Working Class History

#OtD 21 Mar 1991 it was announced that poll tax in the UK was to be abolished after widespread rioting and a mass campaign in which over 17 million people refused to pay that made the tax unworkable https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9411/abolition-of-poll-tax-in-uk

#OtD 15 Mar 1973 after a prison guards' walkout against rehabilitation reforms, inmates at Walpole prison began running it themselves, improving conditions and eliminating violence. This ended when state troopers allowed guards to regain control https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8704/inmates-take-control-of-walpole-prison

#OtD 14 Mar 1962 lifelong revolutionary militant and advocate for women's rights, Giovanina Caleffi died. Her spirit was not broken despite being forced to flee fascism, jailed by German and Italian fascists and her husband being killed by Stalinists https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8595/giovanina-caleffi-dies

#OtD 14 Mar 2018 Marielle Franco, bisexual Afro-Brazilian socialist feminist was assassinated in Rio de Janeiro. She spoke out against extrajudicial killings by police. Suspects all had links to security forces or far-right ex-President, Jair Bolsonaro https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8600/marielle-franco-assassination

#OtD 14 Mar 2017 Joaquina Dorado Pita, Spanish woodworkers' union militant who participated in the collectivisation of the industry in the revolution and member of the anti-Franco underground, died in Barcelona just short of her 100th birthday https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8599/joaquina-dorado-pita-dies

#OtD 14 Mar 1993 Spanish anarchist feminist Soledad Estorach died in Paris aged 78. She had fought on the barricades in the Spanish revolution, and helped organize working class women in the worker-run city of Barcelona. https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8598/soledad-estorach-dies

#OtD 14 Mar 1879 legendary physicist Albert Einstein was born in Germany. While most famous for his scientific theories, Einstein was also a socialist, and wrote an excellent explanation of the capitalist system and its inherent flaws https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8591/birth-of-albert-einstein

#OtD 12 Mar 1912 Polish Jewish resistance activist Ala Gertner was born. While a slave labourer at a munitions factory she smuggled gunpowder to prisoners at Auschwitz to build grenades, who destroyed Crematorium IV & killed several SS officers https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8415/ala-gertner-born

#OtD 12 Mar 1958 Manol Vassev, Bulgarian anarchist militant, anti-Nazi resistance fighter, and labour organiser was killed by poison by Communist secret police after false accusations of being a western agent https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8418/manol-vassev-murdered

#OtD 12 Mar 1990 the Capitol Crawl took place when disabled people got out of wheelchairs and crawled up the steps of the US Capitol. They were protesting the stalling of the Americans with Disabilities Act banning discrimination against the disabled https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/12529/capitol-crawl

#OtD 12 Mar 1983 21 Asian workers at the UK Aire Valley Yarns went on strike after the firing of a union activist. Bosses fired them and used police to escort scabs. After 10 weeks, workers won rehiring of 18 with the last 3 to be determined in court https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7736/aire-valley-yarns-strike

#OtD 12 Mar 1951 300,000 workers staged a general strike in Barcelona to protest grievances with the Franco dictatorship. Troops were deployed and thousands arrested but the strike encouraged workers' struggles across the region https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8417/barcelona-general-strike

#OtD 12 Mar 1912 the Bread and Roses strike won all their demands. The strike was organized by mostly women workers and the Industrial Workers of the World and included 20,000 workers. More on the strike: https://workingclasshistory.com/2018/12/02/e16-women-in-the-early-iww/

📣 New Podcast! "Barcelona General Strike: Protest Against Franco" on @Spreaker #1950s_anti #1951_barcelona #1951_franco #barcelona #barcelona_spain #dictatorship #era #franco #general #history_francoist #labor #movement #protests #resistance_barcelona #social #spain #spain_spanish #strike #tram
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/barcelona-general-strike-protest-against-franco--70369200

#OtD 11 Mar 1946 striking steelworkers at the Timken Co in Columbus, OH, successfully defended their plant against a second attempt by employers to bring in scab replacement workers. The workers had been out since Jan 21 in a national dispute over pay. https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7732/timken-picket-line

#OtD 11 Mar 1975 there was an attempted far right coup in Portugal, following the overthrow of the dictatorship the year prior. The coup was defeated by revolutionaries, and under pressure from workers 1/3 of the economy was nationalised. More in our pod: https://workingclasshistory.com/2020/08/13/e41-42-the-portuguese-revolution/

