Working Class History

Media On this day, 20 November 1936, rail worker, Spanish civil war military leader and anarchist Buenaventura Durruti died after being shot the previous day during the defence of Madrid from the fascists. Durruti saw the fight against fascism in Spain as being part of a more general struggle against capitalism, arguing: "No government fights fascism to destroy it. When the bourgeoisie [capitalist class] sees that power is slipping out of its hands, it brings up fascism to hold onto their privileges."The exact cause of his death is unknown, but the primary theories are that he was either hit by distant gunfire or that he was shot by a colleague by mistake. A hero to the Spanish working class, half a million workers attended his funeral, and his military unit named themselves after him: the Durruti Column. Our first ever T-Shirt of the Month, made by a workers' co-op and supporting grassroots unions in South Asia, celebrates Durruti's life: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/search?q=Buenaventura+DurrutiTo access this link, click our link in bio # 1 then click this image

Media On this day, 19 November 1984, one of the world's worst industrial disasters ever occurred when tanks in a PEMEX petroleum storage facility in San Juan Ixhuatepec, Mexico, exploded, killing over 500 and burning over 5,000 people. The plant's safety features were woefully inadequate, but fixing them would have cut into company profits.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9137/san-juanico-disaster

Media On this day, 19 November 1915, Joe Hill, Swedish-American Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union member and songwriter was executed by firing squad for a murder most historians believe he did not commit. During his life, Hill wrote many songs such as 'There is Power in a Union', 'Casey Jones - the Union Scab' and 'The Preacher and the Slave'. The latter song is the origin of the phrase "pie in the sky", which is promised by preachers to starving working people: "You will eat, bye and bye,/In that glorious land above the sky;/Work and pray, live on hay,/You'll get pie in the sky when you die."In Hill's final letter to IWW leader Bill Haywood he wrote: "Goodbye Bill. I die like a true blue rebel. Don't waste any time in mourning. Organize." He also told Haywood: "I don't want to be caught dead in Utah", and requested that he be cremated, and his ashes used to replenish the earth.Large crowds attended his funeral in Salt Lake City, who were described as a "murderous mob" of "low-grade foreigners" by the Ogden Standard-Examiner newspaper, and as "anarchists, nihilists, socialists, bombs, and hobos" by the New York Times.In 1936, a song was written about Hill by Alfred Hayes and Earl Robinson, describing his spirit which lived on: "I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,/alive as you and me./Says I “But Joe, you’re ten years dead”/“I never died” says he,/“I never died” says he…"From San Diego up to Maine,/in every mine and mill,/Where workers strike and organize/it’s there you’ll find Joe Hill,/it’s there you’ll find Joe Hill!"Learn more about Hill's life and cultural importance in this extensive work on his life and work: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/books/products/joe-hill-the-iww-the-making-of-a-revolutionary-workingclass-counterculture To access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this photo

Media On this day, 19 November 1944, the battle of Vianden took place: one of the most important fights of the Luxembourg resistance, where they defeated a vastly superior Nazi force. 250 Germans attacked the town of Vianden to try to retake the castle (pictured), from which resistance fighters were reporting on German movements to the allies. Despite the castle only being defended by four people — Philippe Gleis, Misch Schneiders, Will Weyrich and Friedrich Heintzen — they managed to repel the attack, including six German soldiers who got inside. The Germans retreated after suffering 23 casualties, whereas the resistance, which had 30 fighters across the town as a whole, lost one member.This story and hundreds of others is featured in our first book, which is available here with global shipping: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/working-class-history-everyday-acts-resistance-rebellion-bookTo access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this image

Media Did you know that a lot of our on this day in history story posts have been compiled into a book? Working Class History: Everyday Acts of Resistance & Rebellion presents a distinct selection of people’s history through hundreds of “on this day in history” anniversaries that are as diverse and international as the working class itself. Women, young people, people of color, workers, migrants, Indigenous peoples, LGBT+ people, disabled people, older people, the unemployed, home workers, and every other part of the working class have organized and taken action that has shaped our world, and improvements in living and working conditions have been won only by years of violent conflict and sacrifice. These everyday acts of resistance and rebellion highlight just some of those who have struggled for a better world and provide lessons and inspiration for those of us fighting in the present. Going day by day, this book paints a picture of how and why the world came to be as it is, how some have tried to change it, and the lengths to which the rich and powerful have gone to maintain and increase their wealth and influence. Full of photos, sources, and with a foreword by Noam Chomsky, WCH makes a great holiday gift for a loved one, or yourself! Available in our online store as a paperback or hardcover with global shipping: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/working-class-history-everyday-acts-resistance-rebellion-bookTo access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this image

