Today in Labor History

August 04 The Amalgamated Assn. of Iron and Steel Workers is formed. It partnered with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, CIO in 1935; both organizations disbanded in 1942 to form the new United Steelworkers - 1876 15,000 silk workers strike in Paterson, N.J. for 44 hour week - 1919 185,000 Teamsters begin what is to become a successful 15-day strike at United Parcel Service over excessive use of part-timers - 1997 August 05 Using clubs, police rout 1,500 jobless men who had stormed the plant of the Fruit Growers Express Co. in Indiana Harbor, Indiana, demanding jobs - 1931 The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) took effect today. The first law signed by President Clinton, it allows many workers time off each year due to serious health conditions or to care for a family member - 1993 [The FMLA Handbook: 4th edition is a thorough, highly readable handbook that will help every worker get the most out of the surprisingly comprehensive 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act. It explains how unions can protect workers who are absent from work for justifiable medical or family-care reasons; block compulsory "light-duty" work programs; force employers to allow part-time schedules; obtain attendance bonuses for workers absent for medical reasons; and much more. An important tool for every union’s arsenal. In the UCS bookstore now.]

SOURCE: Union Communications Services, Inc. via Union Review Today in labor history, July 31, 1999: The Great Shipyard Strike of 1999 ends after steelworkers at Newport News Shipbuilding Inc. ratify a breakthrough agreement which nearly doubles pensions, increases security, ends inequality, and provides the highest wage increases in company and industry history to nearly 10,000 workers. The strike lasted over 16 weeks. 1999 ends after Steelworkers at Newport News Shipbuilding ratify a breakthrough agreement which nearly doubles pensions, increases security, ends inequality, and provides the highest wage increases in company and industry history to nearly 10,000 workers at the yard. The strike lasted 15 weeks - 1999 "Strikers here are aware of the Newport News strike and the ongoing fight to win union recognition at Avondale shipyard in New Orleans." - from http://www.themilitant.com/1999/6322/6322_3.html