#OtD 11 Mar 1963 anarchist Louise Olivereau died. She was a member of the @iww@mastodon.social union and she was jailed for 10 years for her opposition to World War I. She resumed her activism upon her release. More in our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/2018/12/02/e16-women-in-the-early-iww/

#OtD 11 Mar 1977 police killed 24-year-old Francesco Lorusso, of far-left extra-parliamentary group Lotta Continua, in Bologna, resulting in days of riots. The Italian government sent armoured vehicles into militant areas of Bologna https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8335/francesco-lorusso-killed

#OtD 11 Mar 1845 the battle of Kororāreka took place in Aotearoa/New Zealand when Māori rebels defeated British forces and seized the town (now called Russell) during the Flagstaff war. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8331/battle-of-koror%C4%81reka

📣 New Podcast! "Portugal Coup Attempt: The Crisis After the Carnation Revolution" on @Spreaker #1975_november #1975_portugal #aftermath_portuguese #armed #attempt #attempt_post #coup #crisis #military #political #politics #politics_cold #portugal #portugal_carnation #portugal_portuguese #war
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/portugal-coup-attempt-the-crisis-after-the-carnation-revolution--70369194

#OtD 11 Mar 1922 Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek-French libertarian socialist, philosopher, social critic, psychoanalyst, and co-founder of Socialisme ou Barbarie, was born https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8332/cornelius-castoriadis-born

#OtD 10 Mar 1896 surrealist writer, model, anarchist and anti-racist Nancy Cunard was born in London. Active in promoting Black writers, opposing the invasion of Ethiopia, helping Spanish anti-fascist refugees and working with the French resistance. https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8214/nancy-cunard

#OtD 10 Mar 1972 the Day of the Galician Working Class took place for the first time, when Francoist police fired upon a union protest, injuring around 50 people. The day is still celebrated annually, calling for social and labour improvements https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8221/galican-working-class

#OtD 10 Mar 2005 Chris Pallis, better known as Maurice Brinton died. He was a neurologist and libertarian socialist, a member of Solidarity, and a writer of such works as his classic, "The Bolsheviks and Workers Control" https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/12528/maurice-brinton-dies

#OtD 10 Mar 1919 Leo Jogiches, Polish-German communist, key figure of the Spartacus League & KPD, and lover of Rosa Luxemburg, was murdered while trying to investigate the assassinations of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8216/leo-jogiches-murdered

#OtD 10 Mar 1952 Fulgencio Batista led a coup in Cuba. Backed by the US, business, his government killed thousands in anti-Communist purges. He was eventually overthrown by the revolution in 1959 https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8220/fulgencio-batista-coup

#OtD 10 Mar 1906 the Catastrophe de Courrières occured in France. It was a mining disaster killing 1,060 workers and sparked 45,000 miners going on a 55 day strike, which was eventually crushed by the French Army https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8215/catastrophe-de-courri%C3%A8res

#OtD 10 Mar 1925 Korean anarchists Kim Joann, Choung Shin, and others helped organize communes among refugees in Manchuria, north-east China. Four years later they would establish an anarchist society based on "no rule," freedom, and mutual aid. https://libcom.org/history/anarchism-korea-independence-transnationalism-question-national-development-1919-1984

#OtD 8 Mar 1918 women in Austria celebrated International Women's Day on this date for the first time as thousands took to the streets protesting WWI. The date commemorated women protesting in Russia the previous year (pic), beginning the revolution. https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10827/austrian-international-women's-day

#OtD 7 Mar 1921 the repression of the Kronstadt Rebellion against the Bolsheviks, demanding worker self-governance and freedom for socialist prisoners began. It was brutally crushed by the Red Army led by Trotsky and hundreds were executed https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10726/first-assault-on-kronstadt

📣 New Podcast! "New York Jewish Bagel Bakers Strike Again" on @Spreaker #338_jewish #bagel #bakers #bakery #dispute_bakers #food #history #history_nyc #industry #labor #local #production #states_new #strike_bagel #strike_new #union #united #workers #york
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/new-york-jewish-bagel-bakers-strike-again--70369180

#OtD 6 Mar 1913 Joe Hill's song "There is Power in a Union" first appeared in the @iww@mastodon.social union's Little Red Song Book. Get it and dozens of others in this Big Red Book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/the-big-red-songbook-250-iww-songs

