On this day in Labor History the year was 1900.
That was the day that folk singer Malvina Reynolds was born to a Jewish family in San Francisco.
Her parents were socialists and operated a tailor shop.
Malvina learned the price of speaking out for what you believe in at a young age.
Her parents opposed US entry into World War I.
Because of this, Malvina’s High School would not issue her a diploma.
She was able to still go the college at Berkley, where she eventually earned her PhD.
She married carpenter and labor organizer William “Bud” Reynolds.
She became a prolific folk singer, playing around the Los Angeles area.
During the 1960s she wrote about songs supporting civil rights and labor rights.
Her song Free Enterprise offers the lyrics, “The air you breathe is poison, the food you eat is worse, the dollars in your pay check are pennies in your purse…There’s nothing free about it, you pay at every turn, Except the guys in Wall Street who have the stuff to burn, they had to make new brain machines to count their profits’ rise, but since there’s always room for more, they can still make their profits soar, a little war does wonders for free enterprise.”
Perhaps her most well-known song is “Little Boxes.”
The song was inspired by driving by hillside houses in Daly City, California.
It talks about the conformity of middle class suburbia.
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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