Episodes

  • 15 May 1942: T-Bone Slim body found

    15 May 1942: T-Bone Slim body found
    May 15 2026
    On this day, 15 May 1942, the body of 60-year-old waterfront worker and member of the revolutionary Industrial Workers of the World union, Matti Valentinpoika Huhta (better known as T-Bone Slim), was found floating in New York's Hudson River. Living for years as a transient worker travelling around the USA looking for work, Slim was also an accomplished author, poet and songwriter. A member of the IWW for over 20 years, he became the union's most prolific and widely-read columnist and was dubbed the "laureate of the logging camps" due to his popularity among other transient workers. The circumstances of his death remain unknown. More information in our podcast on his life and work, in episode 1 of our Working Class Literature podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/wcl-e01-t-bone-slim-the-laureate-of-the-logging-camps/

    Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
    • See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
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    1 min
  • 14 May 2021: Livorno dockers Gaza boycott

    14 May 2021: Livorno dockers Gaza boycott
    May 14 2026
    On this day, 14 May 2021, dock workers in Livorno, Italy, refused to load weapons and explosives destined for Israel during a wave of Israeli attacks on Gaza.
    Members of the rank and file Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) discovered where the shipment was headed, and then decided they would not touch it. They issued a statement declaring: "The port of Livorno will not be an accomplice in the massacre of the Palestinian people… weapons and explosives that will serve to kill the Palestinian population, already hit by a severe attack this very night, which caused hundreds of civilian victims, including many children".
    The shipment was then eventually loaded by dock workers who were not USB members.
    More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8608/livorno-dockers-boycott

    Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
    • See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
    • Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
    • Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
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    • If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History
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    2 mins
  • 13 May 1935: Jamaica banana loaders strike

    13 May 1935: Jamaica banana loaders strike
    May 13 2026
    On this day, 13 May 1935, workers loading bananas in Oracabessa, Jamaica, went on strike and rioted. They blocked roads to prevent strikebreakers from being brought in, and cut power lines. Armed police were sent by British colonial authorities from Kingston to suppress the stoppage. Strikes spread to other groups of dock workers on the island later that month.
    More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8504/oracabessa-wharf-strike

    Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
    • See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
    • Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
    • Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
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    • If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History
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    1 min
  • 12 May 1978: Saab Scania strike

    12 May 1978: Saab Scania strike
    May 12 2026
    On this day, 12 May 1978, dayshift toolroom workers at the Saab-Scania auto plant in Sao Bernardo, Brazil, decided to stop work, in spite of the military regime. The strike spread and within two weeks over 20 factories and 45,000 workers had downed tools for a pay increase.
    In the following weeks the stoppage spread to Osasco and São Paulo, before all the auto companies agreed to make pay increases of 11-13.5%.
    More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8426/auto-workers-strike-in-brazil

    Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
    • See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
    • Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
    • Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
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    • If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History
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    1 min
  • 11 May 1894: Pullman strike

    11 May 1894: Pullman strike
    May 11 2026
    On this day, 11 May 1894, the Pullman railroad strike began in Chicago following the firing of three workers the previous day, called by Eugene Debs’ American Railroad Union (ARU).
    A month after it began, 400 ARU delegates from around the country met, and in defiance of Debs and their leadership agreed to boycott all Pullman railroad cars across the country in support of the workers in Chicago. The boycott began on June 26, when switchmen in Chicago refused to switch Pullman cars, and were fired. Their colleagues then walked out in their support.
    The strike then spread down various railroads until soon all 26 roads out of Chicago were stopped, as were all of the transcontinental lines which carried Pullman cars. At its peak it was the biggest strike in US history to date, involving over 250,000 rail workers across 27 states and territories. That said, the union weakened its base of support by refusing to admit Black members, which enabled employers to hire some Black workers as strikebreakers. Despite this, some Black workers helped strikers blockade train tracks around Chicago.
    Then the US government intervened, granting an injunction against all strike activities across the country, and brought in federal troops. Thousands of US soldiers joined state militia and deputy marshals paid by the rail companies to attack the workers, shooting dozens. Still, the workers fought back, and workers around the country organised to call a general strike to force Pullman into arbitration. But these efforts were blocked by union leaders and eventually repression broke the strike.
    This book tells its story, and that of other mass strikes in the US: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/strike-jeremy-brecher

    Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
    • See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
    • Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
    • Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
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    • If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History
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    2 mins
  • 10 May 1941: strike of the 100,000

    10 May 1941: strike of the 100,000
    May 10 2026
    On this day, 10 May 1941, the Strike of the 100,000 took place in Nazi-occupied Belgium, on the first anniversary of the German invasion. Beginning in a steelworks in East Belgium, tens of thousands walked out, forcing authorities to grant an 8% pay increase, before arresting hundreds of strikers and sending many to the concentration camps.
    More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8227/strike-of-the-100,000-begins

    Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
    • See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
    • Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
    • Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
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    • If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History
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    1 min
  • 9 May 1935: Kingston Dock Boycott

    9 May 1935: Kingston Dock Boycott
    May 9 2026
    On this day, 9 May 1935, port workers in Kingston, Jamaica refused to load a vessel, the MV Costa Rica. One of their complaints was that they were not being paid for their lunch hour and demanded a settlement. Leading worker organiser William Alexander Bustamante intervened and an agreement with employers was reached.
    More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10933/kingston-port-workers-strike

    Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
    • See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
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    • If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History
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    1 min
  • 8 May 1978: Peru great education strike

    8 May 1978: Peru great education strike
    May 8 2026
    On this day, 8 May 1978, education workers in Peru launched their first "great strike" against the military dictatorship of Francisco Morales-Bermúdez. Workers in the education union SUTEP organised struggle committees around the country to coordinate the dispute.
    Despite repression from the military, with support from mothers, fathers and students, the workers held out for 81 days.
    They returned to work after winning numerous concessions including a pay increase, 20,000 additional teachers, reinstatement of dismissed workers, bonuses for class preparation and marking, and the reopening of the Enrique Guzmán y Valle teacher training university.
    More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10842/Great-education-strike

    Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
    • See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
    • Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
    • Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
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    • If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History
    Show More Show Less
    1 min