Working Class History

#OtD 6 Mar 1974 UK coal miners ended a four-week strike after winning a 35% pay increase and bringing down the Conservative government. Learn more in our podcast: workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e81-...

#OtD 5 Mar 1871 Jewish revolutionary socialist, Rosa Luxemburg, was born. A critic both of reformist socialists and Lenin's "ultra-centralism", she was murdered by right-wing paramilitaries on behalf of social democrats after the failed 1919 uprising shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/...

#OtD 5 Mar 1988 2,000 people took part in a demonstration through Leeds to protest against the homophobic Section 28 law which prohibited the so-called 'promotion of homosexuality' by local authorities and schools. It was eventually repealed in 2003 stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1054...

#OtD 5 Mar 1965 the "March Uprising" erupted in Bahrain, in protest at the firing of 400 workers from the UK-owned Bahrain Petroleum Co. A general intifada for workers' rights and against British colonialism, which resulted in independence in 1971 stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7962...

#OtD 5 Mar 1984 6,000 miners went on strike at Cortonwood Colliery starting the great miners' strike. They were joined by most miners in Britain in opposition to pit closures, but they were sadly defeated by the Conservative govt. More in our podcast: workingclasshistory.com/tag/1984-5-m...

#OtD 5 Mar 1943 a strike broke out at the Fiat Mirafiori plant in Turin. The strike spread and, within a week, 100k workers were out. Authorities arrested 850 workers but were forced to concede. Learn more about the Italian resistance to fascism here: workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e77-...

#OtD 6 Mar 1964 Kowsilla, a striking sugarcane worker was killed in Guyana by a scab, and others badly injured. The British Tate sugar company exploited racial divisions by using African scabs to try to break a national strike of mostly Asian workers stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1064...

#OtD 6 Mar 1930 the first International Unemployment Day called by the Communist Party with demonstrations across the US. Clashes broke out in many areas, and authorities in places like New York were forced to create funds to help unemployed stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1064...

#OtD 6 Mar 1913 Joe Hill's song "There is Power in a Union" first appeared in the @IWW union's Little Red Song Book. Get it and dozens of others in this Big Red Book: shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/the...

You are correct, African and Asian in this text is referring to ethnicity.

#OtD 6 Mar 1944 Italian resistance partisans breached the Camp 59 concentration camp in Servigliano, Italy, and helped a small number of mostly Jewish Italian prisoners to escape. They broke in twice more in the coming weeks. Learn more about partisans: workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e77-...

#OtD 6 Mar 1913 Joe Hill's song "There is Power in a Union" first appeared in the @IWW union's Little Red Song Book. Get it and dozens of others in this Big Red Book: shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/the...

#OtD 6 Mar 1930 the first International Unemployment Day called by the Communist Party with demonstrations across the US. Clashes broke out in many areas, and authorities in places like New York were forced to create funds to help unemployed stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1064...

#OtD 6 Mar 1964 Kowsilla, a striking sugarcane worker was killed in Guyana by a scab, and others badly injured. The British Tate sugar company exploited racial divisions by using African scabs to try to break a national strike of mostly Asian workers stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1064...

UK Coal Miners Bring down Conservative Government On this day, 6 March 1974, UK coal miners called off their four-week strike after accepting a 35% pay offer in a massive victory, which had already brought down the Conservative government. The Conservatives had introduced regulation to limit pay increases to 7%, at a time when inflation was between 9 and 10%, and miners' basic pay was unable to cover the cost of living without adding considerable overtime hours.  In November miners launched an overtime ban, after which the government implemented a three day week, restricting the functioning of industry and introducing rolling power cuts, in order to conserve coal to be able to withstand a potential strike. The government offered a pay increase of 16.5%, but this was rejected by the miners.  When the National Union of Mineworkers launched a ballot for strike action, the Conservatives called a general election under the slogan "Who governs the country?" Meaning was that the government, or the unions.  After the strike began, the Conservatives then lost the election, and the pay board recommended a 29% pay increase. The new Labour government agreed to implement a deal equating to a 35% increase, and the strike ended. The Trades Union Congress promised the government that it would not support strikes by other workers to achieve similar pay increases, and that union leaders would use their influence to reduce workers' pay demands. Learn more about the dispute in our podcast episode 81: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e81-miners-strikes-1972-4/

📣 New Podcast! "UK Coal Miners Bring down Conservative Government" on @Spreaker #1970s_uk #1974_british #1974_edward #britain_national #coal #crisis #day #election #energy #heath #labor #miners #mineworkers #movement #of #strike #strike_three #uk #union #week

#OtD 5 Mar 1943 a strike broke out at the Fiat Mirafiori plant in Turin. The strike spread and, within a week, 100k workers were out. Authorities arrested 850 workers but were forced to concede. Learn more about the Italian resistance to fascism here: workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e77-...

#OtD 5 Mar 1984 6,000 miners went on strike at Cortonwood Colliery starting the great miners' strike. They were joined by most miners in Britain in opposition to pit closures, but they were sadly defeated by the Conservative govt. More in our podcast: workingclasshistory.com/tag/1984-5-m...

