by Stephen Koppekin | May 23, 2018 | Business, History of Labor Laws, Labor Laws, Organized Labor, Stephen Koppekin
In all of our country’s history, no single labor strike has engulfed more lives than the Battle of Blair Mountain: the largest labor skirmish ever in the US and one of the bloodiest battles fought on American soil since the Civil War. It began in 1921, as tensions...
by Stephen Koppekin | Dec 4, 2017 | History of Labor Laws, Labor Laws, Organized Labor, Stephen Koppekin
Before their strike in 1934, dockhands on the West Coast were paid a pittance in exchange for performing bone-crushing physical labor. No matter how heavy or dangerous the cargo, it fell upon the longshoreman to haul it almost entirely by hand: Workers pulled and...
by Stephen Koppekin | Oct 31, 2017 | Business, History of Labor Laws, Labor Laws, Organized Labor, Stephen Koppekin
At the turn of the 20th century, industrial expansion was the apple of America’s eye. Factories churned out products from silverware to guns to cars at a breakneck pace. A web of railroads tied the country together. Cities began to expand not just out, but up, with...
by Stephen Koppekin | Sep 25, 2017 | History of Labor Laws, Labor Laws, Organized Labor, Stephen Koppekin
In the mid-1930s, waking up to work at Flint, Michigan’s car factories meant crawling out of bed and into a nightmare. General Motors (GM) held sway over the town of Flint: Safety regulations were laughable as each day workers sparred with the possibility of injury...
by Stephen Koppekin | May 10, 2017 | Business, History of Labor Laws, Organized Labor, Stephen Koppekin
While car ownership is the norm today, during the 1920s, the most popular method of travel for both people and freight was by rail. In fact, railroads were so vital to the nation that during World War One, President Woodrow Wilson nationalized America’s entire rail...
