On This Day in Working Class History

1:09

27 August 1889: Jewish tailors strike

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/27

On this day, 27 August 1889, the great strike of East End Jewish tailors in London began during a dockers' strike. 8,000 workers, mostly Jewish immigrants from Russia, elected a strike committee and walked out, demanding a maximum 12-hour working day (they were working 14-18 hours). Despite the antipathy of the dockers' union leader, predominantly Irish Catholic dockers donated to the strike fund and helped the tailors hold out until October when the employers caved in. More information, sources and

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1:34

26 August 1972: Falkirk FC strike

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/26

On this day, 26 August 1972, Falkirk FC was due to play against Montrose in a Scottish League Cup football match, but Falkirk players had gone on strike and stated they would refuse to play unless a financial penalty imposed by their manager was rescinded.Players, led by later Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, walked out during a prior training session, after manager Willie Cunningham withdrew food and travel expense payments from players to penalise them for losing a match, 6-1, against St

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1:33

25 August 1921: Battle of Blair Mountain

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/25

On this day, 25 August 1921, the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed rebellion in the US since the civil war, began in West Virginia.Miners and their supporters had been killed in Welch and Sharples, and other miners were being held in jail under martial law in Mingo County, the last anti-union stronghold in the southern part of the state.Thousands of striking coal miners, dubbed "rednecks" due to the red bandanas they wore around their necks, were determined to march on Mingo, and armed

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1:13

24 August 1922: Howard Zinn born

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/24

On this day, 24 August 1922, radical historian, author, World War II bombardier and activist, Howard Zinn, was born to a Jewish immigrant family in Brooklyn, New York City. Author of the book A People’s History of the United States and many other works, Zinn did perhaps more than anyone else in recent years to popularise the history of ordinary people, our history and our struggles. For Zinn, fighting for a better world wasn't just about the concrete outcomes of any particular struggles, but also

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1:21

23 August 1966: Wave Hill walk-off

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/23

On this day, 23 August 1966, 200 Gurindji Aboriginal workers at the Wave Hill pastoral station in Australia walked out on strike for equal pay with white workers. At the time, it was against the law for Aboriginal workers to be paid more than a specific amount.After walking out, the workers set up a camp, and kept up their strike for nine years. They received support from other workers, who donated supplies and money to a strike fund.Over time, the demands of the strikers escalated, to include

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1:13

22 August 2005: Air Vanuatu strike

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/22

On 22 August 2005 at 4:30 AM over 100 workers at Air Vanuatu walked out on strike in a dispute over a collective bargaining agreement, job security and severance pay.The stoppage, by members of the National Workers' Union, forced the cancellation of all international and domestic flights that day. In order to return to work, workers demanded arbitration of their complaints. Management agreed to this demand, and the workers returned to work.More information, sources and map:

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1:15

21 August 1971: Angry Brigade raid

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/21

On this day, 21 August 1971, number 359 Amhurst Road, London, was raided by police investigating the Angry Brigade urban guerrilla group. Jim Greenfield, Anna Mendelson, John Barker and Hilary Creek were arrested. The four were taken to the 'Bomb Squad' HQ in Albany Street, London, where the two men were subjected to a brutal beating to extract a confession from them. Learn more about the group in episodes 83-84 of our podcast, in conversation with John Barker:

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2:05

20 August 1976: Grunwick strike begins

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/20

On this day, 20 August 1976, the Grunwick strike began in London when Devshi Bhudia was dismissed from a photo processing plant for working too slowly and three colleagues walked out in his support. Three days later they began picketing in what became an iconic dispute and one of the key struggles of the working class, particularly the Asian and female working class in the UK in the late 20th century. One worker who became a leader of the strike, Jayaben Desai, walked out as well and spoke to the

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1:34

19 August 1909: Little Red Song Book published

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/19

On this day, 19 August 1909, the first edition of the revolutionary Industrial Workers of the World union’s Little Red Songbook was published in the US. Spreading faster than many radical texts, these songs were sung by thousands on picket lines across the country in the coming years, including perhaps the most famous, 'Solidarity Forever', written by Ralph Chaplin during a miners' strike in West Virginia in 1912. It also included numerous songs by Joe Hill, the Swedish immigrant IWW activist who

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1:06

18 August 1812: Leeds food riots

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/18

On this day, 18 August 1812, food riots broke out in Leeds and Sheffield, England, primarily led by women. In Leeds the local paper described the group of women and boys who were seizing corn and wheat, and assaulting sellers, as being "dignified with the title of Lady Ludd". In Sheffield flour dealers were forced to reduce their prices to 3 shillings per stone. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8955/lady-ludd-food-riots-in-leedsOur work is only

