Toledo Area Jobs with Justice

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Toledo Area Jobs with Justice We are a grassroots volunteer organization committed to worker justice. Toledo JwJ is one of 40 chart

10/16/2026

"If the workers of the world want to win, all they have to do is recognize their own Solidarity. They have nothing to do but fold their arms and the world will stop. The workers are more powerful with their hands in their pockets than all the property of the Capitalists." -Joseph Ettor, IWW organizer

Today's Labor History:

Nov 16:

Ravensdale coal mine explosion kills 31 workers, Washington state. The mine owner was aware of a excessive coal dust problem but only took minimal actions to control it in order to keep higher profits. -1916

New law reduces Child Labor 40% outraging southern Capitalists. Child labor was a constant target for Progressive reformers. Factory owners insisted that child labor was necessary for Southern industries to compete with the North. Children as young as 8 worked in factories and mines 10-12 hours a day or more. The work camps in which they lived were unsanitary and crowded. -1919

A county judge in Punxsutawney, Pa., grants an injunction requested by the Clearfield Bituminous Coal Co. forbidding strikers from speaking to strikebreakers, posting signs declaring a strike is in progress, or even singing hymns. Union leaders termed the injunction “drastic”. -1927

The National Football League Players Association ends a 57-day strike that shortened the season to nine games. The players wanted, but failed to win until many years later, a higher share of gross team revenues. -1982

Federal District Court Judge Jack Tanner orders Washington State to pay female employees their "comparable worth." -1982

10/15/2026

"When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses." -Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, social justice activist

Today's Labor History:

Oct 15:

President Woodrow Wilson signs the Clayton Antitrust Act -often referred to as "Labor’s Magna Carta" -establishing that Unions are not "conspiracies" under the law. It for the first time freed Unions to strike, picket and boycott employers. In the years that followed, however, numerous state measures and negative court interpretations weakened the law. -1914

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) Free Speech fight in Fresno, California. During the free speech fights the I.W.W. called members from across the country to "defend the Bill of Rights". Members were arrested one by one for reading the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence on a soap box in public until the jails were full. In Fresno, the Wobblies sang nonstop in jail. When they refused to stop, jailers turned fire hoses on the prisoners but they kept singing. These nonviolent battles waged by the workers breathed life into the First Amendment, and forced the elites and the masters of Capital onto the defensive by winning the right of Free Speech for all including the workers. -1915

A boycott is initiated by the Industrial Association of Machinists against Brown & Sharpe, a machine, precision, measuring and cutting tool manufacturer, in Rhode Island. The firm forced the Union into a strike in which police sprayed pepper gas on 800 IAM pickets. Three weeks later, shots were fired into the picket line. The National Labor Relations Board subsequently charged Brown & Sharpe with regressive bargaining, and of entering into negotiations with the express purpose of not reaching an agreement with the Union. -1982

Over 10,000 John Deere workers launch first strike in 35 years. Workers at agricultural equipment giant Deere and Company began to strike at midnight Central Time early Thursday morning. The strike follows the overwhelming rejection by workers, in a 90 percent “no” vote, of a concessions contract backed by the United Auto Workers (UAW). The deal would have included wage increases well below the current inflation rate. It also would have ended pensions for workers hired after November. -2021

10/14/2026

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." -George Orwell, novelist, journalist, Democratic Socialist

Today's Labor History:

Oct 14:

Int’l Working People's Association founded in Pittsburgh, Pa. -1883

New York City cigar makers struck against pay cuts and repressive factory rules during October. The strike ended in January 1878 with the pay cuts and repressive rules intact. Samuel Gompers, the strike leader, was blacklisted and unable to find work for months, a strain on his family which now includes four children and one on the way. -1877

The 2-day founding congress of the International Working People’s Association (IWPA) occurred in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, marking the beginning of the trade Union movement in the US. In attendance were 2 of the Haymarket Martyrs, August Spies and Albert R. Parsons. -1883

Wales: A coal dust explosion followed by a fire kills 439 miners (men and boys) in the Universal Colliery, Sengenhydd. -1913

The Seafarers Int’l Union (SIU) is founded as an AFL alternative to what was then the CIO’s National Maritime Union. SIU is an umbrella organization of 12 autonomous Unions of mariners, fishermen and boatmen working on U.S.-flagged vessels. -1938

