On this day in Labor History the year was 1819.
That was the day at Allan Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
His father was a policeman, who died while Allan was a boy.
This left the family in poverty.
As a young man he became involved in the Chartism movement.
This reform movement hoped to expand the political rights of the working class in Great Britain.
Allan had to flee his homeland to avoid arrest because of his involvement.
This led him to Chicago.
It is a great historic irony that Allan Pinkerton came to the United States because of his involvement in a working class cause.
Today Pinkertons are often considered some of the greatest armed foes against unionism in US labor history.
In Chicago, Pinkerton became involved in law enforcement and then formed his own detective agency.
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency made its name working against railway thefts.
But it became most notorious for opposing the labor movement.
Pinkerton spies infiltrated labor meetings for company owners, worked as hired guns to stop union organizing and protected strike breakers.
Pinkerton died in 1884, and passed the agency to his sons.
During the 1890s there were more Pinkertons and reserves than the standing army of the United States.
One of the most famous battles between Pinkertons and workers occurred at the 1892 strike against Carnegie steel in Homestead, Pennsylvania.
There Seven workers and two Pinkertons were killed.
The event inspired a song by William W. Delaney.
The lyrics include the lines, “God help them tonight in their hour of affliction, Praying for him whom they’ll ne’er see again, Hear the poor orphans tell their sad story, “Father was killed by a Pinkerton Man.
June 8 - Tragedy in the Butte Mines
June 7 - Boston Carmen Organize
June 6 - Raid at Rocky Flats
June 5 - The Big One
June 4 - Union Busting Thugs Assault Local Leaders
June 3 - Victory at Auto-Lite Paves the Way
June 2 - Wartime Strike Defies Presidential Seizure
June 1 - Standing Up by Sitting Down
May 31 - The 1921 Tulsa Race Riot
May 30 - The Memorial Day Massacre
May 29 - The Little Steel Strike Revs Up
May 28 - The 54th Massachusetts
May 27 - Rubber Workers Push Back Against War Profiteering
May 26 - SWOC Strikes Little Steel
May 25 - Striking Teamsters Triumph
May 24 - Operation Humanity Marching for Dignity
May 23 - The Battle of Toledo
May 22 - The Battle of Deputies’ Run
May 21 - Striking to Save Their Union
May 20 - Relief Workers Sit Down in Vancouver
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