Today in Labor History July 3 Children, employed in the silk mills in Paterson, N.J., went on strike

July 3

Children, employed in the silk mills in Paterson, N.J., went on strike for 11-hour day and 6-day week. A compromise settlement resulted in a 69-hour work work week - 1835

And this: July 3, 1835 - Children employed in the silk mills in Paterson, New Jersey, went on strike for the 11-hour day, six-day week. The first textile workers in the United States were all children, hired specifically by the mill owners because of their quick reflexes and nimble fingers. Many were maimed or died before reaching adulthood.


Feminist and labor activist Charlotte Perkins Gilman born in Hartford, Conn. Her landmark study, "Women and Economics", was radical: it called for the financial independence of women and urged a network of child care centers - 1860

Labor history found here: http://www.unionist.com/today-in-labor-history & here: http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?history_9_07_3_2011