President Eisenhower promises to fire and brand as a "Red" any federal worker taking the 5th amendment. -1953

Formal construction began today on what is expected to be a five-year, $3.9 billion replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River. It's estimated the project would be employing 8,000 building trades workers over the span of the job. -2013

10/13/2026

"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it." -Chinese Proverb

Today's Labor History:

Oct 13:

Teddy Roosevelt threatened to send in federal troops as strikebreakers to crush a coal strike. -1902

The AFL votes to boycott all German-made products as a protest against N**i antagonism to organized labor within Germany. On May 2nd, 1933 Hi**er declared all Unions illegal and ordered police to occupy all Union headquarters and arrest every Union official and leader, many never to be seen again. (Fascists, Communists and Capitalists historically have been anti-Union because Unions promote Democracy and give the people and workers power.) -1934

More than 1,100 office workers strike Columbia University in New York City. The mostly female and minority workers win Union recognition and pay increases. -1985

National Basketball Association cancels regular season games for the first time in its 51-year history, during a player lockout. Player salaries and pay caps are the primary issue. The lockout lasts 204 days. -1998

Hundreds of San Jose Mercury News newspaper carriers end 4-day walkout with victory. - 2000

2 Kansas City firefighters, Larry J. Leggio and John V. Mesh, were killed when a burning building's wall collapsed on them just after they rescued 2 trapped citizens. Mesh and Leggio were proud members of International Assoc Of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 42 a tearful Union representative confirmed. -2015

(Note: there is deeper dives in many of these stories available at laborhistoryin2.com ~thg)

10/13/2026

We told you about the AutoZone workers’ fight to organize. Now we’ve got some updates for you.

FIRST: Workers at AutoZone's New Paltz, New York store voted to join the United Auto Workers, making history as the first AutoZone store in the country to win a union election.

THEN: AutoZone fired Nate Sensinger — a worker who helped lead the first successful union election at the nationwide auto parts retailer. His crime? Standing up for dignity, fairness, and the right to organize.

10/12/2026

"Where trade Unions are most firmly organized, there are the rights of the people are most respected." -Samuel Gompers, Legendary Labor Leader, CMIU, AFL President

Today's Labor History:

Oct 12:

The First Industrial Congress of US (first US national labor congress) met in New York City. -1845

Also known as “Miners Day,” October 12 commemorates the 14 miners who were killed in the Illinois “Virden Riot” of October 1898, when miners got in a shootout with mine guards attempting to bring in strikebreakers. The riot came in response to mine owners refusal to accept the 8-hour day, offer fair pay, abolish the company store and recognize the United Mine Workers. -1898

14 miners murdered, 22 wounded by scab-herders who were protecting company profits in Pana, Illinois. The miners were striking for safe working conditions and fair pay. -1902

Panama: 600 US marines land and take over police duties in Panama City during a worker strike "to protect US interests" and put the strikers in their place. During the U.S. construction period (1904-1913) 5,609 workers died of diseases and accidents. The majority of the men who died were locals, only 350 of the deaths were white Americans. The workers were striking for safer working conditions and fair pay. -1925

2,000 workers demanding Union recognition close down dress manufacturing, Los Angeles. -1933

More than 1 million Canadian workers demonstrate against wage controls. -1976

10/11/2026

"The labor movement is organized upon a principle that the strong shall help the weak." -John L. Lewis, UMWA President
Today's Labor History:
Oct 11:
The Miners’ National Association was founded in Youngstown, Ohio, with the goal of uniting all miners, regardless of skill or ethnicity, echoing the Knights of Labor and presaging the IWW. -1873
Masses editor Mary Heaton Vorse is born. American journalist, labor activist, and novelist. She was outspoken and active in peace and social justice causes, women's suffrage, civil rights, pacifism, socialism, child labor, infant mortality, labor disputes, and affordable housing. Author of Strike!, Labor's New Millions, etc. She participated in and reported on the Lawrence Textile Strike, the steel strike of 1919, the textile workers strike of 1934, and coal strikes in Harlan County, Kentucky.-1874
Nearly 1,500 plantation workers strike Olaa Sugar, on Hawaii’s Big Island. They struck for better pay, safer working conditions and better hours. -1948

