Today in Labor History July 21 Federal troops kill 10 strikers and wound 25, Paul Wellstone born

[Omaha Steve]

July 21

Local militiamen are called out against striking railroad workers in Pittsburgh. The head of the Pennsylvania Railroad advises giving the strikers "a rifle diet for a few days and see how they like that kind of bread." Instead, the militiamen joined the workers. Meanwhile, federal troops are sent to Baltimore, where they kill 10 strikers and wound 25 - 1877

Compressed air explosion kills 20 workers constructing railroad tunnel under the Hudson River - 1880

July 21, 1944
Paul Wellstone was born in Arlington, Virginia. An organizer and teacher, he became a voice for family farmers, for workers, for the environment, for those with mental illness, for children and for many who had no one to speak for them. He and his wife, Sheila, were leaders in many national campaigns for economic and social justice. They were killed in a plane crash in October, 2002, shortly before he would have elected to a third term in the U.S. Senate representing Minnesota. For more on this remarkable man, visit our special section, The Wellstone Legacy

IWW leads a strike at Hodgeman's Blueberry Farm in Grand Junction, Mich. - 1964


Radio station WCFL, owned and operated by the Chicago Federation of Labor, takes to the airwaves with two hours of music. The first and only labor-owned radio station in the country, WCFL was sold in 1979 - 1926

A die-cast operator in Jackson, Mich. is pinned by a hydraulic Unimate robot, dies five days later. Incident is the first documented case in the U.S. of a robot killing a human - 1984

Labor history found here: http://www.unionist.com/today-in-labor-history & here: http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?history_9_07_21_2009