Today in Labor History Oct 24 “there was no black, no white, we were all on strike 13 months & more

[Omaha Steve]

October 24

Strike of Teamsters, Scalesmen and Packers in New Orleans. City trade is paralyzed; in two weeks the walkout becomes a general strike, involving more than 20,000 whites and blacks together, in support of demands for union recognition and a 10-hour work day - 1892


The first U.S. federal minimum wage – 25 cents an hour – takes effect, thanks to enactment of the Depression-era Fair Labor Standards Act. The law required an increase to 30 cents an hour one year from this date, and to 40 cents an hour on this date in 1945. The FLSA also established the 40-hour work week and forbade child labor in factories - 1938

October 24, 1966 - About 1,000 workers went on strike at the Kellwood Co. garment factory in Little Rock, Arkansas. Although little noticed outside the state, their 13-month struggle was fought on the same scale as the J.P. Stevens and Farah campaigns. Kellwood tried to divide the workers by racially segregating them within the plant, but, as one striker recalled, by the end of the walkout, “there was no black, no white, we were all on strike.” Though the strike was lost, the workers eventually won in the courts and became part of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union.

AFL-CIO readmits Teamsters union to the labor federation, ending a 30-year expulsion for corruption. In 2005 the Teamsters again parted company with the AFL-CIO – along with a half-dozen other unions – over differences of approach on organizing and politics - 1987.

Labor history found here: http://www.unionist.com/today-in-labor-history & here: http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?history_9_10_24_2010