Don Palabraz

Subversive Historian – 01/29/10

{Mill Workers Remembering One of Their Own} The Death of Anna LoPizzo Back in the day on January 29th, 1912, Anna LoPizzo, an immigrant mill worker, was shot and killed in a picket line of the Lawrence Textile Strike. The American Woolen Company in Massachusetts had pilfered out wage decreases to its mostly female workforce at its [...]

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Subversive Historian – 01/27/10

Paterson Silk Strike Back in the day on January 27th, 1913, eight hundred broad silk weavers walked out of the Henry Doherty Mill in Paterson, New Jersey. The workers took action in response to the introduction of the “four-loom” system that would have them operating four automatic loom machines at a time instead of two. Seeing [...]

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Subversive Historian – 01/25/10

The Passaic Strike Back in the day on January 25th, 1926, the Passaic Strike commenced after demands made by wool and silk workers were ignored. With a workforce comprised of Southern and Eastern European immigrants, the mills in Passaic, New Jersey were infamous for their low wages, dangerous work conditions, and anti-union espionage. When the Vice [...]

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Betita Martinez: Women Troublemakers

Betita Martinez: Women Making Trouble (3-11-2009) BY GABRIEL SAN ROMAN Lucy Parsons, Emma Tenayuca, and Virginia Chacon of the famed “Salt of the Earth” strike are just three labor minded women of many highlighted in Elizabeth “Betita” Martinez’s latest book, “500 Years of Chicana Women’s History.” With the U.S. economy continuing to be in the grips [...]

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Subversive Historian – 08/26/09

Fannie Sellins Back in the day on August 26th, 1919, labor organizer Fannie Sellins was brutally gunned down in West Pennsylvania. Dubbed ‘the angel of mercy’ for her unionizing efforts, Sellins had successfully organized workers in Missouri and West Virginia before United Mine Workers of America leader Philip Murray, impressed by her dedication, offered her a [...]

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