Today in Labor History Apr 8 128 convict miners jailed for minor offenses are killed by an explosion

[Omaha Steve]

April 8

128 convict miners, leased to a coal company under the state’s shameful convict lease system, are killed in an explosion at the Banner coal mine outside Birmingham, Ala. The miners were mostly African-Americans jailed for minor offenses - 1911

And this:
April 8, 1911 - A violent explosion ripped through the Banner coalmine outside Birmingham, Alabama; 128 convict miners, mostly African-Americans jailed for minor offenses, were killed. Unlike the Triangle Shirtwaist fire that occurred two weeks earlier, the Banner explosion elicited little attention or public sympathy. Although evidence clearly pointed to a dangerous buildup of methane gas in the mine, an Alabama commission placed the blame on the miners themselves. Most of the miners were prisoners leased to Pratt Consolidated Coal Company under the state’s notorious convict lease system. While many southern states leased convicts, Alabama’s program lasted the longest, from 1846 to1928.

President Wilson establishes the War Labor Board, composed of representatives from business and labor, to arbitrate disputes between workers and employers during World War I - 1918

President Harry S Truman orders the U.S. Army to seize the nation’s steel mills to avert a strike. The Supreme Court ruled the act illegal three weeks later - 1952

And this: April 8, 1952 - President Harry Truman ordered the U.S. Army to seize the nation’s steel mills to avert a strike. The act was ruled to be illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 2.

Labor history found here: http://www.unionist.com/today-in-labor-history & here:

[Lost4words]

1. K&R!

thanks for posting! :hi: