Nation's oldest popular labor history society, devoted to Illinois worker history. The Illinois Labor History Society (ILHS) was formed on August 5, 1969 in the office of the late Joseph M.
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Jacobs, attorney for the Chicago Teachers Union, Meatcutters, and other labor organizations.
Jacobs, attorney for the Chicago Teachers Union, Meatcutters, and other labor organizations.
Operating as usual
August 2 - Teamsters 574 Defy Martial Law
On this day in labor history, the year was 1934. That was the day striking Teamsters in Minneapolis defied martial law. They stopped scab trucks, forcing the release of their strike leaders. Armed with bayonets and machine guns, the National Guard had pa...
A column I had today in the Bloomington, Illinois Pantagraph....
A column I had today in the Bloomington, Illinois Pantagraph....
August 1 - Teamsters 574 Fighting for a Future
On this day in labor history, the year was 1934. That was the day National Guard troops in Minneapolis raided Teamsters local 574 headquarters. Over 150 were arrested, including top strike leaders Bill Brown and the Dunne Brothers, who were imprisoned in...
July 31 - The Battle of East 140th Street
On this day in labor history, the year was 1939. That was the day striking autoworkers in Cleveland, Ohio defended their picket lines in what is known as “The Battle of East 140th Street.” Members of UAW Local 45 at GM’s Fisher Body plant had been on stri...
How wage suppression was caused by policy decisions made on behalf of the rich and corporations
From the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, DC.www.epi.org
why study labor history?
Friday's Labor Folklore Con Carbon, the Minstrel of the Mine Patch Why Labor History? by Juliet Haines Mofford The history of the American labor movement is the story of millions of working people joi
July 30 - The Mechanics Institute Massacre
On this day in labor history, the year was 1866. That was the day known as the Mechanics Institute Massacre. Black and white republicans in New Orleans called a constitutional convention to consider voting rights for African-Americans. It would be another ...
July 29 - Sanitation Workers Strike Charlotte
On this day in labor history, the year was 1969. That was the day AFSCME sanitation workers in Charlotte, North Carolina walked off the job. More than 85% of the sanitation workers were black in this predominantly white Southern city. It was their third ga...
“The Battle of Blair Mountain Centennial events will tell both a historical and contemporary story. We will commemorate the significance of the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921 and the rich history of the southern West Virginia coalfields.
We aim to memorialize the brave men and women who fought for the civil rights of miners and their families, and featuring a range of leaders when possible, including men and women, black, white and immigrant miners and children.
Finally, we will celebrate the spirit of Blair Mountain that was passed on to us today by embracing inclusiveness, diversity, and equity through all programs and events.”
The Battle of Blair Mountain Centennial events will tell both a historical and contemporary story. We will commemorate the significance of the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921 and the rich history of the southern West Virginia coalfields.
July 28 - The Silent Parade
On this day in labor history, the year was 1917. That was the day more than 10,000 African-Americans marched down New York City’s 5th Avenue in what is known as the Silent Parade. The protest came in the aftermath of the July 2, East St. Louis race riot an...
Make your plans to help open a National Park Service labor site in Illinois!
Make your plans to help open a National Park Service labor site in Illinois!
July 27 - Ginger Goodwin Murdered
That was the day miner’s president Ginger Goodwin was shot dead in British Columbia. His murder sparked Canada’s first general strike, in Vancouver the following week. Goodwin had arrived in British Columbia 8 years earlier and found work in the Cumberland...
July 26 - Battle of the Halsted Street Viaduct
On this day in labor history, the year was 1877. That was the day striking railroad workers in Chicago clashed with police in the “Battle of the Halsted Street Viaduct.” The Great Railroad Strike had reached the nation’s railroad hub, and began there thr...
July 25 - Pushing Back Against the Wartime No-Strike Pledge
On this day in labor history, the year was 1944. That was the day Local 212, UAW workers at Briggs returned to work. Briggs was directly involved in war production. 3000 workers, on two shifts, made ball turrets for heavy bombers. Workers on both shifts wa...
