Today in Labor History March 14, 1954: Salt of the Earth premiered. The film depicted the 1951 strike of Mexican-American workers at the Empire Zinc mine, in New Mexico. The film was one of the first to portray a feminist political point of view, particularly through Actress Rosaura Revueltas’s role as Esperanza Quintero. When the Company uses the new Taft-Hartley Act (which also bans General Strikes) to impose an injunction preventing the men from picketing, their wives go walk the picket line in their places. LGBTQ and labor activist Will Geer (Pa Walton) also played in the film. Writer Michael Wilson, director Herbert Biberman and producer Paul Jarrico had all been blacklisted for their alleged communist ties. Only 13 of the 13,000 theaters in the U.S. showed the film.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #SaltOfTheEarth #strike #union #generalstrike #lgbtq #TaftHartley #communism #feminism #MexicanAmerican #chicano #film #blacklist

Today in Labor History March 6, 1978: President Jimmy Carter invoked the Taft-Hartley law to quash the 1977-78 national contract strike by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). The UMWA had been on strike since December 1977, but rejected a tentative contract agreement in early March, 1978. Carter invoked the national emergency provision of Taft-Hartley and ordered strikers back to work. They ignored the order and the government did little to enforce it. By late March, they reached a settlement. Taft-Hartley was enacted in the wake of the strike wave of 1945-1946 and was designed to prevent solidarity strikes and General Strikes. Until the recent General Strike in Minneapolis, the last General Strikes in U.S. history occurred in 1946 in Lancaster, PA; Stamford, CT; Rochester, NY; and Oakland, CA, just prior to the creation of Taft-Hartley.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #strike #GeneralStrike #union #solidarity #TaftHartley #oakland #UMWA #POTUS #UnitedMineWorkers

Today in Labor History February 12, 1880: John L. Lewis was born. He was president of the United Mine Workers (UMWA) from 1920-1960, and founder of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). In 1935, he pulled the UMWA from the American Federation of Labor (and punched out Carpenters Union President William Hutcheson in the process) when the AFL refused to endorse industrial unionism. Lewis then formed the CIO, which organized millions of unskilled, mass production workers into unions in the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1920s, he used red-baiting, stolen elections and violence to expel the communists from the UMWA. Yet he refused to make his officials take the non-Communism oath required by the Taft-Hartley bill. Canadian labor leader J.B. McLachlan called Lewis a traitor to the working class.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #cio #union #communism #TaftHartley #JohnLewis #UnitedMineWorkers #IndustrialUnionism

Today in Labor History December 3, 1946: Women retail clerks at Hastings and Kahn’s launched the Oakland General Strike, the last General Strike to occur in the U.S. Other workers soon joined in. Overall, more than 100,000 workers participated in the 3-day Oakland General Strike, which was part of the 1945-1946 strike wave, the largest strike wave in US history. Over 5 million workers participated in the nationwide strike wave, including 225,000 UAW members, 174,000 electric workers struck, 750,000 steel workers, 250,000 railroad workers. There were several other General Strikes in 1946, too, including Lancaster, PA; Stamford, CT; Rochester, NY. In reaction to this strike wave, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, which severely restricted the powers and activities of unions. It also banned General Strikes, stripping away the most powerful tool workers had.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #oakland #GeneralStrike #strike #wildcat #union #tafthartley #solidarity

Today in Labor History October 17, 1950: The "Salt of the Earth" zinc mine strike began in Silver City, New Mexico. The strike lasted for 14-months and inspired the film “Salt of the Earth,” which was blacklisted. The film was one of the first to portray a feminist political point of view, particularly through Actress Rosaura Revueltas’s role as Esperanza Quintero. When the Company uses the new Taft-Hartley Act (which also bans General Strikes) to impose an injunction preventing the men from picketing, their wives go walk the picket line in their places. LGBTQ and labor activist Will Geer also played in the film. Writer Michael Wilson, director Herbert Biberman and producer Paul Jarrico had all been blacklisted for their alleged communist ties. Only 13 of the 13,000 theaters in the U.S. showed the film. Geer is most well-known for his role as Grandpa Walton, in the long-running TV series, The Waltons. Because of his activism on labor and political issues, he was blacklisted in Hollywood for many years. In 1934, he became a member of the Communist Party. He also met LGBTQ activist Harry Hay that year and they became lovers. Together, they supported the San Francisco General Strike and demonstrated against fascism and for workers’ rights.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #strike #union #GeneralStrike #lgbtq #tafthartley #communism #feminism #chicano #censorship #freespeech #mining #fascism #antifa #antifascism