Media On this day, 18 November 1929, during a strike of lumber workers in Ontario, Finnish-Canadian communist workers Viljo Rosvall and Janne Voutilainen were last seen alive as they headed out to try to recruit sympathetic workers at a nearby logging camp. The strike of the Lumber Workers Industrial Union of Canada had begun at Shabaqua on 22 October. Rosvall (pictured, left), a union organiser and Voutilainen (right), a trapper working as his guide headed out to a camp of the Pigeon Timber Company north of Onion Lake to try to grow the strike. They were seen by several Pigeon Timber employees. But they were never seen again by their colleagues. The following spring their bodies were found in the lake. The official cause of death was ruled to be accidental drownings, but loggers and the Finnish community believed they were murdered by company thugs. Their funeral took place on 28 April 1930, and was the biggest ever held in Port Arthur as thousands of people took to the streets and marched to the cemetery.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9037/rosvall-and-voutilainen-disappearIf you value our work researching and promoting people's history like this, please consider joining us on patreon, where you can support our work and access exclusive content and benefits. Link in bio

Media On this day, 18 November 1949, security forces massacred 21 striking miners and a bystander at the British government-owned coal mine at Enugu in Nigeria. Britain's Labour government was keen to maximise output in order to fund the rebuilding of infrastructure and repay debts to the US in the wake of World War II. The miners, many of whom were British Army veterans who served in south-east Asia, had occupied their mine demanding backpay for a period of time where they were paid according to a casual system called "rostering" which was later declared illegal. The British Colonial Office had dispatched union bureaucrats from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) all around the Empire in order to try to organise workers in ways that their discontent could be integrated into the system. A local TUC adviser tried to divide the mine workers up into five separate branches, which ran contrary to the local Igbo workers Jiffy culture of organising together in mass meetings, so they ignored him. Since striking was illegal at the time, workers began a wildcat go-slow, adopted from miners in Durham, England and known as "welu nwayo" in Igbo. The workers were sacked, so they then occupied the mine. Violence began when a British policeman, Captain F.S. Philip panicked when he saw some of the African miners dancing and chanting and shot a young miner called Sunday Anyasado, killing him. He then killed a machine worker, Livinus Okechukwuma, and when, hearing all the noise, Okafor Ageni emerged from the mine to ask “Anything wrong?” he was murdered. Shooting continued for several minutes, hitting dozens of workers, many in the back, and security forces left the wounded to die on the ground. In addition to 22 deaths, 51 people were wounded. The massacre fuelled rapid support for the anti-colonial movement.Pictured: a memorial to the massacreMore information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9038/enugu-massacreTo access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this image

Media On this day, 17 November 1983, six people of Indigenous and mestize origin founded the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) in the mountains of Chiapas, Mexico. 11 years later, around 3,000 armed EZLN members launched an uprising taking control of a considerable amount of land in the region, freeing prisoners and destroying police and army barracks. In a counter-attack by the Mexican army, the guerrillas lost control of many towns and cities and retreated into the Lacandon jungle. Subsequently the Zapatistas established a number of self-governing autonomous communities, with a population of over 300,000 people who are mostly from the Chol, Kanjobal, Mame, Tjolobal, Tzeltal, Tzozil, and Zoque Indigenous communities. Other than personal property, private ownership was abolished, with collective ownership of land and collectively owned and run workplaces. Radical, democratic schools, where pupils are not graded, were established, as was a universal healthcare service, drastically improving public health and reducing infant mortality. The communities also have a strong commitment to Indigenous, women's and LGBT+ rights. So if you know five people who think like you, set up a group! Learn more about the Zapatistas, and Emiliano Zapata after whom they are named, in these books: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/zapatistasTo access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this image

Media On this day, 17 November 1982, 50 sex workers, members of the English Collective of Prostitutes, occupied the Holy Cross Church in King's Cross, London, in protest against police harassment, violence and racism. They made six demands: an end to illegal arrests of sex workers; an end to police blackmail, harassment and racism; an end to the taking of sex workers' children; an end to arrests of boyfriends and male relatives (especially Black ones) as "pimps"; welfare and housing for women who wish to leave the sex industry; and finally for arrests to be made of rapists and pimps instead. The occupation was inspired by a similar one undertaken by women in Lyon, France in 1975. Over the course of the 12 days of occupation, more sex workers would join the occupation. While Camden council made promises to the women to monitor illegal police arrests, they did not follow through on them after the occupation ended. However the incident helped catalyse feminist sex worker organising in England. You can learn more about this dispute in the book Sex, Race, and Class by Selma James. We have this book, as well as a number of others about sex worker organising, available here in our online store: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/sex-workersTo access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this image

