LABOR HISTORY TODAY: "Salt of the Earth" opens
Chris Garlock | Published on 3/18/2025
1939
Labor activist Warren Billings is released from California's Folsom Prison. Along with Thomas J. Mooney, Billings had been pardoned for a 1916 conviction stemming from a bomb explosion during a San Francisco Preparedness Day parade. He had always maintained his innocence.
1950
Salt of the Earth strike begins by the mostly Mexican-American members of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers Union Local 890 in Bayard, N.M. Strikers' wives walked picket lines for seven months when their men were enjoined during the 14-month strike against the New Jersey Zinc Co. A great movie (trailer below), see it!
1966
Twelve New York City firefighters die fighting a blaze in midtown Manhattan.