Blood Orange: The 1936 Citrus Strike in Orange County
In the early 20th century, Orange County sat in the heart of what was known as the citrus belt. As the decades passed, cement and high-rise buildings replaced the once abundant orchards. Still, the names of the cities, streets and even the county name itself act as constant reminders that this was once citrus country. […]
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John Henry—Folk hero
History books tell the tale of America, from the beginning of the country’s origins to our greatest accomplishments. In rare moments, one may even find a nod to the accomplishments of labor. However the true story of the American worker can only be found among campfire stories and folk songs. It is among the narrative […]
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Woody Guthrie: This Song Was Made for You and Me
Throughout our history, a specific lexicon of songs has been burned into our nation’s consciousness. These songs have acted as a link, unifying generations through a common culture. Among these ballads one song in particular, This Land is Our Land, has come to represent the heart and soul of the American spirit. However, few realize […]
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Flogging Molly – A Brief History of the Molly Maguires
On June 21, 1877, four Irish-born miners sat in a Pennsylvania cell waiting for their death sentence to be answered by a hangman’s noose. The four men were accused of murder and of having been members of the notorious Molly Maguires. Their conviction and execution rested on the testimony of a single Pinkerton detective. This […]
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Unsung Heroes: The Memphis Sanitation Strike
On the evening of February 11, 1968, more than 700 sanitation workers packed into the Labor Temple in Memphis to discuss their increasing frustration with the workplace. During this time of racial segregation, the occupation of sanitation workers was viewed as demeaning and fit only for African Americans. For years, tension had been building between […]
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UFCW Traces roots to determined band of temperamental women
On February 27, 1937, Floyd Loew. An organizer from the Waiters and Waitresses Union, stood among the bustling Saturday afternoon crowd in a Woolworth’s Five-and-Dime store in Detroit. At 11 a.m. Loew yelled out, “Strike, girls! Strike!” Every worker immediately stopped in her tracks, leaving customers and management bewildered. Loew had no idea those three […]
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Internal Divisions Have Helped Shape America’s Labor Movement-Sometimes for the Better
Mass production industries were developing on a wide scale in the early 1930’s. The need for new methods of union organizing became abundantly clear. The leadership within the American Federation of Labor (AFL), argued that these new industries should be organized as in the past on a craft basis. This often meant that there could […]
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Uppity Sinclair and the Battle of Liberty Hill
In the early evening of May 15, 1923, Upton Sinclair stood before a crowd on Liberty Hill in San Pedro. Known for years as a muckraker and radical author, Sinclair had a gift for using words to challenge social injustice. In 1906, he published The Jungle, a novel that told of the atrocious working conditions […]
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