Today in Labor History May 29, 1830: Anarchist school teacher Louise Michel was born. Also known as the Red Virgin, she was a leader of the Paris Commune. During the Bloody Week, the authorities executed 30,000 men, women and children. They forced Michel to turn herself in by threatening to kill her mother, then deported her to New Caledonia, where she taught both the children of colonists and the indigenous people of New Caledonia. Her struggle against French colonialism and her support for the indigenous people is remembered today in their local museum of anarchism.
In 1880, the French gave amnesty to commune prisoners and allowed her back into the country. Many of those prisoners could not find work and were starving. She helped set up soup kitchens to feed them and devoted herself to writing about strikes and worker protests. On Mach 9, 1883, she led a demonstration through Paris. During the march, starving workers looted bakeries and stole bread. They arrested Michel and sentenced her to six years solitary confinement. Two years after being released, a would-be assassin shot her behind her ear. During the trial, she defended the would-be assassin, arguing that he had been misled by an evil society. She died on January 9, 1905.
Today In Labor History May 1, 1946: The three-year Pilbara strike began in Australia. In this strike, indigenous Australian pastoral workers demanded recognition of their human rights. They were also fighting for better wages and working conditions. The bosses often treated indigenous workers like slaves. Many didn’t even pay them in cash. Rather, they paid them in tobacco and food. And if indigenous workers tried to quit or leave, the police forced them back. Sometimes they massacred entire families. The strike was one of the longest in Australian history. And it was a major event in the struggle for indigenous rights.
On 3CR workers radio last night 7.00 - 7.30pm | Special feature: | The Pilbara Stike
Michael Clune, an #AWU delegate, organiser with Unionists for #Palestine, and member of Victorian Socialists; Declan Furber Gillick Central #Arrernte man from #Mparntwe, Central Australia, an Aboriginal communist, trade unionist, and member of Unionists for Palestine; and Oskar Martin, #Bundjalung and #Kamilaroi