A win for Operating Engineers Local 150 -- Scabby the rat will puff up for another day, surviving a challenge before Trump appointees to the Labor Board.
You come at Scabby, you best not miss.
July 24 - The Great Railroad Strike Reaches Louisville
On this day in labor history, the year was 1877. That was the day Louisville sewer workers walked off the job. The Daily American reported that, “hundreds of black sewer-men stopped work, and began marching through the streets, armed with picks and shovels...
The historic tropes of white victimhood.
Leading conservative pundits today are pounding themes that were popular among opponents of Reconstruction.
July 23 - The 1913 Michigan Copper Miners Strike Begins
On this day in labor history, the year was 1913. That was the day 9,000 copper miners in the Keweenaw region of Upper Peninsula, Michigan went on strike. Organized by the Western Federation of Miners, the strike raged on for over eight months, witnessed de...
July 22 - Preparedness Day Bombing
On this day in labor history, the year was 1916. That was the day a bomb rocked the Preparedness Day parade in San Francisco, killing 10 and injuring at least 40. The Chamber of Commerce and the newly formed Law and Order Committee organized the parade to ...
Overworked and paid in chips...
Employees at the snack giant’s facility in Kansas demand an end to unpredictable hours and what they call hazardous conditions amid soaring profits, reports Alex Woodward
July 21 - The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Erupts
On this day in labor history, the year was 1877. That was the day that some of the worst violence of the Great Railroad Strike erupted in Pittsburgh. The strike started days earlier. It is contested as to whether it began in Martinsburg, West Virginia or B...
July 20 - Bloody Friday
On this day in labor history, the year was 1934. That was the day that came to be known as Bloody Friday. Minneapolis Teamsters had been on strike for three days in their third strike of the year. The trucking bosses had reneged on their May settlement. Th...
July 19 - The ‘34 General Strike in San Francisco Winds Down
On this day in labor history, the year was 1934. That was the day San Francisco’s Central Labor Council voted narrowly to end the general strike, then in its fourth day. It had been one of three historic strikes that turned the tide towards industrial orga...
July 18 - Striking for Dignity
On this day in labor history, the year was 1969. That was the day hospital workers in Charleston, South Carolina won union recognition. The 113-day strike reflected all the broader social issues of the day. Led primarily by black women, the strike at the M...
July 17 - Lumber Workers Put Down Their Axes
On this day in labor history, the year was 1917. That was the day 50,000 lumber workers across the Pacific Northwest participated in an industry-wide strike, called by the Industrial Workers of the World. The IWW had been organizing loggers for years aroun...
Helen Keller's radical politics featured in a new documentary..
Though her life generated voluminous literature, most people ignore the fact that iconic deaf-blind author Helen Keller (1880–1968) was one of the most passionate socialist advocates of her time. Continuing his work of patient and insightful political filmmaking, director John Gianvito (PROFIT MOT...
Historical Photo of the Day: Construction of a section of the Calumet Intercepting Sewer System in Chicago on January 29, 1923.
Historical Photo of the Day: Construction of a section of the Calumet Intercepting Sewer System in Chicago on January 29, 1923.
Learning about unions, "Futures in History Camp," McLean Co Museum of History, Monday, July 12, Mike Matejka
Learning about unions, "Futures in History Camp," McLean Co Museum of History, Monday, July 12, Mike Matejka
July 16 - Bloody Thursday
On this day in labor history, the year was 1934. That was the day fatalities on Bloody Thursday touched off a four-day general strike in San Francisco. It was the first time a general strike had shut down a major U.S. port city. The strike had been raging...
July 15 - The 1959 Steel Strike
On this day in labor history, the year was 1959. That was the day half a million steel workers walked off the job in a historic, 116-day strike to defend work rules. It was the largest industry-wide strike and also the last. The strike affected 12 steel co...
AFL-CIO - the rich keep getting richer...
In 2020, CEOs of S&P 500 companies received, on average, $15.5 million in total compensation. The average S&P 500 company CEO-to-worker pay ratio was 299-to-1.
