Today In Labor History

November 18
1919: Seattle printers refuse to print anti-labor ad in newspaper.

November 19
1915: On the morning of November 19, socialist trade unionist Joe Hill was executed by a Utah state authority firing squad. Hill was a songwriter and organiser for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), also known as the “Wobblies”.

Hill had been convicted of murdering a former policeman and his trial was one of the most controversial ever to take place in Utah. Hill emphatically denied the charges, but refused to testify at the trial, and was convicted of murder on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to death. One of the last messages sent from his death-row prison cell to fellow Wobbly “Big Bill” Haywood was: “Don't waste time mourning. Organise!”

November 20
1816: First use of term “scab” by Albany Typographical Society.

1884: Norman Thomas born, American socialist leader.

1901: Mine fire in Telluride, Colo., kills 28 miners - prompts union call for safer work conditions.

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