Labor History Feb 6 The first complete general strike in U.S. history, Triangle Shirtwaist strike wi

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?history_9_02_06_2012



February 6, 1919 - A general strike began in Seattle -- the first complete general strike in U.S. history. The city's 10,000 Japanese immigrants participated in the walkout, as did longshoremen, trolley operators, even bartenders. Read more about it at http://www.lib.washington.edu/exhibits/Strikes!/exh.html

http://www.unionist.com/big-labor/today-in-labor-history

Philadelphia shirtwaist makers vote to accept arbitration offer and end walkout as Triangle Shirtwaist strike winds down. One year later 146 workers, mostly young girls aged 13 to 23, were to die in a devastating fire at the New York City sweatshop - 1910


Triangle: The Fire That Changed America: David Von Drehle's excellent book, published in 2003, vividly recounts the tragic 1911 Triangle shirtwaist factory fire, but also tells us of life in the city during the early 1900s and brings us into the stories of the young women who lost their lives in the blaze. The author tells of their struggles against oppressive, inhumane conditions and poverty-level wages -- work lives not that different from many of today’s immigrant workers. In the UCS bookstore now.

Also on this date: Ironworkers from six cities meet in Pittsburgh to form the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers of America…It took 1,231 firefighters 30 hours to put down The Great Baltimore Fire…Seattle General Strike begins

[phasma ex machina]

1. Sometimes when I walk through Walmart's food docks Jimmy Hoffa's ghost seems near by...