#OtD 20 Feb 1919 during the revolutionary upsurge of the Biennio Rosso (Two Red Years), metalworkers in the FIOM union achieved a maximum eight-hour working day from the employers, which was to be implemented in May and August that year https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/11002/metalworkers-win-eight-hour-day

#OtD 17 Feb 1942 Huey P Newton, revolutionary and founding member of the Black Panther Party, was born in Monroe, Louisiana. Learn more about the Panthers in these books by former members: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/black-panthers

"#OtD 9 Feb 1874 AmaHlubi Chief Langalibalele became one of the first Black activists to be banished to Robben Island for refusing to register firearms, which killed colonial troops trying to arrest him. It was deemed a rebellion and he was captured.
" https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10890/chief-langalibalele-banished

#OtD 8 Feb 1915 DW Griffith’s film The Birth of a Nation premiered. The first major blockbuster in the US, it glorified the KKK & portrayed Black people in the worst ways possible. It inspired a resurgence in KKK membership and still has an impact today. https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10784/the-birth-of-a-nation

Strikes by federal govt workers in the US are illegal. But in 1970, over 200,000 postal workers across the country defied the government, the National Guard, the U.S. Army and even their own union and walked out and won. Learn more in our latest podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e99-vietnam-war-strike-wave/

#OtD 4 Feb 1913 Rosa Parks was born. Often wrongly described as "quiet", she was actually a lifelong activist who supported Black power, Malcolm X and worked alongside the League of Revolutionary Black Workers in Detroit. More about the LRBW in our pod: https://workingclasshistory.com/2018/08/28/e12-the-league-of-revolutionary-black-workers-in-detroit/

#OtD 1 Feb 1967, bagel bakery bosses in New York City locked out their unionised & well-organised bakers, who had been resisting 40% pay cuts, citing competition from non-union bakeries and bagels made by machines. The bakers were ultimately unsuccessful https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8061/bagel-bakers-locked-out

#OtD 31 Jan 1971 anti-fascists attacked the National Socialist Party HQ in Melbourne, Australia. The Nazis, dressed like storm troopers, were advised by police to lock themselves inside, but over 500 people forced their way through and wrecked the offices https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/11141/melbourne-nazis-attacked

New podcast out for everyone! Part 1 of a double podcast episode about the wave of strikes which took place in the US during the Vietnam war, in conversation with Jeremy Brecher. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or go to our website: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e99-vietnam-war-strike-wave/

#OtD 26 Jan 1944 Angela Davis was born in Birmingham, AL. Revolutionary, civil rights organiser and third woman to make the FBI's most wanted list, Davis was also associated with the Black Panthers. Works available here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/books/products/if-they-come-in-the-morning-angela-davis

Today in Australia is Invasion Day (aka: Australia Day). While for the colonialist state it marks the 1788 landing of the British First Fleet at Sydney Cove, for decades the date has been marked to mourn the invasion and colonisation by the British https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/13405/australia-invasion-day-protest

#OtD 25 Jan 1995 Manchester United football legend Eric Cantona kung fu kicked a fascist football hooligan, who attended far-right NF and BNP rallies and had convictions for violent crime including attacking an anti-fascist. Commemorative merch here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/football

#OtD 22 Jan 1891 Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci was born in Sardinia. His key contribution was his theory of hegemony, which describes how the capitalist class maintains its power through its domination of culture. Commemorative merch here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/antonio-gramsci

#OtD 21 Jan 1876 Olga Taratuta, veteran Jewish Ukrainian metalworker and revolutionary, was born. Arrested and jailed many times under the tsar, she was then arrested repeatedly by the Bolsheviks until executed in 1938. This is a short biography: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9374/olga-taratuta

#OtD 20 Jan 1934 Nazi Germany introduced a law designating capitalists as "fuhrers" of their enterprise and requiring "employees and labourers [to] owe him faithfulness". Along with other measures it helped funnel income from workers to big business. https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9269/nazis-ban-collective-bargaining

Today in the US is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, commemorating the legendary civil right activist and socialist who was murdered supporting a strike of sanitation workers. While lauded today, when alive he was demonised by politicians and media. https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/13339/martin-luther-king-day

#OtD 14 Jan 1921 Murray Bookchin, theoretician of social ecology and libertarian municipalism, was born. His ideas have come to prominence more recently as they have been embraced by Kurdish communities in Rojava, Syria. Learn about his life and ideas: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8569/murray-bookchin-born

#OtD 13 Jan 1943 19-year-old Ukrainian anti-Nazi resistance fighter Ulyana Matveevna Gromova was executed by German forces. She endured days of brutal torture but refused to disclose the names of any of her comrades https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8476/ulyana-gromova-executed

#OtD 10 Jan 1966 biracial voting rights activist Vernon Dahmer was firebombed by the KKK in Mississippi. While he managed to save his wife and child, he died from severe burns and smoke inhalation. He had been trying to help more Black people vote https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8196/vernon-dahmer-murdered

New podcast! First in a double episode about the strike wave in the US during the Vietnam war. As the war escalated, workers started ignoring calls for patriotism, and instead started a massive wave of wildcat strikes. Available early on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/e99-vietnam-war-119594861