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1:26

17 August 1987: Hyundai occupation

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/17

On this day, 17 August 1987, workers in South Korea occupied factories and the shipyard of the Hyundai corporation in the city of Ulsan. Meanwhile, upwards of 30,000 workers took to the streets and battled riot police in the city, in one of the biggest confrontations to date between workers and the US-backed dictatorship. The strikes spread, and the "Great Workers' Struggle," as the movement would become known, would at its height involve around 1.2 million workers – one third of the regular

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1:20

15 August 1911: Liverpool strikers shot

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/15

On this day, 15 August 1911, prison vans containing 90 of those convicted for involvement in the Liverpool transport general strike were attacked as they made their way down Vauxhall Road to Walton Jail. The convoy was being escorted by 32 men from the cavalry unit the 18th Hussars, yet bottles and bricks were thrown at the soldiers and rioters grabbed the reins of the horses. The Hussars opened fire on the crowd and two men were killed. On the corner of Hopwood Street and Vauxhall Road, John

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1:10

14 August 1886: New Haven rubber workers strike

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/14

On this day, 14 August 1886 50 women and girls working in the L Candee Rubber Boot Company factory in New Haven, Connecticut, walked out on strike over excessive working temperatures. The New York Times reported that the women: "complained that the heat of the room was unendurable, and insisted that the windows must be opened. The Superintendent refused to open the windows for fear of damage to the stock from a mist which hung over the city. Then the girls picked up their bonnets and left the

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1:32

13 August 1937: Mauritius strike massacre

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/13

On this day, 13 August 1937, striking workers were massacred at the Union Flacq Sugar Estate in Mauritius. Primarily Indian labourers on sugar plantations on the island, then a British colony, had been organising for better pay, and police were being used to intimidate workers and break strikes.Workers on the Union Flacq estate were unhappy about low pay, poor quality food rations and inadequate hospital treatment. They went on strike, and on August 13, strikers were violently attacked by police,

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2:00

12 August 1887: Maria Cano born

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/12

On this day, 12 August 1887, pioneering Colombian socialist and women's rights advocate María Cano, known as the "Flor del trabajo" ("Labour flower"), was born in Antioquia. At the time, women in Colombia could not hold most jobs, participate in elections, or even spend their own money.Cano was from a middle-class family, but came into contact with lots of people regularly at her local library, and began to support people living in poor neighbourhoods. At the age of 38 she became a socialist, and a

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1:12

11 August 1958: Dockums drugstore sit-in

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/11

On this day, 11 August 1958, civil rights activists in Wichita, Kansas won a key early successful sit-in protest against segregated lunch counters. Black students and young people sat at the counter in the Dockum's Drug Store in rotating shifts of 30 minutes to 2 hours, blocking sales and facing down police and racist harassment for 23 days until they won. After this victory, sit-ins spread rapidly across the Jim Crow states and desegregated many eateries. More information, sources and map:

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1:52

10 August 2005: Gate Gourmet dispute

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/10

On this day, 10 August 2005, the Gate Gourmet dispute began in London. British Airways (BA) had outsourced its airline meal production, primarily by Asian women workers, to Gate Gourmet, who cut wages and conditions. Planning on worsening conditions further, they brought in hundreds of agency workers to do the work of the permanent employees. Seeing agency workers in their usual posts, the workers assembled in their canteen to discuss and protest at what was happening. Gate Gourmet then sacked over

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1:42

9 August 1979: YH wig workers occupation

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/09

On this day, 9 August 1979, the women workers of the YH wig making company in Seoul, South Korea, occupied the headquarters of the opposition New Democratic Party in protest at the closure of their employer. The workers had gone on strike against the proposed closure, but to no avail, so they attempted to escalate their protest. However, the US-backed military dictatorship instead sent 2,000 riot police to attack the 187 women and evict the occupation. One woman, Kim Kyung Sook, was killed by

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1:18

8 August 1883: MSG strike benefit

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/08

On this day, 8 August 1883, over 3,000 people attended a benefit ball and concert for striking telegraphers in New York's Madison Square Garden. A procession of 800 striking workers, mostly employees of Western Union fighting for equal pay for men and women and an eight-hour day, were led into the ballroom by John Mitchell and Minnie Swan, who had emerged as key organisers of the strike in the city. They were serenaded by local regimental bands who had volunteered to play. The strike was later

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1:46

7 August 1842: Chartist mass meeting

On This Day in Working Class History ·

2026/08/07

On this day, 7 August 1842, a mass meeting of 18,000 workers took place in the UK, organised by the Chartist movement. They decided to call a general strike beginning the following day, demanding universal male suffrage, and opposing pay cuts. The strikes began and spread rapidly around the country, to towns including Manchester, Burnley, Preston, Macclesfield, Oldham, Wigan, and many more.Workers set up “committees of public safety” which coordinated action and gave permission for essential

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