Today in Labor History May 20

1600s-1700s

Today in Labor History May 20, 1645: The Yangzhou Massacre began in Yanzhou, China. Over the course of ten days, Manchu soldiers, under the leadership of General Dodo, slaughtered 800,000 civilians.

May 20, 1776: The Mohawks, under Joseph Brandt, defeated Americans at the Battle of the Cedars.

1800s

Today in Labor History May 20, 1802: Napoleon Bonaparte reinstated slavery in the French colonies after revoking its abolition in the French Revolution.

May 16, 1862: President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act. As a result, 84 million acres of public (i.e., Indigenous) lands were opened to settlers. Any citizen who had never taken up arms against the U.S. (i.e., northerners), including women and freed slaves, could file for a federal land grant. Consequently, great swaths of Native American land and natural resources were usurped by settlers. Additionally, much of the land was acquired by businesses, not individual citizens. For example, most of the rainforest west of Portland, Oregon was acquired by the Oregon Lumber Company through illegal claims under the act.

Today in Labor History May 20, 1883: Krakatoa began to erupt in Indonesia. It exploded three months later, causing pyroclastic flows and tsunamis that killed as many as 120,000 people. The explosions were so violent that they were heard in Perth, Australia, 2,000 miles away. A year later, skeletons washed ashore in Africa, having floated across the Indian Ocean on rafts of volcanic pumice.

1900s-1910s

May 20, 1909: IWW Railroad workers in British Columbia went on strike against rotten grub and miserable living and working conditions

Today in Labor History May 20, 1911: Anarchist Magonistas published a proclamation calling for the peasants to take collective possession of the land in Baja California. They had already defeated government forces there. Members of the IWW traveled south to help them.

May 20, 1916: 1,000 IWW workers on the Pennsylvania Railway went on strike for the eight-hour day in Baltimore, Maryland. Another 1,200-1,500 Wobblies struck against Alaska Railway. In Detroit, Michigan, the IWW won its strike at Kelsey Wheel Works. They won the eight-hour day and a raise. And the IWW also won their strike at Bronson’s and Cox’s camp in St. Maries, Idaho.

1920s-1930s

Today in Labor History May 20, 1926: Congress enacted The Railway Labor Act in the wake of several strikes and federal seizures of the railroads. The law was the product of negotiations between the largest railroads and the railway unions. The law guaranteed collective bargaining rights to railroad workers. However, it virtually stripped them of the right to strike. Instead, it mandated mediation and arbitration for disputes.

May 20, 1932: Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland to begin the world’s first solo flight across the Atlantic by a female pilot. She landed in Ireland the next day.

British Columbia Sit Down Strike

Today in Labor History May 20, 1938: 500 unemployed workers began a sit-down strike in the Hotel Georgia, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Unemployed men had been drifting to British Columbia during the Depression because of the milder climate and relatively better pay in the forestry camps. In early ’38, the government had cut grants to the provinces. As a result, many of the relief camps shut down and jobs dried up. In response, protesters occupied the Hotel George, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the main post office beginning on May 20. They were led by communist organizers. The owner of the hotel refused to call the cops, fearing major property damage in the melee that would ensue. So, he bribed the men to leave. However, those in the post office and art gallery remained for weeks.

Bloody Sunday

The conflict culminated on Bloody Sunday (June 19), when undercover Mounties brutally beat strikers in their attempt to evict them. 42 people were hospitalized, five of whom were cops. One striker lost an eye. Those who evaded arrest, along with onlookers and supporters on the outside, then marched to the East End, smashing windows. They caused $35,000 damage.

WWII

May 20, 1940: The first prisoners arrived at Auschwitz.

National Security Agency

May 20, 1949: The U.S. established the National Security Agency. It is now the nation’s largest spy agency. The NSA currently engages in worldwide mass data collection as well as physically bugging targets. They were likely behind the Stuxnet software attack that severely damaged Iran’s nuclear program. The NSA spied on anti-Vietnam War activists and continues to spy on U.S. citizens. Many of their secret surveillance programs were leaked by Edward Snowden, who was forced to flee the country. He is now living in exile in Russia. Private companies, like AT&T and Verizon have collaborated with the NSA to help them spy on U.S. citizens. They supposedly have access to all communications made via Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, YouTube, AOL, Skype, Apple and Paltalk.

But Isn’t It Mostly Just Pornography?

I’d like to say the good news is that the vast majority of this data is pornography. Problem is, they’re using people’s porn habits to discredit and embarrass them, particularly Muslim clerics and activists. According to a July 2014 report in the Washington Post, 90% of those being surveilled by the NSA are ordinary Americans, not intended targets. And if they’re surveilling every communication made through Google, MS, FB, Yahoo, YouTube, AOL, Skype, then they’re surveilling pretty much everyone. So, the obvious question is: Why are 10% of all Americans (a full 33 million people) considered targets? And if there really are 33 million of us who are opposed the U.S. government, how come we keep ending up with such shit politicians?

I’m going to sleep. But first, I’m looking under my bed for NSA agents. Shit, I was finally starting to relax.

1950s

Today in Labor History May 20, 1950: A general strike and rebellion began in Bolivia. The authorities put down two days later.

Operation Redwing

May 20, 1956: In Operation Redwing, the U.S. dropped the first airborne hydrogen bomb over the Bikini Atoll. From May to July, the U.S. detonated 17 nuclear devices in the Bikini and Enewetak atolls. They tested both thermonuclear and fission weapons. They cynically named each of the tests after a different Native American tribe. However, as a result of the tests, the U.S. completely vaporized three of the islands and polluted huge swaths of water and land, poisoning countless indigenous peoples.

Between 1946 and 1958, the U.S. detonated 23 nuclear devices at seven different test sites on Bikini reefs alone. They had a combined fission yield of 42.2 TNT equivalents. Residents were forced to resettle on other islands. Many starved to death because they were relocated to places that couldn’t produce enough food for them. Each resident now receives $550 annually from the U.S. government to cover medical treatment related to radiation poisoning.

1960s-1970s

Today in Labor History May 20, 1963: White mobs attacked the “Freedom Riders” in Montgomery, Alabama. President Kennedy sent 400 US marshals to Alabama to protect Freedom Riders.

May 20, 1971: The Chuknagar massacre occurred when Pakistani forces slaughtered thousands of Bengali Hindus. It was one of the largest massacres of the Bangladesh Liberation War. Many people drowned in the river as they fled the gunfire. As a result, an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people died.

1980s

Today in Labor History May 20, 1989: The Chinese authorities declared Martial law in Beijing to quell the growing pro-democracy movement. This set the stage for the Tienanmen Square Massacre that occurred on June 4, 1989. There are no precise figures for the number of deaths, but estimates range from hundreds to thousands.