Page 5 – Zinn Education Project

Feb. 19, 1968: Florida Teachers’ Strike

Teachers and administrators from the Florida Education Association (FEA) walked out in what is reported to be the first statewide teachers’ strike.

March 22, 1968: March for Justice and Jobs

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Community on the Move for Equality called for a march in Memphis, Tennessee in solidarity with sanitation workers.

May 12, 1968: The Poor People’s Campaign Began

The Poor People’s Campaign was a multiracial effort to gain economic justice for poor people.

Feb. 18, 1969: Beginning of Wildcat “Black Lung” Strikes

West Virginia coal miners orchestrated successful wildcat strikes demanding compensation for black lung disease and safer working conditions.

March 18, 1970: Postal Workers Strike

The first mass work stoppage in the 195-year history of the Postal Service began with a walkout of letter carriers in Brooklyn and Manhattan who were demanding better wages.

May 1, 1970: D.C. Sanitation Worker Strike Begins

Amidst a looming “garbage crisis” in Washington, D.C., on May 1, 1970, 1,700 sanitation workers went on strike to demand an end to racial discrimination, unsafe working conditions, low pay, and unequal pick-up routes.

Aug. 15 and 17, 1973: Two Striking United Farm Workers Killed

Two striking United Farm Workers (UFW) were killed on Aug. 15 and 17, 1973, while picketing.

Nov. 28, 1973: Auto Workers Strike for Palestine

In solidarity with the Palestinian people, Detroit auto workers led a one-day strike protesting the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) support of Israel.

Jan. 16, 1976: Lucas Plan Calls for Socially Useful Work

Factory workers at the Lucas Aerospace Corporation in Birmingham, England — facing defense cuts and increasing layoffs — came up with a plan to save not only their jobs, but their livelihoods and the company itself.

Sept. 7, 1977: Panama Canal

Treaties were signed to turn over control of the Panama Canal from the U.S. to Panama.

Bus Strike (photo) | Zinn Education Project

April 5, 1979: Boston University Strike

Boston University refused to approve negotiated contract, so the faculty union called a strike, with Howard Zinn as co-chair of strike committee. Other staff and librarians also went on strike that spring.

Aug. 3, 1981: Air Traffic Controllers Strike

The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) declared a strike.

Nov. 24, 1984: San Francisco Dockworkers Strike Against Apartheid

Union dockworkers in San Francisco refused to unload South African products in a coordinated 11-day strike against apartheid.

Sept. 3, 1991: Fire at Food Processing Plant Kills 25 Workers

Chicken plant workers died when a preventable workplace “accident” trapped them in a burning building.

April 17, 1996: Landless Workers Movement Protesters Murdered by Brazilian Government

Brazil’s military police gunned down 19 peasant farm workers in the Via Campesina movement who were marching for land sovereignty in 1996.

Nov. 30, 1999: Protesters Shut Down WTO Conference in Seattle

A coalition of environmental activists, anti-capitalists, and union leaders took to the streets of Seattle to bring the World Trade Organization conference to a halt.

Feb. 14, 2011: Wisconsin Workers Strike

The Wisconsin Workers strike involved as many as 100,000 protesters opposing the 2011 Wisconsin Act 10.

Sugarcane during a controlled burn in South Florida.

June 19, 2015: Stop Sugar Field Burning Campaign Begins

The Sierra Club launched the Stop Sugar Field Burning Campaign to bring an end to the practice of sugarcane field burning which is harmful to the environmental and the health of local residents.

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