Lest we forget

Billy · 2009-05-02T00:47:54+00:00

May 1, 1886The Struggle for the Eight-Hour Day Day parade and strikesIn October 1884, a convention held by the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions unanimously set May 1, 1886, as the date by which the eight-hour work day would become standard.[10] When May 1, 1886 approached, American labor unions prepared for a general strike in support of the eight-hour day.[11]On Saturday, May 1, rallies were held throughout the United States. There were an estimated 10,000 demonstrators in New York[12] and 11,000 in Detroit.[13] In Milwaukee, Wisconsin some 10,000 workers turned out.[13] The movement's center was in Chicago, where an estimated 40,000 workers went on strike.[14] Albert Parsons was an anarchist and founder of the International Working People's Association (IWPA). Parsons, with his wife Lucy and their children, led a march of 80,000 people down Michigan Avenue.[14] Another 10,000 men employed in the lumber yards held a separate march in Chicago.[15] Estimates of the total number of striking American workers range from 300,000[14] to half a million.[15]The first flier calling for a rally in the Haymarket on May 4.The revised flier for the rally. The words Workingmen Arm Yourselves and Appear in Full Force! have been removed.On May 3, striking workers in Chicago met near the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. plant. Union molders at the plant had been locked out since early February and the predominantly Irish-American workers at McCormick had come under attack from Pinkerton guards during an earlier strike action in 1885. This event, along with the eight-hour militancy of McCormick workers, had gained the strikers some respect and notoriety around the city. By the time of the 1886 general strike, strikebreakers entering the McCormick plant were under protection from a garrison of 400 police officers. Although half of the replacement workers defected to the general strike on May 1, McCormick workers continued to harass "scabs" who crossed the picket lines....

Lest we forget

May 02, 2009 42 Replies

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Charlie 17 years ago

:-)

Change of course time. Lovey yelled out to my manhole and had me turn on the telly where they were showing a fruit called Chocolate Pudding Fruit...looking it up on-the-line it was called Black Sapote.

You had it or have it? It sounds delightful.

Charlie

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FarmI 17 years ago

Never eaten it but read about it lots of times. It needs far more warmth than where I live. I have trouble keeping a lemon tree alive outside so Sapote is out for me.

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brooklyn1 17 years ago

When I lived in Belize the various types of sapote were very popular ice cream flavors. Sapote trees should grow wherever citrus grows. Many tropical fruits do not ship well but Hispanic markets often sell a variety frozen and as beverages.

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