On this day in 1919, the United Mine Workers (UMW) initiated a nationwide strike of more than 400,000 coal miners, demanding better wages and a 30-hour week. The U.S. declared the strike illegal while the media smeared workers as communists.
U.S. Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer, the same individual behind the infamous Palmer Raids, declared the strike illegal by invoking the Lever Act, a wartime measure that made it a crime to interfere with the production or transportation of necessities.
The law had never been used against a union before, and in fact American Federation of Labor (AFL) founder Samuel Gompers had been promised by President Woodrow Wilson that the Lever Act would not be used to suppress labor actions.
The strike was subject to Red Scare propaganda: coal operators made false charges that Lenin and Trotsky had ordered the strike and were financing it, and some of the press repeated those claims. Others used words like "insurrection" and "Bolshevik revolution". Because of this propaganda and the Attorney General's injunction against the strike, the UMW called the strike off on November 8th.
Many workers ignored this order, however, and the strike continued for over a month, with a final agreement being reached on December 10th. Workers won a 14% wage increase and the creation of an investigatory commission to mediate wage issues.
The US miners' strikes, 1919-1922 - Jeremy Brecher
:worker
Megathreads and spaces to hang out:
- ❤️ Come listen to music and Watch movies with your fellow Hexbears nerd, in Cy.tube
- 💖 Come talk in the New Weekly Queer thread
- 💛 Read and talk about a current topics in the News Megathread
- 💚 Come and talk in the Daily Bloomer Thread
- ⭐️ September Movie Nominations ⭐️
reminders:
- 💚 You nerds can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
- 💙 Hexbear’s algorithm prioritizes comments over upbears
- 💜 Sorting by new you nerd
- 🌈 If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can reserve a spot here nerd
- 🐶 Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog
Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):
Aid:
Theory:
The last few years have absolutely wrecked my fitness levels, any recs for a newbie whose knees have never been good for running?
Swimming, rowing machines, ellipticals for low impact cardio are my favorites. Lots of walking too, getting in 10k steps a day will make a big difference.
I will take a ~1.75 mile brisk walk during my lunch break on every day it isn't raining, only takes 30 minutes and it helps with my energy quite a bit. Also probably an extra 200 calories or so burned daily, which adds up over time.
I used to run a lot but I really never enjoyed high-impact cardio except for hockey, which can be a pain to organize and requires a big chunk of your day. Now I prefer lunchtime walks with a podcast, cycling just fast enough to get a slight sweat going, and hiking.
I'm told bikes and those machines where you sorta-run but your feet never leave the ground are much easier on your joints. Swiming is also recommended for just about everyone but especially people with joint issues.
You can still get into running, you just need to ease into it and not overdo it.
Start with a jog for 20 minutes for example, or even a power walk instead and gradually build it over time. 20 mins is indicative, you can do as much as you can before you get weary or notice any kind of mild pain, powering through that will only damage your knees and make you lose a lot of time recovering.
I've started doing fitness for around 5 months now with considerable improvements, you can check my latest post about my routine. I like running, I don't do it that much though, I mainly prefer using weights and rowing. Using weights (not on your legs) would be the fastest method to train your physique, I think. You could ask more in lemmygrad's fitness com; lots of experienced people there, I started only recently