Today in Labor History Dec 8 Clinton signs NAFTA, nearly 230 jailed teachers ordered freed & more

[Omaha Steve]

December 8

25 unions found the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in Columbus, Ohio; Cigarmaker’s union leader Samuel Gompers is elected president. The AFL’s founding document’s preamble reads: “A struggle is going on in all of the civilized world between oppressors and oppressed of all countries, between capitalist and laborer...” - 1886

And this: December 8, 1886 - The American Federation of Labor was organized in Columbus, Ohio, by 25 craft unions. It grew out of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, which had been formed in 1881 in Pittsburgh. The AFL represented nearly half a million workers at its inception. Its goals included the eight-hour workday, an end to child labor and compensation for workers injured on the job.

December 8, 1911 - Twenty-one electrical workers organized a local of the International Brotherhood of Electrical workers in Winona, Minn.

114-day newspaper strike begins, New York City - 1962

President Bill Clinton signs The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - 1993

December 8, 2000 - The citizens of Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, India and the United States issued the Cochabamba (Bolivia) Declaration, asserting that water is a fundamental human right and public trust. Water should not be treated as a commodity or turned over to private companies seeking profits at the expense of the public good.

Nearly 230 jailed teachers -- about one-fourth of the 1,000-member Middletown Township, N.J. staff -- are ordered freed after they and their colleagues agree to end a nine-day strike and go into mediation with the local school board - 2001

Faced with a national unemployment rate of 10 percent, President Barack Obama outlines new multibillion-dollar stimulus and jobs proposals, saying the country must continue to "spend our way out of this recession" until more Americans are back at work. Joblessness had soared 6 percent in the final two years of George W. Bush’s presidency - 2009

Labor history found here: http://www.unionist.com/today-in-labor-history & here: http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?history_9_12_8_2010

[Angry Dragon]

1. Shoulder must be feeling better

take care of yourself

[pacalo]

2. Good to see you back, Omaha Steve! Take care of your shoulder. :)