This is the Insurgent Radio Kiosk for Monday, August 5th
This Day in Labor History
Action Calendar
On this day in labor history, the year was 1917.
That was the day IWW leader Frank Little was buried in Butte, Montana.
Little had been lynched on August 1, by police agents thought to be working for the despised Anaconda Copper Company.
He had arrived in town to help organize 14,000 striking copper miners.
Devastated by the deaths of 168 miners in the June fire at Granite Mountain & Speculator Mines, mine workers formed the Metal Mine Workers’ Union and walked off the job.
Frank Little had previously worked as a hard rock miner and organizer for the Western Federation of Miners. He also took part in the free speech campaigns on the West Coast.
Little was involved in early drives to industrially organize oil workers and lumberjacks.
He voiced his opposition to the First World War and sought to stop workers from enlisting.
When Little arrived in Butte in July, he worked to build strike support, picket lines and spread the strike to other trades across the city.
Early on August 1, six masked men broke into the boardinghouse where he was staying. He was beaten and taken from his room.
His assailants tied him to the bumper of their car and dragged him through the granite streets of Butte to Milwaukee Bridge, where he was hanged.
An ominous note was pinned to his bullet-ridden body, with the words “Others Take Notice.
First and Last Warning.” It included the numbers 3-7-77 as well as the initials of other union organizers in the area.
As many as 10,000 marched in the funeral procession.
Days after his lynching, martial law was declared.
Labor radicals were rounded up and charged with espionage. The miners strike and union were crushed.
Labor History in Two Minutes is brought to you by a partnership between the Illinois Labor History Society and the Pennsylvania-based Rick Smith Show. All opinions are those of the speaker.
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It’s today’s Action Calendar!
The Alzheimer’s and Dementia Alliance will hold its bi-monthly meeting this evening from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Hawthorne Library, 2707 East Washington Street. All are invited to attend and discuss a variety of topics relating to Alzheimer’s and the challenges of caregiving. For more information about tonight’s specific topic, phone 232-3400.
Calling all super-hero WORT volunteers! The station needs your help with two great fundraising opportunities in support of the Sessions at McPike Park music events on Thursday, August 8th and Thursday, August 15th. In exchange for providing volunteers and promotional announcements, WORT will receive a share of beverage sales and all proceeds from raffle ticket sales. To sign up fill a volunteer spot, please email volunteer@wortfm.org with your position preferences and phone number. As always, your support provides the heart and soul that makes WORT special.
Enjoy a free family storytime session for toddlers and pre-schoolers tomorrow, Tuesday, August 6th, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Lussier Family East YMCA, 711 Cottage Grove Road. The session is open to all and offers songs, activities and play designed to build literacy skills and foster a love of reading. For information, phone the Pinney Library at 224-7100.
The Insurgent Radio Kiosk welcomes your commentaries on subjects of interest to the W.O.R.T. listening community. Commentaries are limited to two minutes. If you’d like to do a Kiosk commentary, visit wortfm.org/kioskcommentary.
The Kiosk is available online at wortfm.org/kiosk.
This has been the Insurgent Radio Kiosk heard weekdays at 5:00, 6:30 and 9:00 AM and at 2:00 PM. I’m Greg Geboski. Submit announcements at least ten days in advance of the event at wortfm.org/kiosk/announcements.