“By December 2020, the number of strikes (which included walkouts, wildcat strikes, and general strikes) on Payday Report’s COVID-19 Strike Wave Interactive Map reached nearly 1,200 strikes across the United States – one of the largest strike waves in decades, according to University of Wyoming Professor Mike Duff.
Still, according to the BLS, 2020 was exceptionally low. In fact, BLS said that it had the “third lowest number of major work stoppages since the series began in 1947.”
In the era of COVID and digital movements, strikes look radically different from traditional labor strikes
“Cohen’s and Friedman’s research even showed that the same doctors were significantly less likely to diagnose black lung if they were hired by a company than if they were hired by the government for that particular case. They also found that there were 64 experts who made negative diagnoses in 95% of their cases, with the vast majority (93%) of them being primarily hired by coal companies. Across all evaluations for black lung, evaluators found the disease in 31% of cases.”
Companies could do more to reduce black lung risk, and miners face bias in getting federal benefits they are due.
July 14 - The Summer of Public Sector Strikes
On this day in labor history, the year was 1978. That was the day municipal workers in Cleveland, Louisville and Philadelphia walked off the job. That summer was rocked with public sector strikes, starting with a firefighters strike in Memphis. In Clevelan...
Mark Kelly, Chicago’s commissioner of cultural affairs and special events, will retire at end of summer
Mark Kelly, Chicago’s widely admired leader of the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), announces he will retire.
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Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge Commemoration
Today we spent the afternoon at Forest Home Cemetery. ILHS President Larry Spivack gave a tour of notable labor leaders buried there, including the Haymarket Martyrs of course, in honor and memory of Mark Rogovin. We were also there to unveil the Nina Van Zandt Spies grave marker. Mark was instrumental in locating Haymarket Martyr, August Spies’ widow, Nina and we finally have a stone for her. With additional commentary from ILHS members Bleue Benton and Julia Berkowitz.
2019 Union Hall of Honor Friday, December 6, 2019 5:00 to 6:00 pm Cocktail Hour 6:00 pm Dinner Teamsters 705 Union Hall 1645 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60612 Inducting CHARLIE HAYES, UNITED PACKINGHOUSE WORKERS OF AMERICA, IRENE GOINS, WOMEN'S TRADE UNION LEAGUE, RON POWELL, UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS UNION, BOB SIMPSON, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS Guest Speaker AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Elissa McBride
Labor Day Kick Off with President Larry Spivack
Honoring the Martyrs’
Bucky Halker singing Union Maid with the Historical Society of Forest Park
Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge
Keynote speech by UMWA President Cecil Roberts. With Mother Jones Lives
Speech by ILHS trustee Judy Simpson. With Mother Jones Lives
The Casa del Obrero Mundial (English: House of the World Worker) from Mexico being told the story of the Haymarket Massacre by President Larry Spivack.
Just a preview of our UHH Keynote speaker this year!
UAW Region 4 UAW International Union UAW UAW Ford Department
UAW Region 4
President Larry Spivack along with Bucky Halker and Alma “Lucy Parsons” Washington put on a presentation yesterday for the Synapse School talking about Haymarket. They are on a school trip from California.
President Larry Spivack along with Bucky Halker and Alma “Lucy Parsons” Washington put on a presentation yesterday for the Synapse School talking about Haymarket. They are on a school trip from California.
President Larry Spivack along with Bucky Halker and Alma “Lucy Parsons” Washington put on a presentation yesterday for the Synapse School talking about Haymarket. They are on a school trip from California.
President Larry Spivack along with Bucky Halker and Alma “Lucy Parsons” Washington put on a presentation yesterday for the Synapse School talking about Haymarket. They are on a school trip from California.
The presentation of awards
Listen to Mother! With Mother Jones Lives
#ILHLives #MayDay2018 via ripl.com
Historical Society of Forest Park
Bucky Halker singing Solidarity Forever
Bucky Halker singing Storm the Fort, Ye Knights of Labor
Bucky Halker singing The Eight Hour Song
President Larry Spivack honoring the Martyrs Monday for the international delegation attending the Labor Notes Conference.
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