Taken this day, 2012, new construction underway at Haymarket
https://www.flickr.com/photos/woolamaloo_gazette/51053185826/in/photostream/lightbox/

Interesting to go back & see this now completed (& sadly bland) building before it was finished.

#Edinburgh #Edimbourg #architecture #photography #photographie #construction #engineering #Haymarket #HaymarketEdinburgh

Today in Labor History March 15, 1917: The U.S. Supreme Court approved the 8-hour workday under the threat of a rail strike. Philadelphia carpenters struck for the 10-hour day in 1791 and by the 1830s, it had become a general demand of workers. In 1835, Philadelphia workers organized the first general strike in North America, led by Irish coal heavers, in the struggle for a 10-hour day. However, by 1836, labor movement publications were calling for an 8-hour day. In 1864, the 8-hour day became a central demand of the Chicago labor movement. In 1867, a citywide strike for the 8-hour day shut down the city's economy for a week before falling apart. During the 1870s, eight hours became a central demand of the U.S. labor movement, with a network of 8-Hour Leagues forming across the nation.

In 1872, 100,000 workers in New York City struck and won the eight-hour day. On May 1, 1886 Albert Parsons, head of the Chicago Knights of Labor, led 80,000 people down Michigan Avenue in the first modern May Day Parade, with workers chanting, "Eight-hour day with no cut in pay." Within days, 350,000 workers went on strike nationwide for the 8-hour day. On 3 May 1886, anarchist August Spies, editor of the Arbeiter-Zeitung (Workers Newspaper), spoke to 6,000 workers. Afterwards, they marched to the McCormick plant in Chicago to harass scab workers. The police arrived and opened fire, killing four and wounding many more. On May 4, workers protested this police violence at a meeting in Haymarket Square. An unknown assailant hurled a bomb at the police. The authorities rounded up hundreds of labor activists and anarchists. They convicted 8 in a kangaroo court and executed four of them, including Parsons and Spies.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American currently works 8.8 hours every day. This, of course, does not include commute time which, for many Americans, can add another two or more hours a day to the time they give away for free to their bosses. Nor does it include work we take home. The scam of being a “salaried” employee is commonly exploited by bosses, who argue that we are paid based on the responsibilities completed, regardless of how long it takes to complete them.

Read my full article on Lucy Parsons, which goes deeper into the Haymarket affair and the struggle for the 8-hour day: https://michaeldunnauthor.com/2024/03/24/lucy-parsons/

#workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #EightHourDay #SCOTUS #generalstrike #haymarket #police #policebrutality #mayday #deathpenalty #IWW #union

We went to #Haymarket today and came back with some avocados. The seeds can be used to make a nutty & floral pink tea. It's close to chrysanthemum, but I like this a lot more.

After boiling, the seed itself becomes soft, and it tastes like a bitter walnut, almost astringent, with more floral notes. The Internet tells me it's probably safe to eat and is full of antioxidants. But, allergies are a thing, and this is not medical advice.

The trams of the dusk https://www.flickr.com/photos/woolamaloo_gazette/55147663169/in/photostream/lightbox/

#BlueHour at Haymarket

#Edinburgh #Edimbourg #photography #photographie #NightPhotography #EdinburghByNight #Haymarket #HaymarketEdinburgh #EdinburghTram #Tram

Today in Labor History March 7, 1942: IWW cofounder and anarchist labor organizer Lucy Parsons died on this date in Chicago, Illinois. Lucy Parsons was part African American and part Native American. Her mother had been a slave. In 1871, she married Albert Parsons, a Confederate soldier, in Waco, Texas. Soon after, they were forced to flee due to racism, moving to Chicago. There they participated in the Great Upheaval of worker rebellions that swept across the U.S. in 1877. They were also active in the movement for the 8-hour day and other worker movements. In 1887, the authorities executed Albert, along with several other anarchists, for the Haymarket bombing, even most hadn’t been present at the bombing. In 1905, Lucy Parsons cofounded the IWW, along with Eugene Debs, Mother Jones, Big Bill Haywood and others. In 1915, she organized the Chicago Hunger Demonstrations. They were so effective that they pushed the AFL, the Socialist Labor Party and the Hull House to participate. In 1925, she participated in the International Labor Defense, which defended workers, communists, the Scottsboro Nine and others.

You can read my complete bio of Lucy here: https://michaeldunnauthor.com/2024/03/24/lucy-parsons/

#LaborHistory #workingclass #lucyparsons #IWW #haymarket #anarchism #communism #racism #womenshistorymonth #rebellion #8HourDay #motherjones #eugenedebs #execution #bigbillhaywood #union #scottsboro #chicago #waco #texas #slavery #civilwar #africanamerican #BlackMastodon

Today in Labor History March 3, 1903: U.S. Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1903, also called the Anarchist Exclusion Act, which bolstered previous immigration law, while adding four new classes of banned people: anarchists, people with epilepsy, beggars, and importers of prostitutes. Congress first discussed banning anarchists from entering the U.S. in 1889, in the wake of the Haymarket affair, when 8 innocent anarchists were framed for a bombing at a public demonstration in support of the eight-hour workday. Then, in 1901, Leon F. Czolgosz, a self-proclaimed anarchist, assassinated President William McKinley. The police responded by arresting numerous anarchists who had no connection whatsoever to the assassination, including Emma Goldman. The new immigration law had minimal effect. Over the next 11 years, only 11 anarchists were denied entry into the U.S., and four were expelled, under the law, including British anarchist John Turner.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #immigration #anarchism #sexwork #disabilities #ableism #emmagoldman #congress #racism #haymarket #prostitution #assassination

Lucy Parsons fought hard to get her husband freed and exonerated for the Haymarket bombing. Despite the fact that he wasn't even in Haymarket Square the day of the bombing, he was still wrongly convicted and executed along with 3 other innocent anarchists. They had been fighting for the 8 hour workday. Their struggle, and their execution, are the basis for why May 1 is celebrated as International Workers Day in nearly every country in the world (except the U.S.). Lucy Parsons, was an African American and indigenous anarchist, would go on to cofound the IWW, along with Mother Jones, Eugene Debs, James Connolly, Big Bill Haywood, and others.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #lucyparsons #anarchism #blackhistorymonth #eighthourday #haymarket #IWW #BlackMastodon