Today in Labor History November 7, 1918: Kurt Eisner led an uprising that overthrew the Wittelsbach dynasty in Bavaria, during the German Revolution. After the Kiel Mutiny a few days prior, uprisings broke out throughout Germany. Within months, the Independent Social Democrats, who were heading the provisional government, were overthrown by the Bavarian Raterepublik, composed of Workers', Soldiers', and Farmers' Councils. Those fighting the socialists included anarchists and anti-authoritarian communists like Erich Mühsam, Gustav Landauer, Ernst Toller and Ret Marut (who became known as the novelist B. Traven after fleeing the counterrevolution and living in exile in Mexico).

#workingclass #LaborHistory #Revolution #soviet #bavaria #germany #anarchism #communism #socialism #writer #author #novel #books #fiction #satire @bookstadon

Today in Labor History November 7, 1915: Emiliano Zapata proposed a new labor law that included an 8-hour day, prohibition of work for children under age 14, worker cooperatives to run factories abandoned by owners, and a fixed minimum wage.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #mexico #Revolution #zapata #8HourDay #ChildLabor #MinimumWage

Today in Labor History November 7, 1912: Ernest Riebe's "Mr. Block," IWW labor comic strip first appeared in print. Mr. Block was one of the best-loved features in the Wobbly press. Joe Hill wrote a song about "Mr. Block," who was a boss-loving, American Dream-believing, self-sabotaging knucklehead. Some call Riebe the first "underground" comic book artist.

Mr. Block (by Joe Hill)

Please give me your attention, I'll introduce to you
A man who is a credit to the ["Our] old Red White and Blue["]
His head is made of lumber and solid as a rock
He is a common worker and his name is Mr. Block
And Block [he] thinks he may be premier [President] some day

Chorus
Oh Mr. Block, you were born by mistake
You take the cake, you make me ache
[Go] tie a rock on your block and then jump in the lake
Kindly do that for Liberty's sake!

2. Yes, Mr. Block is lucky - he got a job, by gee!
The shark got seven dollars for job and fare and fee
They shipped him to a desert and dumped him with his truck
But when he tried to find his job he sure was out of luck
He shouted, "That's too raw! I'll fix them with the law!"

3. Block hiked back to the city but wasn't doing well
He said "I'll join the union, the great AF of L".
He got a job that morning, got fired by the night
He said, "I'll see Sam Gompers and he'll fix that foreman right!"
Sam Gompers said, "You see, you've got our sympathy."

4. Election day he shouted, "A Socialist for Mayor!"
The comrade got elected [and] he happy was for fair
But after the election he got an awful shock
[When] a great big socialistic bull did rap him on the block
And Comrade Block did sob, "I helped him get his job!"

5. Poor Block he died one evening, I'm very glad to state
He climbed the golden ladder up to the pearly gate
He said, "Oh Mister Peter, one thing I'd like to tell
I'd like to meet the Astorbilts and John D Rockerfell!"
Old Pete said, "Is that so? You'll meet them down below!"

Tune: It Looks to me Like a Big Time Tonight. from Al Grierson,
by Joe Hill, in 13th ed. of the Little Red Songbook

#workingclass #LaborHistory #IWW #anarchism #MrBlock #LittleRedSongbook #JoeHill #underground #comics #cartoon #satire #writer #artist @bookstadon

Today in Labor History November 7, 1907: Jesús García Corona saved the entire Mexican town of Nacozari de García by driving a burning train full of dynamite six kilometers (3.7 miles) away before it could explode. He was a railroad brakeman and died in the explosion.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #mexico #JesusGarciaCorona #hero #railroad

Today in Labor History November 7, 1837: Abolitionist printer Elijah P. Lovejoy was shot dead by a pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois, while attempting to protect his printing shop from being destroyed a third time. He previously published just across the river, in Missouri, a slave state. When informed about the murder, John Brown said publicly: "Here, before God, in the presence of these witnesses, from this time, I consecrate my life to the destruction of slavery."

#workingclass #LaborHistory #johnbrown #abolition #slavery #racism

Today in Labor History November 7, 1919: The first Red Scare, or "Palmer’s Reign of Terror," began in the U.S. on this date, on the 1-yr anniversary of the Russian Revolution, with the imprisonment of 3,000 anarchists without bail at Ellis Island. During the Palmer raids, thousands of anarchists, communists, union leaders and other radicals were rounded up, imprisoned, deported and killed. Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman were among those who were deported.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #palmerraids #redscare #anarchism #communism #socialism #anticommunism #freespeech #prison #murder #Revolution

#BlueCollarWriter Labor News Update - November 6, 2025:
https://www.bluecollarwriter.com/home/labor-news-update

#1u #UnionStrong #UnionYes #ItsBetterInAUnion #LaborHistory #NLRB #Jobs #Economy

Today in Labor History November 6, 1968: Students at San Francisco State College went on strike, leading to what would become the longest student strike in U.S. history. The strike was led by the Black Student Union and a coalition of other student groups (including Indigenous, Hispanic, Philippine, and Asian students) known as the Third World Liberation Front. The Black Panthers and Students for a Democratic Society were also involved. The strike lasted until March 20, 1969. Throughout the strike, activists were violently attacked by the San Francisco Police. The activists were demanding equal access to public higher education, more senior faculty of color, an end to ROTC, and a new curriculum that would embrace the history and culture of all people including ethnic minorities. One of their victories was the creation of the College of Ethnic Studies in 1969, inspiring similar programs at hundreds of other universities.

https://youtu.be/As_P3DueKrY

#workingclass #LaborHistory #sfsu #students #protest #EthnicStudies #ThirdWorldLiberationFront #BlackPanthers #sds #filipino #indigenous #asian #mexican #BlackMastodon

Today in Labor History November 6, 1217: The Charter of the Forest was sealed by King Henry III, re-establishing rights to the “forests” for “free men” that had been eroded by William the Conqueror and his heirs. “Forest” included large areas of commons such as heathland, grassland and wetlands, productive of food, grazing and other resources. At that time, royal forests were among the most important sources of food, as well as fuel for cooking, heating and charcoal production. “Free men” were a subset of peasants who paid lower rents and who were subjected to fewer restrictions than other peasants. The document was complementary to the Magna Carta and was considered radical for its time and place.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #feudalism #peasants #MagnaCarta #freedom #rights

#BlueCollarWriter Labor News Update - November 5, 2025:
https://www.bluecollarwriter.com/home/labor-news-update

#1u #UnionStrong #UnionYes #ItsBetterInAUnion #LaborHistory #NLRB #Jobs #Economy