Today in Labor History August 10, 1923: Italian-American anarchist and IWW organizer Carlo Tresca was arrested in the United States on the charge of publishing anti-fascist literature. Tresca opposed fascism, Stalinism and mafia-infiltration of unions. He was assassinated in 1943. Some believe the Soviets killed him in retaliation for his criticism of Stalin. The most recent research suggests it was the Bonanno crime family, in response to his criticism of the mafia and Mussolini. Tresca wrote two books. His autobiography was published posthumously in 2003. He also wrote a book in Italian, “L'attentato a Mussolini ovvero il segreto di Pulcinella.”
Today in Labor History July 5, 1888: Three women were fired from the Bryant & May factory in East London for exposing the appalling working conditions there. Women typically had to work 14-hour days at very low wages and they often suffered debilitating diseases, like Phossy Jaw, from exposure to white phosphorus. The other 1400 women and girl laborers come out in solidarity leading to the “Match Girls' Strike” which was unsuccessful as a strike, but highly effective at generating solidarity and galvanizing the working-class movement. In 1966, Bill Owen and Tony Russell produced a musical about the strike called “The Matchgirls.” Welsh writer Lynette Rees wrote about it in her novel, “The Matchgirl.”