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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Stephen Koppekin is the founder and CEO of Koppekin Consulting, Inc. An experienced former executive who spent decades overseeing industrial relations and workplace safety for major businesses in the entertainment industry, Stephen started his own independent consulting business shortly after retiring. He uses 43 years of experience in labor and employment, during which time he worked at two major entertainment corporations and in government agency National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), to support a diverse client set.
