Inspired by the words of these titans of the labor movement in America and inspired by the success of Man Eegee’s United Nations project, I proposed a few weeks ago that we, as a community, delve in to the rich, but unheralded history of the labor movement and its leaders. I further proposed that we use this series of diaries to look at the current plight of workers in America.
Promoted by Steven D. I’m looking forward to this series of diaries.
Fortunately, several stalwart BTers accepted the proposal. Be sure to look for these diaries over the coming days.
9/4 Taft Hartley, Wagner Act, etc. – Kahli
9/5 Labor Arts – Man Eegee
9/6 Joe Hill, IWW,personal union experience – Shirlstars
9/7 Al Shankar and Teachers – Teacher Toni
9/8 The Haymarket Tragedy -Supersoling
9/9 Triangle Fire and Sweatshops – Libary Lil
9/10 Mother Jones – Omir the Storyteller
9/11 Cesar Chavez – Alice
Thanks to all who agreed to participate.
And now, I’m off to work.
I’ve started my research. I hope I can pull this off.
I began my political activism in labor, so I’m looking forward to this series as well. Yesterday, while campaigning, I got an opportunity to speak with a young (to me) building trades business agent whose energy and enthusiasm for taking back the congress was exciting to see.
Thanks to all you diarists for taking on this worthwhile project.
The titles of the diaries reminded me of this quote:
When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: “Whose?”
(Don Marquis)
I’m also looking forward to these diaries.
Looking forward to the diaries as well.
I’ve already done all my research over the last week or so. Now to get it on paper in some coherant form!
I learned a lot of things in my research too. I never knew that Lucy Parsons was married to one of the condemded men from the Haymarket trials. And I knew little about Governor Altgelt, the democratic governor of Illinois who pardoned the remaing three, and in the process ruined his political career. No small thing, then or now, as ridiculous as that may sound.
Smething else I learned about how little things have changed…when a park honoring Lucy Parsons was proposed a few years ago, the Chicago police, after all these years, protested the idea because of the views held by Parsons and anarchists in general.
The Haymarket Story is amazing. And Governor Altgelt was a hero.
Can’t wait for your diary!
I’m looking forward to each of these diaries. My personal pet peeve is that all the networks slavishly devote so much time to stock market reporting-the stock market even has it’s own freaken channel for all things stock market…..my peeve is that if only there would be a channel devoted to all things concerning the rights of American workers, how working conditions around the country are doing, how big or little a presence the Union is around the country and in various fields-to let the public-the majority of plain old working stiffs just what is really happening regarding workers rights, their jobs, how big corporations are screwing everyone and so…like we really matter as much as big corporations and the damn stock market.
That’s because in this country, capital is God and labor is just another resource to be exploited, like timber, or tin, or salmon, or water. Let me tell you a story from Mother Jones’ autobiography that isn’t going to make it into my entry: She tells of a mine explosion in a town she was visiting. The women immediately ran to the mine inquiring about husbands and sons. The bosses’ first question was, “How many mules were lost?” Mules, you see, had to be shipped in, and that cost money. There were always more miners, and they didn’t cost anything. (In fact they cost less than nothing because the miners usually “owed (their) soul to the company store.”)
In fact the deification of capital in this country is so entrenched that anything even remotely resembling socialism has to be not just crushed, but dismembered and buried in a salted field. It’s labeled “anti-American.” Ordinary people like you and me are labeled as “Commies” because we want to see universal health care. Powerful unions have to be broken or compromised. Defense mobilization isn’t the only reason the interstate highway system was created; in promoting increased movement of freight by truck, the capitalist high priests saw a way to break the railroad unions. Reagan didn’t think twice before he dismantled the air traffic controllers’ union. The list goes on and on and on.
Here! Here!
I second that emotion about the lack of coverage about workers.
I’d also like to see the arts get the same amount of coverage as sports — but that’s just me.
I keep thinking that if we want to see these changes in the media, we have to make them ourselves. I’d love to be able to start a cable channel devoted to progressive issues. It would take a great deal of work, but more so, it would take someone who knows what they’re doing (which isn’t me) and it would take a great deal of money (which also isn’t me).
Reading these comments,I am reminded that when most of us were ranting and raging at our televisions while NOLA drowned, the hororable Al Gore chartered a jet plane and flew into New Orleans to pick up sick and injured people. He avoided the press, and consequently is not famous for being the great man he is.
Al is becoming the change he wants to see in the world – see Current TV
What a man! My president. Sorry, OT, but working on a Cesar Chavez diary for 9/11 has got me thinking about heroism.
Hi Kahli, I’ll have my diary ready but it probably won’t be until midday as I’ve been away from the computer the whole weekend. I have a bunch of stuff compiled but need to put it into diary format. Don’t worry tho, it’ll be up sometime on the 5th. Thanks again for spearheading this, I firmly believe in the causes of the labor movement. Paz.