#OtD 5 Mar 1965 the "March Uprising" erupted in Bahrain, in protest at the firing of 400 workers from the UK-owned Bahrain Petroleum Co. A general intifada for workers' rights and against British colonialism, which resulted in independence in 1971 stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7962...

#OtD 5 Mar 1988 2,000 people took part in a demonstration through Leeds to protest against the homophobic Section 28 law which prohibited the so-called 'promotion of homosexuality' by local authorities and schools. It was eventually repealed in 2003 stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1054...

#OtD 5 Mar 1871 Jewish revolutionary socialist, Rosa Luxemburg, was born. A critic both of reformist socialists and Lenin's "ultra-centralism", she was murdered by right-wing paramilitaries on behalf of social democrats after the failed 1919 uprising shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/...

#OtD 5 Mar 1981 a group of women in West Berlin occupied five apartments which, despite being ready for people to move into, had been empty for over six months. Learn more: stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1054...

Miners’ vs Thatcher: Battle That Changed Britain On this day, 5 March 1984, the great UK miners’ strike began when miners at Cortonwood colliery walked out in response to the Conservative government’s announcement of a pit closure plan. Some other pits were already on strike in other disputes, but the strikes against closures spread across Yorkshire, and four days later the National Union of Mineworkers called a national strike, which was joined by a majority of miners around the country. Women, many of them miners’ wives, played a crucial role in supporting the strike, helping the workers to remain out for nearly a year. Prime minister Margaret Thatcher and her government were determined to break the power of workers’ organisations and push through mass privatisation and free market reforms. They had learned from their previous defeats in miners’ strikes in 1972 and 1974. They built up coal stocks, so they could withstand a long strike, and then deliberately provoked the strike by announcing the closure plan in spring when coal was in less demand than during the cold winter months.  The defeat of the miners, who had been the most well-organised and most militant group of workers in Britain, marked a decisive turning point in the balance of power between workers and employers in the country. It eventually led to the much more atomised and individualised nature of the working class in Britain today. Learn more in our podcast series about the dispute. Episode 13 is about women in the strike, episodes 27-29 are about LGBT+ people during the strike, and episode 81 is about the miners’ strikes in 1972 and 1974. Episodes about the strike itself are coming soon: https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/1984-5-miners-strike/

📣 New Podcast! "Miners’ vs Thatcher: Battle That Changed Britain" on @Spreaker #british #coal #era_thatcherism_national #history_coal #history_working #industry_1980s #labor #miners #mineworkers_arthur #of #politics_modern #scargill_british #strike_british #strike_uk #thatcher #trade #uk #union

Biratnagar Jute Mill Strike: Nepal’s Labour Uprising On this day, 4 March 1947 workers at the Biratnagar Jute Mill in Nepal went on strike demanding better pay and union recognition, among other things. The ruling Rana dynasty sent troops to the town, who arrested strike leaders and put an end to the strike. But the Nepali Congress then organised a nationwide civil disobedience movement demanding the release of the strikers and all political prisoners, as well as the establishment of civil rights. By May, the Prime Minister announced moves to begin enabling people outside the Rana family to enter the government. In August the remaining prisoners were eventually released after a request by Mohandas Gandhi. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7957/biratnagar-jute-mill-strike Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory. See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

Biratnagar Jute Mill Strike: Nepal’s Labour Uprising

On this day, 4 March 1947 workers at the Biratnagar Jute Mill in Nepal went on strike demanding better pay and union recognition, among other things. The ruling Rana dynasty sent troops to the town, who arrested strike leaders and put an end to

#OtD 4 Mar 2010 California state government's attempt to use crisis as excuse for rolling back public services was met with worker and student strikes & occupations across the US stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1045...

#OtD 4 Mar 2018 a statue of former slave trader, Antonio López, was removed from a square in Barcelona. Inaugurated in 1884, the statue was pulled down at the start of the Spanish Civil War but then replaced again during the Franco dictatorship stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8023...

#OtD 3 Mar 2013 Indigenous Yukpa activist Sabino Romero Izarra was murdered in Venezuela. The govt of Hugo Chavez and foreign corporations had escalated coal mining in Indigenous lands. He was one of 13 Yukpa to have been murdered in the area. More: stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7942...

#OtD 4 Mar 1919 Canadian troops in the British Army awaiting demobilisation mutinied in Wales, looting the camp & improvising makeshift weapons. Events left 5 dead & 25 facing heavy prison sentences, but authorities accelerated their demobilisation stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1045...

#WorkingClassHistoryWednesday! As part of our miniseries on the 2001 Argentina uprising, we've released a teaser of our bonus episode looking at the history and politics of Argentine football culture. Check it out here, or wherever you get your podcasts: workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e115...

#OtD 4 Mar 1943 nine members of the Baum Group, a Jewish communist anti-nazi organization led by Herbert Baum, were executed by guillotine in Berlin after they set fire to a Nazi propaganda exhibit stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1045...

#OtD 4 Mar 1976 Antoni Ruiz was arrested in Valencia for homosexuality after being reported by a nun at confession. One of 5000 LGBT+ people convicted under a Franco-era law and sent to a specialist prison where he was raped and later hounded by police stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1045...