#OtD 5 Mar 1988 2,000 people took part in a demonstration through Leeds to protest against the homophobic Section 28 law which prohibited the so-called 'promotion of homosexuality' by local authorities and schools. It was eventually repealed in 2003 https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10549/march-against-section-28

#OtD 3 Mar 1913 thousands of women marched in Washington DC demanding the right to vote were attacked by a mob while police stood by. African-American women joined the parade despite the racism of organisers who tried to exclude them https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10207/washington-dc-suffrage-parade

#OtD 3 Mar 1991 Rodney King was brutally beaten by police in Los Angeles. Despite it being caught on film (almost unheard of in those days), the officers were acquitted, and the city went up in flames in what were the biggest riots since 1968 https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10218/rodney-king-beaten-by-police

#OtD 3 Mar 1816 Juana Azurduy, a woman of Quechua descent from what now is Bolivia, led her anti-colonial military detachment, including a women's unit, to victory in battle against Spanish troops near El Villar. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10205/azurduy-army-defeats-spanish

#OtD 3 Mar 1959 the Hola massacre took place in Kenya when the commander of a British concentration camp for Kenyan civilians had its 88 detainees severely beaten with clubs. 11 died and the 77 others sustained serious permanent injuries https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10214/hola-massacre

#OtD 3 Mar 1932 the right to free speech on Glasgow Green in Glasgow, Scotland, was won after over a decade of direct action. Up to 100,000 people at a time defied a ban, often arming themselves with sticks, hammers and bottles until authorities caved https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10211/glasgow-free-speech-fight-wins

#OtD 3 Mar 1903 the Immigration Act of 1903 (aka: Anarchist Exclusion Act) was signed into US law by President Theodore Roosevelt. It barred entry to the US for anarchists, people with epilepsy, beggars, and importers of sex workers https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10206/anarchist-exclusion-act

ICYMI: Part 1 of our miniseries on the 2001 Argentina uprising is out now for everyone! We spoke to Tomas Rothaus, who took part in the uprising that brought down the government, about his experiences. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e115-116-argentina-uprising-2001/

#OtD 1 Mar 1968 Chicane high school students in East Los Angeles ignited a week of walkouts across the city by 15,000 students from 7 or more high schools. They were demanding more Latine teachers, and teaching of Mexican-American history https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8113/l.a.-chicane-student-walkouts

#OtD 27 Feb 2002 Spanish seamstress, member of the post-Civil War anti-Franco underground and lifelong anarchist Isabel Mesa Delgado, died. Learn more about the Civil War in our podcast: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9899/death-of-isabel-mesa-delgado

#OtD 26 Feb 1860 the Wiyot massacre took place when white settlers murdered up to 250 Indigenous Wiyot people at Tuluwat, California, then expelled them from their land. But they and their descendants kept fighting and by 2019 got back most of their land https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/500-years-of-indigenous-resistance-gord-hill

#OtD 24 Feb 1950 anarchist Manuel Sabate Llopart was executed by Spanish dictatorship in revenge for the activities of his siblings, Francesc and Jose, who were also anti-Franco guerrillas https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9647/manuel-sabate-llopart-executed

#OtD 24 Feb 1848 King Louis-Philippe of France abdicated, fearing for his life, and fled to England in the French revolution of 1848, part of a wave of uprisings throughout Europe. French workers would rise again in April and June https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9641/french-monarchy-overthrown

#OtD 24 Feb 1942 the Canadian govt ordered the expulsion and internment of all people of Japanese descent from a 100 mile distance from the West Coast. 22,000 were expelled, with most sent to labour camps, losing most of their property https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9646/canada-japanese-internment

#OtD 24 Feb 1932 the chief of police of Montevideo, Uruguay, Luis Pardeiro was assassinated. Pardeiro was notorious for torturing anarchists in custody. The attack was attributed to five Uruguayan anarchists https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9645/luis-pardeiro-assassinated

#OtD 24 Feb 1909 anarchist Ethel Macdonald was born in Motherwell, Scotland. Her exploits during the Spanish Revolution caused the British press to dub her the Scots Scarlet Pimpernel https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9642/ethel-macdonald-born

#OtD 24 Feb 2020 Brörán Indigenous land activist Yehry Rivera was murdered by a mob in Costa Rica, while police stood by. He had previously been brutally beaten by illegal loggers. Settlers in the area illegally occupy vast swathes of Indigenous land. https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/12526/yehry-rivera-murdered