Today In Labor History April 11, 1986: 17 were arrested on felony riot charges after police tear-gassed striking Hormel meatpacking workers in Austin, Minn. The following day, 6,000 people demonstrated against Hormel and the police (nearly one-third of the city’s entire population). The strike (August 17, 1985 – September 13, 1986) was eventually suppressed by Hormel, with the collaboration of the state, and the workers’ own union.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #hormel #strike #union #police #policebrutality #riot