10/10/2026

"There's a direct relationship between the ballot box and the bread box, and what the union fights for and wins at the bargaining table can be taken away in the legislative halls." -Walter Reuther, Legendary Labor Leader, UAW President

Today's Labor History:

Oct 10:

IWW strike in Little Falls, New York. Longtime Little Falls residents struck against a giant, foreign-owned corporation. Numerous strikers were beaten, some into unconsciousness. Over 2000 female textile workers went on strike in Little Falls under the banner of the Industrial Workers of the World, attracting national attention and winning a significant victory for all women in the work place. -1912

20,000 cotton pickers in southern California’s San Joaquin Valley go on strike six days earlier over wages, working conditions, and union recognition. Striking workers who had assembled at their Union’s office in Pixley to hear an organizer speak were shot by growers who drove up in their pickup trucks. Within minutes, 2 workers had been murdered and 8 injured. 8 growers were indicted, but all were acquitted. -1933

10/09/2026

"A working class hero is something to be." -John Lennon, singer/songwriter, Social Justice Activist, Peace Activist, Musicians Union member

Today's Labor History:

Oct 9:

Mary Heaton Vorse was born on this date in New York. Vorse was a labor journalist who wrote eyewitness accounts of many of the significant labor battles of her day. She also wrote the novel, “Strike!” which was made into a film in 2007. -1874

United Hebrew Trades is organized in New York by shirtmaker Morris Hillquit and others. Hillquit would later would become leader of the Socialist Party. The UHT was patterned after the United German Trades. The goal was to organize Yiddish speaking workers. -1888

During a lettuce strike in Salinas, California, red flags appeared around town, specifically at intersections and on power poles. Fearing a Communists uprising, the local authorities took down the flags, only to discover later that they were "part of a traffic check being made by the state highway division." (The red flag has been the symbol of the working class since the 1831 Merthyr Riots in South Wales. Right-wing red-baiters love to falsely equate Communism with Unions using fear and paranoia as a tool to control the people). -1936

John Lennon, Musicians Union member, singer/song writer, social justice activist, peace activist, born today. He wrote the songs "Working Class Hero" and "Imagine". Lennon was murdered by a gunman in 1980. -1940

Stock brokerage firm Smith Barney reaches a tentative sexual harassment settlement with a group of female employees. The suit charged, among other things, that branch managers asked female workers to remove their tops in exchange for money and one office featured a "boom boom room" where women workers were encouraged to "entertain clients." The settlement was never finalized: a U.S. District Court judge refused to approve the deal because it failed to adequately redress the plaintiff's grievances. -1997

3,300 sanitation workers working for private haulers in Chicago win a 9-day strike featuring a 28-percent wage increase over 5 years. -2003

10/08/2026

"He who puts out his hand to stop the wheel of history will have his fingers crushed." -L**h Walesa, Union/anti-Communist leader, Social Justice Activist, Nobel Peace Prize recipient

Today's Labor History:

Oct 8:

30 of the city's 185 firefighters are injured battling the Great Chicago Fire, which burned for 3 days. -1871

Structural Building Trades Alliance organizes in Indianapolis with goal of eliminating jurisdictional strikes that were seriously disrupting the industry and shoring up the power of international Unions over local building trades councils. -1902

A General Strike was called to demand the release of Tom Mooney and amnesty for all other political prisoners. Mooney was a labor organizer who was framed and falsely convicted of the fatal Preparedness Day bombing (his real crime was organizing and inspiring his fellow workers). -1919

The statue commemorating the police who murdered workers demonstrating for the 8-hour day (1886 Haymarket Massacre) was blown up. The statue was replaced and blown up a second time on October 7, 1970. It has been the target of vandals since the very day it was erected. -1969

Poland: The trade Union Solidarność (Solidarity) and all other Labor organizations are banned by the Communist government who feared the Union Democratization of the workers. The Labor Unions would later crush Communism in Poland and bring Democracy to the people. -1982 *

Upholsterers' Int’l Union of North America merges with United Steelworkers of America. -1985

*and the Republican Party that supported this movement have enshrined "Right-to-Work" in their own national platform....(thg)

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PO Box 13048
Toledo, OH
43613

Telephone

4197875245

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