Today in Labor History May 4, 1926: Workers started a General Strike in the U.K. Unions called the strike to force the government to prevent wage reductions for 1.2 million locked-out coal miners. The strike lasted until May 12. Over 1.7 million workers participated. However, the TUC (Trades Union Congress) limited participation to just a few unions because they feared the revolutionary potential of a full blown General Strike. In their newspaper, they wrote: “The General Strike. . . is the road to anarchy.”
Today in Labor History May 4, 1946: The U.S. government deployed marines to end the Battle of Alcatraz. It began as a failed prison escape. It turned into a war-like battle, with marines using grenades against prisoners and tactics they had used in Japan. Three of the perpetrators and two prison officials died in the fighting. Fourteen other officers were injured. The government later executed two more prisoners for participating in the riot. One of the prisoners who died in the riot, had recently petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus. He claimed the cops had beat a confession out of him and he had hospital records to prove it.
Today in Labor History May 4, 1970: Ohio National Guards murdered four students at Kent State University. They also injured nine others, including one who was permanently paralyzed. During the massacre, they fired 67 rounds in 13 seconds at the unarmed crowd. The students were protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia. With the current wave of student protests against the Israeli genocide in Gaza, the government’s response is looking sickeningly similar to its response to student protests in the early 70s: Violent repression, use of chemical agents, snipers on rooftops. If the vitriolic rhetoric of politicians and pundits continues, another student massacre seems imminent.