Media On this day, 17 November 1915, thousands of housewives and other workers of Glasgow marched on the sheriff's court in support of 20,000 rent strikers. The strike ultimately lead to the introduction of rent controls throughout the UK. One observer, Willie Gallacher, wrote: "From early morning the women were marching to the centre of the city where the sheriff's court is situated. Mrs. Barbour's army was on the march. But even as they marched, mighty reinforcement were coming from the workshops and the yards. From far away Dalmuir in the West, from Parkhead in the East, from Cathcart in the South and Hydepark in the North, the dungareed army of the proletariat invaded the centre of the city." More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8925/glasgow-rent-demonstrationIf you value our work researching and promoting people's history like this, please consider joining us on patreon, where you can support our work and access exclusive content and benefits. Link in bio

Media On this day, 16 November 2019, Chilean street "riot dog" Rucio Capucha was injured by police water cannon during a protest in Santiago. Rucio Capucha was following in the pawprints of legendary protest dog Negro Matapacos, frequently joining riots on the side of protesters and confronting the police. As with other Chilean protest dogs, he was thus often subjected to violent attacks by the police. On this occasion, video shows he was clearly deliberately targeted by police in a water cannon truck, who blasted him with it as he walked through an empty section of street during a protest. The blast left him with a contusion on his left lung, but he was cared for by veterinary students and survived. He was then adopted and lived happily with a family until mid 2023, when he passed away due to renal failure.We have produced some merch commemorating protest dogs like Matapacos and Loukanikos in Greece, to help fund our work: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/animals To access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this photoPictured, left: Rucio during different demonstrations

Media On this day, 16 November 1984, 2,000 Black tenants were arrested near Johannesburg, South Africa for non-payment of rent. They claimed, truthfully, that they were unable to pay rent because they had burned down the rent office, but apparently the police did not consider this a valid excuse.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8823/johannesburg-tenants-arrestedTo access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this imagePictured: Johannesburg rent strikers, 1984

Media On this day, 15 November 2011, in Trinidad, Bolivia, a group of disabled Bolivians began a march to capital La Paz. The march was to encourage the government to increase support for disabled people and to tackle societal stigma about disability. The march grew to 200 including children, with 1,000 supporters in La Paz. When the march entered La Paz in February 2012 they were met with riot police who attacked the march. In the aftermath an embarrassed president Evo Morales conceded several of their demands. This story is one of hundreds featured in our first book, available in our online store with global shipping: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/working-class-history-everyday-acts-resistance-rebellion-bookTo access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this image

Media On this day, 15 November 1936, during the Spanish civil war, the Battle of Ciudad Universitaria began in Madrid, which was a key turning point in halting the advance of the Nationalist forces of General Franco.Prior to that point, Franco's forces had been advancing rapidly across Republican Spain, and aimed to take Madrid rapidly. But working class people from across Spain and the world rallied to the defence of the city under the slogan "No pasarán!" ("They shall not pass!").Republican government troops, as well as the Durruti column and International Brigades volunteers halted Franco's progress. British international volunteers holed up in the University City of Madrid realised that books which were at least 350 pages long could stop a bullet. So they built barricades of the works of Voltaire, Goethe and Kant.The spirited and successful defence of the city helped change the early course of the war, and unable to take it the Nationalists instead began a siege which would last two and a half years.We have produced items featuring the slogan No Pasarán! using a font and colour scheme used by antifascist graphic designers during the war, as well as other reproduction posters, books and more about the conflict, to help fund our work. Check them out, all with global shipping, in our online store: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/spanish-civil-war?sort_by=best-selling

Media On this day, 15 November 1938 the SS Dalfram arrived at Port Kembla in Australia waiting to be loaded with pig iron for the Japanese war in China. In response the dockers' union struck. News of atrocities in China by the Japanese army and rumours that Japan would eventually attack Australia influenced the men to refuse to load or unload Japanese goods. The strike, despite not having the support of the government or Australian Labor Party, succeeded in halting the loading of war materials for Japan and defeated anti-union legislation. The strike would end in January 1939. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8723/japanese-war-boycottIf you value our work researching and promoting people's history like this, please consider joining us on patreon, where you can support our work and access exclusive content and benefits. Link # 2 in bio

