Monday, May 31, 2010

this date in steelworker history Memorial Day massacre of 1937

sad day for workrs and this is not in many history books.

Memorial Day massacre of 1937



In the Memorial Day massacre of 1937, the Chicago Police Department shot and killed ten unarmed demonstrators in Chicago, on May 30, 1937. The incident took place during the "Little Steel Strike" in the United States.

The incident arose after U.S. Steel signed a union contract, but smaller steel manufacturers (called 'Little Steel'), including Republic Steel, refused to do so. In protest, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) called a strike. On Memorial Day, hundreds of sympathizers gathered at Sam's Place, headquarters of SWOC. As the crowd marched across the prairie towards the Republic Steel mill, a line of Chicago policeman blocked their path. When the foremost protestors argued their right to continue, police fired on the crowd. As the crowd fled, police bullets killed ten people.

Years later, one of the protesters, Mollie West, recalled a policeman yelling to her that day to, "Get off the field or I'll put a bullet in your back." No police were ever prosecuted.

Today, on the site of Sam's Place stands the union hall of the United Steelworkers and a memorial to the 10 people who died in 1937.

In the book Collected Writings by Dorothy Day (who was present), the events of the protest are summarized thus: 'On Memorial Day, May 30, 1937, police opened fire on a parade of striking steel workers and their families at the gate of the Republic Steel Company, in South Chicago. Fifty people were shot, of whom ten later died; one hundred others were beaten with clubs'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day_massacre_of_1937


http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/memorial.htm
has more info

"As a show of support, hundreds of SWOC sympathizers from all around Chicago gathered on Memorial Day at Sam's Place, where the SWOC had its strike headquarters. After a round of speeches, the crowd began a march across the prairie and toward the Republic Steel mill. They were stopped midway by a formation of Chicago police. While demonstrators in front were arguing for their right to proceed, police fired into the crowd and pursued the people as they fled. Mollie West, a Typographical Union Local 16 member and a youthful demonstrator at the time, still recalls the command addressed to her: "Get off the field, or I'll put a bullet in your back."

Thursday, May 27, 2010

june 2010 meeting soar st. louis

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamasdeal/view/ is the online link for "Obama's Deal" and we continue discussion of what happened and why on the healthcare front.

canmaker reunion is also a topic and a bit of politics. I will give report on Organizing America in St. Louis

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The 15 Numbers You Need to Know

AmericanMfg has a new video on trade problem. I am not in total agreement, but vid is good and facts correct. Without reforming the entire trade structure, currency reform by itself will not return lost jobs.


-----
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-5wcBYwJM8&feature=digest


AmericanMfg — May 21, 2010 — Alliance for American Manufacturing Executive Director Scott Paul highlights AAM's 2010 U.S.-China Strategic and... AmericanMfg — May 21, 2010 — Alliance for American Manufacturing Executive Director Scott Paul highlights AAM's 2010 U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue Index which can be found on www.americanmanufacturing.org. Here are 15 numbers that help explain the flawed trade relationship between the U.S. and China.
------


-------

Monday, May 24, 2010

We are steelworkers

new vid from Usw.


Steelworkers — May 19, 2010

— We're steelworkers. We slurry and smelt aluminum. We mine for iron ore and create cement. We make glass and meta... Steelworkers — May 19, 2010 — We're steelworkers. We slurry and smelt aluminum. We mine for iron ore and create cement. We make glass and metals of many kinds. We produce paper and paper products. And we craft energy-saving wind turbines that help save our Earth.

We're nurses and nurses' aides. We make Harley Davidson motorcycles and Carrier air conditioners. We're rubber workers who make your tires; metal workers who make the materials that go into buildings, homes, automobiles, planes and roads.

We serve you at banks and teach at universities. You'll find us in oil refineries and grocery stores. At utility companies and in chemical plants. We work in the public sector and in forestry. We drive taxi cabs and work in airports. We're security guards and electricians. We're miners and pharmaceutical workers.

We're 1.2 million active and retired members strong. You'll find us fighting for a better life for all workers in union halls, at the work place, in the courts and in legislatures. We're global, we're local and we're online.
-------------



-------http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kwo3qGf7b4

Thursday, May 20, 2010

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Bio

AFLCIONow — September 16, 2009 — Get to know Richard L. Trumka

---------



------

Manufacturing the Future of America

new vid

AmericanMfg — May 05, 2010 — From labor and business leader to right here in Washington, everyone needs to work together to ensure policy changes that will make a difference for us all. Together, we can 'Keep it Made in America."

------------

Laborvision 5/3/10 "City Earnings Tax

As many know, "earnings tax" is on the ballot this yer in Missouri. Yhe following vids should give you some info to reflect on before voting.

--------


--------


--------

-------
vote no on this clunker

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

We Need a Single Payer, Doctor/Patient Health Care System to achieve

We Need a Single Payer, Doctor/Patient Health Care System to achieve “Health Care for All”

Rose Roach, Field Director of the California School Employees Association (CSEA), spoke on single payer to the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party at the Annual Convention in Los Angeles on April 17, 2010. Roach’s union, the CSEA, represents 230,000 school support staff throughout the state and is affiliated directly with the National AFL-CIO.

Clyde Rivers represents the union on the AFL-CIO Executive Council. Roach’s ten minute healthcare report can be viewed on video here:

http://www.progressivecaucuscdp.org/healthcare.html

==============



Monday, May 17, 2010

live coverage today afl-cio demonstration--economy

Break Wall Street lobbyists’ grip on Congress. We demand jobs and a real economic recovery!

Sign up to join us on K Street in DC on Monday, May 17th at noon
Can’t make it to DC? Join our virtual march & we’ll keep you posted on how to support the rally from your town



-----------


Watch live streaming video from aflcio at livestream.com