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UMW Coal Strike (1919) - New General Megathread (hexbear.net)
submitted 1 year ago by thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net to c/labour@hexbear.net
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On this day in 1919, the United Mine Workers (UMW) initiated a nationwide strike of more than 400,000 coal miners, demanding better wages and a 30-hour week. The U.S. declared the strike illegal while the media smeared workers as communists.

U.S. Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer, the same individual behind the infamous Palmer Raids, declared the strike illegal by invoking the Lever Act, a wartime measure that made it a crime to interfere with the production or transportation of necessities.

The law had never been used against a union before, and in fact American Federation of Labor (AFL) founder Samuel Gompers had been promised by President Woodrow Wilson that the Lever Act would not be used to suppress labor actions.

The strike was subject to Red Scare propaganda: coal operators made false charges that Lenin and Trotsky had ordered the strike and were financing it, and some of the press repeated those claims. Others used words like "insurrection" and "Bolshevik revolution". Because of this propaganda and the Attorney General's injunction against the strike, the UMW called the strike off on November 8th.

Many workers ignored this order, however, and the strike continued for over a month, with a final agreement being reached on December 10th. Workers won a 14% wage increase and the creation of an investigatory commission to mediate wage issues.

The US miners' strikes, 1919-1922 - Jeremy Brecher :workerworker

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[-] thirtymilliondeadfish@hexbear.net 12 points 1 year ago

The gesture was allegedly performed by Jacob Hersant, who had just walked from a County Court room after being spared further jail time over an attack on six hikers in regional Victoria in 2021.

Mr Hersant stood in front of news cameras outside the Victorian County Court on October 27 and said "heil Hitler" and raised his right arm about a 90-degree angle from his shoulder, before taking it down swiftly.

"Oh, nearly did it, it's illegal now isn't it," Mr Hersant said.

As he walked away with fellow far-right extremist Thomas Sewell, Mr Hersant called out: "Australia for the white man, heil Hitler."

Victoria Police said a 24-year-old Point Cook man was interviewed yesterday and is expected to be charged on summons.

It is the first time a Nazi salute has been reported to police since new legislation banning the gesture came into effect on October 21.

The judge wished them luck and said they had "good chances" at rehabilitation just moments before. Lol lmao

this post was submitted on 01 Nov 2023
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