April 6th: Rose Schneiderman born in 1882

On this day in labor history, labor activist and feminist Rose Schneiderman was born in 1882 in Sawin, Russian Poland. Schneiderman immigrated to New York City’s Lower East Side with her family in 1890. After her father died, she and her family became impoverished. Schneiderman worked as a cashier and later in a cap factory. By 1903, she started her labor activism, organizing the women in the factory and receiving a charter from the United Cloth Hat and Cap Makers of North America. Schneiderman would go on to join the Women's Trade Union League, an organization that supported female laborers. She quickly rose through their ranks, becoming Vice President by 1908. With the help of the WTUL, Schneiderman went back to school. She was a key figure in the 1909 Uprising of 20,000 and spoke out virulently against inaction after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Schneiderman expanded the suffragist movement to working class women, running for the US Senate in 1920. Friend of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, she educated them about unions and was appointed to the board of the National Recovery Administration. She never married but had a lengthy relationship with Maud O'Farrell Swartz. She died in 1972 at 90. Sources in comments.

April 5th: Bostin University Strike of 1979 Begins

On this day in labor history, the Boston University strike of 1979 began. The labor action had its origins in the unpopular presidency of John Silber. Silber made several decisions that were detested, including hiring his friends and vetoing requests for tenure, specifically of those with left-leaning ideologies. Faculty had unionized with the American Association of University Professors in 1975, while clerical workers and librarians organized under other unions. The university repudiated all organizing efforts but was required to negotiate with them after ordered by the US Court of Appeals. A tentative agreement was reached in late March, but after Silber held a closed-door meeting with members of the board, talks broke down. Four hundred professors went on strike, with librarians and clerical workers voting to strike soon after. Lasting over a week, the action canceled classes but saw support among students. Historian Howard Zinn and sociologist Frances Fox Piven both held classes outside of the university. The strike ended on April 23rd with the approval of a new contract and recognition. However, a Supreme Court case in 1980 ruled that professors at private universities could not unionize, leading to the union’s decertification.  

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April 4th: California enacts legislation to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15.

On this day in labor history, California enacted legislation to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 in 2016. At the time, the minimum wage was set at $10 per hour in the state. The new legislation raised the wage 50 cents the first year, followed by one dollar each subsequent year, reaching $15 by 2022. California, along with New York, were some of the first states to pass legislation raising the wage to that rate, helping combat the growing cost of living. Governor Jerry Brown commented that the new law was about “economic justice,” and that while a minimum wage might not make much economic sense, there was a moral obligation to the community. The federal minimum wage has not changed since 2009, currently sitting at $7.25 per hour. Sources in comments

April 3rd: MLK Delivers "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech to striking sanitation workers

On this day in labor history, Martin Luther King Junior delivers his final speech, commonly called the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, to striking Memphis sanitation workers in 1968. The strike began in February after two black sanitation workers, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, had been killed while sheltering from a heavy downpour. They had sought refuge in a nearby building but were refused due to segregation laws. Shielded inside the trash compactor, it turned on, killing the men. Having been subject to years of racial discrimination, low pay, and unsafe working conditions, sanitation workers were at their end, deciding to strike. With the support of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, T.O. Jones led 1,300 black men to strike. Mayor Henry Loeb refused to recognize the labor action, hiring strikebreakers and rejecting negotiations. King returned to Memphis, showing his support for the striking workers. His speech urged nonviolent demonstrations and called for the United States to fulfil its ideological promises. King would be assassinated the next day, intensifying the strike but ultimately leading to its success. The workers would receive union recognition and pay increases. Sources in comments.