Today in Labor History Dec 5 U.S. Dept. of Labor reports employers slashed 533,000 jobs in Nov& more

December 5

Unionists John T. and James B. McNamara were sentenced to 15 years and life, respectively, after confessing to dynamiting the Los Angeles Times building during a drive to unionize the metal trades in the city. Twenty people died in the bombing. The newspaper was strongly conservative and anti-union - 1911

Ending a 20-year split, the two largest labor federations in the U.S. merge to form the AFL-CIO, with a membership estimated at 15 million - 1955

And this: December 5, 1955 - The "union of unions" was established when the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) merged into a single trade union center -- the AFL-CIO. The merger ended a 20-year split in the American labor movement growing out of differences over the form trade union organization should take. The merger recognized that both craft and industrial unions are appropriate, equal and necessary as methods of union organization.


AFL-CIO President John Sweeney welcomes the collapse of World Trade Organization talks in Seattle, declaring "No deal is better than a bad deal" - 1999

The U.S. Dept. of Labor reports employers slashed 533,000 jobs the month before -- the most in 34 years -- as the Great Recession surged. The unemployment rolls had risen for 7 months before that and were to continue to soar for another 10 months before topping 10 percent and beginning to level off late the following year - 2008

Labor history found here: http://www.unionist.com/today-in-labor-history & here: http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?history_9_12_05_2010

high -- late 50's, early 60's, all of the grownups called the union of unions "The A F of L, C I O." They were very aware of the merger of the two. Of course, this was also in an era when many more people held union jobs.

the Fall, usually Oct-Nov. For 45 years I worked for mid-sized non-union corporations and with few exceptions this seemed to be the norm (recession or not). It was always anticipated and probably had to do with seasonal production slow-downs and tightened budget plans... I don't know.