Today in Labor History - October 1st: An ink storage room in the L.A. Times building is dynamited during a citywide fight over labor rights and organizing. The explosion was relatively minor, but it set off a fire in the unsafe, difficult-to-evacuate building, ultimately killing 21. A union member eventually confessed to the bombing, which he said was supposed to have occurred early in the morning when the building would have been largely unoccupied - 1910 The George Washington Bridge officially opens, spanning the Hudson River from New Jersey to New York. Thirteen workers died during the four-year construction project for what at the time was the longest main span in the world - 1931 Thousands of dairy farmers in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa strike in demand of higher prices for their milk - 1935 The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened as the first toll superhighway in the United States. It was built in most part by workers hired through the state’s Re-Employment offices - 1940 United Transport Service Employees of America merges with Brotherhood of Railway, Airline & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employees - 1972 Insurance Workers Int’l Union merges with United Food & Commercial Workers Int’l Union - 1983 Railroad Yardmasters of America merge with United Transportation Union - 1985 Pattern Makers League of North America merges with Int’l Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers - 1991 The National Hockey League team owners began a lockout of the players that lasted 103 days - 1994 Stove, Furnace & Allied Appliance Workers Int’l Union of North America merges with Int’l Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, & Helpers - 1994 Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union merges with United Food and Commercial Workers Int’l Union - 1998 Int’l Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine & Furniture Workers merges with Communications Workers of America - 2000 unionist
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 15:39:57 +0000
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