Today in Labor History April 18, 1787: The U.S. Constitutional Convention passed the three-fifths compromise. This was the first time the government codified treating African-Americans as human (partially). But this was only for tax purposes and to determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives. Free blacks counted as a full citizen.
Today in Labor History April 18, 1857: Attorney Clarence Darrow was born on this day. During his career, Darrow defended Eugene V. Debs and several Wobbly (IWW) organizers. He also defended John Scopes, the teacher who was prosecuted for teaching evolution in the famous “Scopes Monkey Trial.”
1870s-1880s
April 18, 1872: Canada’s Prime Minister Sir John Macdonald introduced the Trade Union Act to legalize unions in the country. He did this two days after his government arrested the leaders of the Toronto Typographical Union for conspiracy. The union was on strike for a nine-hour workday.
April 18, 1888: The 260 women laborers at Shotwell, Clerihew & Lothman clothing factory in downtown Minneapolis walked out to protest a pay cut. The women, dubbed “the striking maidens,” were members of the Knights of Labor, one of the largest unions of the day. In the end, the strike failed. But a community boycott forced the company out of business.
1900s
Today in Labor History April 18, 1902: An earthquake in Guatemala killed between 800 and 2,000 people.
April 18, 1906: The Great San Francisco earthquake struck. It killed over 3,000 people and destroyed 80% of the city, making 250,000 people homeless. Wobbly bard, Haywire Mac, volunteered with the fire department during the rescue.
Today in Labor History April 18, 1908: The Industrial Union Bulletin, of the IWW, published the poem, We Have Fed You All For A Thousand Years.
We have fed you all for a thousand years
& you hail us still unfed
Though there’s never a dollar of all your wealth
But marks the workers dead
We have yielded our best to give you rest
& you lie on crimson wool
But if blood be the price of all your wealth
Good God we have paid in full…
April 18, 1908: French Weavers in the IWW continued their strike at Dobson Badford, in Germantown, PA.
West Virginia Mine Wars
Today in Labor History April 18, 1912: The governor of West Virginia called out the National Guard against striking coal miners. As a result, fifty people were killed. His action marked the beginning of the West Virginia Mine Wars, initiating one of the most violent strikes in the nation’s history. Because of their isolation and geography, the West Virginia mine owners were able to dominate the miners more than almost any other employer in the nation. They hired gun thugs from the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, who routinely murdered miners and evicted their families from the company towns. On April 18, thousands of miners went on strike in Paint Creek, Cabin Creek and in surrounding counties. Many were armed with hunting rifles to defend themselves against the company thugs. Mother Jones and Socialist Party members came to support the miners.
IWW in the 1910s
Today in Labor History April 18, 1914: A strike by lumber workers in Bently, Louisiana, entered its 13th week. The Wobblies (IWW) called the strike after the boss fired several of their members.
April 18, 1914: IWW workers in Taft, California, continued their strike against Standard Oil. It was the first strike ever against the oil company. The workers demanded an eight-hour day and a 50-cents raise.
1920s-1940s
Today in Labor History April 18, 1920: IWW miners in Butte, Montanta, unanimously voted to strike. They demanded a six-hour day, a seven-dollar minimum wage, and the release of all “class war political prisoners.”
April 18, 1941: New York bus companies agreed to hire black workers following a 4-week boycott.
Leonard Peltier
Today in Labor History April 18, 1977: A court convicted Native American activist Leonard Peltier for murdering two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation. However, he was actually framed by undercover FBI agents. During the trial, some of the government’s own witnesses testified that Peltier wasn’t even present at the scene of the killings. Leonard Peltier is still in prison and his health has been deteriorating. There is a petition to get him transferred from prison to Mayo clinic in Minnesota.
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