Media On this day, 14 November 1917, the "Night of Terror" began at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia, in which 33 imprisoned suffragists were brutally tortured and beaten by guards. The women, mostly members of the National Women's Party had been picketing the White House in support of voting rights for women. Guards were ordered to attack the women on the evening of this day, and they began to assault the prisoners after midnight. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8610/the-night-of-terror-in-virginiaTo access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this image

Media New podcast teaser preview of our first Radical Read, made exclusively for our supporters on patreon. In this episode, we team up withJasper Bernes to discuss Vincent Bevins’ 2023 book,If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution.Welcome to ‘Radical Reads’, the second of our two new series of Patreon-only content. In Radical Reads, we hope to discuss political texts – both old and new – that have either influenced us here at WCH, or texts that we generally think that people involved in radical and working-class movements should be engaging with, discussing, and using to inform their activism.We discussed the book, and also broader questions around social movements, revolution, the threat of cooptation, and what it means to win. Listen to a preview teaser on our main podcast feed, available on Spotify, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts or go to our website: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e94-radical-reads-w-jasper-bernes-if-we-burn/To access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this image And you can listen to the full 68 minute episode on our patreon.

Media On this day, 14 November 1903, striking Chinese furniture makers battled strikebreakers armed with knuckle dusters and sticks on Little Bourke Street in Melbourne, Australia. In September 1903, hundreds of Chinese cabinetmakers in the city had walked out on strike demanding better pay and union rights, and to be given two roast pigs each weighing at least 50 lbs. One of their slogans was: "Do nothing… And do it well." The West Australian newspaper reported that strikers were "adopting such a threatening attitude towards their recent employers that the latter are in constant fear of violence, and are afraid to stir abroad without police protection." Bosses responded by locking out up to 1,100 workers and bringing in dozens of Chinese scabs from Sydney to attack the strikers. On November 14, a pitched battle broke out in which the scabs, who according to the Adelaide Advertiser were "wearing Panama hats and smart neckties… and carrying 'crooked' sticks" as well as knuckle dusters which were described as "brutal-looking contrivances, varying from 1 lb to 2 lbs in weight, and most of them had a murderous spike attached". Two strikers, Ah Hong and Fong Yee, were badly injured and hospitalised while at least four attackers were arrested. Dozens more strikebreakers were due to be brought in from Sydney two days later, and one scab told a journalist that they were preparing more knuckle dusters. Meanwhile, the mainstream white union movement failed to support the strike, and instead united with white furniture bosses to expel Chinese workers and reduce competition with white businesses.Despite their isolation, the violence, and arrests of many strikers, the workers held out and eventually in December achieved most of their demands, including the dropping of all charges against strikers.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8609/chinese-cabinetmakers-strike-battleTo access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this imagePictured: Chinese cabinetmakers on a scroll illustrated by Mo Xiangyi, assisted by Wang Jingwen, with researcher Mo Yimei.

Media On this day, 13 November 1974, 28-year-old plutonium plant worker and union activist Karen Silkwood was mysteriously killed in a car crash while on her way to meet a New York Times reporter with a bundle of evidence on health and safety violations at her workplace. The bundle of evidence was never found, and although she was killed in a front-on collision, the rear of her car had been damaged and contained paint chips, leading her supporters to believe she was rammed off the road. Silkwood and her apartment were also contaminated heavily with plutonium, which the company claimed she did herself to smear the firm. Silkwood's family sued the company after her death and were awarded nearly $1.4 million. You can read this and hundreds of other stories in our first book, available here with global shipping: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/working-class-history-everyday-acts-resistance-rebellion-bookTo access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this image

Media On this day, 13 November 1909, suffragette Theresa Garnett attacked then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill with a horsewhip in Bristol, shouting "Take that in the name of the insulted women of England!" Garnett was arrested for assault, but as Churchill did not want to appear in court he did not press charges. So instead she was jailed for one month for "disturbing the peace". In prison, Garnett joined other suffragettes on hunger strike and was then force-fed. She set fire to her cell in protest, and was then moved to a solitary confinement punishment cell. This story and hundreds of others is included in our first book, available here with global shipping: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/working-class-history-everyday-acts-resistance-rebellion-book To access this hyperlink, click our link in bio # 1 then click this photo