Today in Labor History September 16, 1945: 43,000 oil workers went on strike in 20 states. During WWII, most of the major unions collaborated with the U.S. war effort by enforcing labor “discipline” and preventing strikes. In exchange, the U.S. government supported closed shop policies under which employers at unionized companies agreed to hire only union members. While the closed shop gave unions more power within a particular company, the no-strike policy made that power virtually meaningless. When the war ended, inflation soared and veterans flooded the labor market. As a result, frustrated workers began a series of wildcat strikes. Many grew into national, union-supported strikes. In November 1945, 225,000 UAW members went on strike. In January 1946, 174,000 electric workers struck. That same month, 750,000 steel workers joined them. Then, in April, the coal strike began. 250,000 railroad workers struck in May. In total, 4.3 million workers went on strike. It was the closest the U.S. came to a national General Strike in the 20th century. And in December 1946, Oakland, California did have a General Strike, the last in U.S. history. Overall, it was the largest strike wave in U.S. history. In 1947, Congress responded to the strike wave by enacting the Taft-Hartley Act, restricting the powers and activities of labor unions and banning the General Strike. The act is still in force today and one the main reasons there hasn’t been a General Strike in the U.S. since 1945.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #GeneralStrike #oakland #oilworkers #union #strike #strikewave #worldwartwo #tafthartley #uaw #coal #railroads #inflation #steel #wildcat

Today in Labor History June 4, 1947: The House of Representatives approved the Taft-Hartley Act. The legislation allows the president of the United States to intervene in labor disputes. Even worse, it banned wildcat strikes, solidarity or secondary strikes, and political strikes, effectively eliminating the General Strike from workers’ arsenal. The law was a direct response to the strike wave of 1945-1946, the largest wave of strikes in U.S. history. It was particularly a response to the Oakland General Strike of 1946, the last General Strike that has occurred in the U.S. And it is one of most effective anti-labor laws ever enacted in the U.S.

#LaborHistory #workingclass #tafthartley #wildcat #strike #generalstrike #solidarity #oakland

Today in Labor History May 20, 1946: The U.S. government took over control of the coal mines (again). On April 1, 400,000 UMWA coal miners from 26 states went on strike for safer conditions, health benefits and increased wages. WWII had recently ended and President Truman saw the strike as counterproductive to economic recovery. In response, he seized the mines, making the miners temporarily federal employees. He ended the strike by offering them a deal that included healthcare and retirement security.

The coal strike was part of the strike wave of 1945-1946, the biggest strike wave in U.S. history. During WWII, most of the major unions collaborated with the U.S. war effort by enforcing labor “discipline” and preventing strikes. In exchange, the U.S. government supported closed shop policies under which employers at unionized companies agreed to hire only union members. While the closed shop gave unions more power within a particular company, the no-strike policy made that power virtually meaningless.

When the war ended, inflation soared and veterans flooded the labor market. As a result, frustrated workers began a series of wildcat strikes. Many grew into national, union-supported strikes. In November 1945, 225,000 UAW members went on strike. In January 1946, 174,000 electric workers struck. That same month, 750,000 steel workers joined them. Then, in April, the coal strike began. 250,000 railroad workers struck in May. In total, 4.3 million workers went on strike. It was the closest the U.S. came to a national General Strike in the 20th century. And in December 1946, Oakland, California did have a General Strike, the last in U.S. history.

Then, in 1947, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act, which severely restricted the powers and activities of unions. It also banned General Strikes, stripping away the most powerful tool workers had. And there hasn’t been a General Strike in the U.S. since.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #coal #mining #strike #GeneralStrike #wildcat #ww2 #union #WorldWarTwo #tafthartley #uaw #oakland