Today in Labor History September 25, 1970: LGBTQ activists began a six-day occupation of Weinstein Hall, on the campus of New York University, in Greenwich Village, to protest the university’s cancellation of their dance parties. The occupation ended when the NYPD Tactical Unit threatened to shoot them. This led to marches, protests and other building occupations until the university finally relented and allowed the dances to continue. Veterans of these protests, and the Stonewall Uprising, one year earlier, went on to found Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), which provided shelter for unhoused transgender youth through its STAR House initiative.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #lgbtq #stonewall #riot #weinsteinhall #occupation #nypd #policebrutality #star #transgender #youth #students #university #transrightsarehumanrights #homophobia

Today in Labor History September 25, 1912: Police killed Charles "Leather Britches" Smith, a logger who they were pursuing for shooting at a sawmill during the timber strike in Grabow, Louisiana, in June, 1912. During that strike, gun thugs who were working for the mill owners, shot and killed three striking IWW timber workers, and injured 50 others, during the Louisiana-Texas timber wars (1911-1912). The vigilantes had been drinking all day prior to the shootout. Wobblies (IWW members) returned fire. The governor mustered the Louisiana National Guard, but there were no further acts of violence and they soon left. The sheriff arrested non-union and union men, as well as the owner of the mine, who was subsequently released without charge. However, 65 IWW men were brought up on charges ranging from inciting a riot to murder. Big Bill Haywood came to organize support for the men. The case became a cause célèbre in the union world. And on November 8, the jury acquitted all the union men.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #IWW #grabow #louisiana #massacre #union #strike #unionbusting #vigilantes #nationalguard

Today in Writing History September 25, 1930: Shel Silverstein, American author, poet, illustrator, and songwriter was born (d. 1999). He is perhaps most remembered today for his amusing children’s poetry and fiction, like “The Giving Tree.” However, he also wrote many songs like "One's on the Way" and "Hey Loretta" (which were hits for Loretta Lynn), and "25 Minutes to Go," about a man on Death Row, and "A Boy Named Sue," both made famous by Johnny Cash. He also wrote "The Unicorn," which The Irish Rovers made famous. He also wrote many songs about drugs and sex, like “I Got Stoned and I Missed It,” “Quaaludes Again,” “Masochistic Baby,” and “Freakin’ at the Freaker’s Ball.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN8PfuyowG0

#workingclass #LaborHistory #fiction #novel #music #poetry #poem #writer #author #books #play #shelsilverstein #drugs @nprofile1q...

Today in Labor History September 25, 1926: Striking fur workers raided the Manhattan apartment of a scab whom they accused of continuing to work from home. They came with guns and clubs and fought the scab and his neighbors until police chased them off. 15 were arrested. This was during the 17-week, communist-led fur strike, in which workers fought off police, mafia, company thugs, and eventually won short-term gains, like the 40-hour, five-day workweek, a 10 percent raise, and 10 paid holidays, which were ignored by the bosses within a year.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #union #strike #communism #mafia #police

Today in Labor History September 24, 1919: The Ukrainian anarchist Black Army outmaneuvered and ultimately defeated the White Army of General Denikin. The Black Army (AKA Makhnovtsi) was an anarchist army made up of Ukrainian peasants and workers during the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. It was named after their leader Nestor Makhno and protected the free soviets and libertarian communes in the stateless anarchist liberated portion of Ukraine known as Makhnovshchina that lasted from 1918 to 1921.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #civilwar #russia #ukraine #NestorMakhno #Revolution

Today in Labor History September 24, 1906: The Atlanta massacre ended on this day. Rioting by white mobs began on September 22 after newspapers published several luridly detailed and unsubstantiated reports of black men allegedly raping 4 local women. The racist mobs destroyed black businesses and homes, killing at least 25 African Americans (official reports). However, the actual death toll may be closer to 100. Black men, including university professors, met to organize defense committees and began arming themselves. However, police and state militias raided their meetings and disarmed them. One cop was killed in the fight. W. E. B. Du Bois, who was teaching at Atlanta University at the time, purchased a shotgun when rioting broke out. "I bought a Winchester double-barreled shotgun and two dozen rounds of shells filled with buckshot. If a white mob had stepped on the campus where I lived I would without hesitation have sprayed their guts over the grass." The massacre was not publicly marked in Georgia until 2006, its 100th anniversary, nor made part of state's curriculum for public schools until 2007.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #atlanta #georgia #racism #Riot #massacre #police #policebrutality #kkk #BlackMastodon

What might abolition of police look like? Here's one strategy that has already been field tested in numerous U.S. cities and shown to be effective:

https://www.npr.org/2026/09/22/nx-s1-5973302/unarmed-911-responders-police-reform?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

The US spent billions on high tech border surveillance, yet thousands of migrants are dying within eye shot of these towers.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/21/1144166/border-towers-surveillance-investigation/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

#immigration #border #tech #police #policebrutality #racism

Over 450,000 people are projected to die from the Super El Niño by February 2027, just from high temperatures, mostly in Africa, Indonesia, India, and Brazil.  3,500 projected additional heat deaths in the U.S.

Millions more could die from famine, as drought conditions develop in many regions of the globe that are normally wet.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/23/el-nino-450000-extra-deaths-six-months?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

#workingclass #ElNiño #climate #climatecrisis #famine #drought