 48 tweets

Erik Loomis

@ErikLoomis

31 Oct

This Day in Labor History: October 31, 1978. President Carter signs the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Let's talk about it!

An amendment to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the new law stated the pregnant workers “shall be treated the same for all employment-related purposes as other person not so affected, but similar in their ability or inability to work.”

This law was the culmination of a long movement to give female workers equal rights on the job, as opposed to special protections that could ultimately lead to discrimination against them.

Read 32 tweets

Erik Loomis

@ErikLoomis

28 Oct

This Day in Labor History: October 28, 1793. Eli Whitney submitted a patent for his invention known as the cotton gin. Perhaps more than any technology in American history, this invention profoundly revolutionized American labor, all in terrible ways Let's talk about it!

Creating the modern cotton industry meant the transition from agricultural to industrial labor in the North with the rise of the factory system and the rapid expansion and intensification of slavery in the South to produce the cotton.

The cotton gin went far to create the 19th century American economy and sharpened the divides between work and labor between regions of the United States, problems that would eventually lead to the Civil War.

Read 27 tweets

Erik Loomis

@ErikLoomis

23 Oct

This Day in Labor History: October 23, 1976. International Woodworkers of America Local 3-101 in Everett, Washington had its monthly union meeting. And, well, that's it. Let's talk about the union meeting and what unions actually do a daily basis, which is really important!

Big deal, you might be thinking. Locals have meetings all the time and nothing much happens at them. And not a whole lot happened at this lunchtime meeting. 34 members attended. President Ken Schott called the meeting to order.

Ed Bordsen read the financial report. Standing committees on grievances and safety read their reports. The Labor Council Committee let everyone know what was going on with other unions in the city.

Read 27 tweets

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