On This Day in Working Class History

On this day, 19 June 1937, after employers failed to agree to oil workers' pay demands, workers at one of Trinidad's oilfields went on strike. 
British colonial authorities attempted to arrest Uriah Butler, a former oil worker-turned preacher, who was helping to lead the dispute. However, he was defended by a crowd of workers, who killed two policemen – soaking one of them with paraffin and burning them. Butler (pictured) then went into hiding. 
The strike quickly spread across all oilfields, then to the rest of the economy. A state of emergency was declared and two British warships rushed to the island, arriving on 22 and 23 June, bringing marines and additional police from England and Ireland. 
Two local military units were also mobilised against the workers, and after numerous arrests and imprisonments the rebellion was quashed. Butler was captured in September and jailed for 2 years for sedition. 
Learn more in episodes 75-76 of our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e75-76-trinidad-general-strike/

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On 18 June 2022 firefighters working at the Providenciales International Airport on the Turks and Caicos Islands went on strike in protest at an unequal implementation of a pay award. The action shut down the airport and caused cancellations in domestic and international flights. Workers were due to receive their first pay increase in seven years, of 15%. But the workers complained that the increase was not being paid equally to all workers. After a few days, the airport authority issued a statement promising to review workers' salaries with the aim at implementing a new, fair grading scale.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7806/turks-and-caicos-airport-strike

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
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If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History

On this day, 17 June 1971, construction workers in New South Wales initiated a "green ban", refusing to build luxury houses over Kelly's Bush, the last open space in a suburb. 
Local women had been campaigning to save the park, and eventually they approached construction workers and their union, the Builders Labourers Federation (BLF). The workers agreed to boycott the work, in a move which became known as a "green ban". 
Despite a management threat to use scab replacement workers, the builders and residents won, and Kelly's Bush remains an open public reserve today. 
A wave of green bans subsequently began which stopped billions of dollars of harmful development over the next four years. Wildlife and historic buildings were protected, as well as working-class and Aboriginal housing, and bans also took place in defence of women's and LGBT+ rights.
We tell the inspiring story of the green bans in our podcast episodes 47-48: https://workingclasshistory.com/2020/10/30/e47-48-green-bans/

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
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On this day, 16 June 1983, workers at the Chilean state-run El Salvador copper mines launched an illegal strike in protest at General Pinochet's dictatorship jailing their union leader the previous day. More strikes were due to take place at other mines the following day, and other unions were deliberating on whether not to join the strikes. Government officials responded by sacking 550 workers at the mines, and stating they would fire any workers who took part in the strikes. Despite many right-wing figures claiming that the Western-backed regime was an economic success story, Chile was at this time in the midst of a severe recession with collapsing economic growth and official unemployment figures of 20%. Meanwhile, the government was imposing spending restrictions demanded by the International Monetary Fund and private banks.

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See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
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On this day, 15 June 1970, one of the biggest strikes in Turkish history took place after the government introduced two laws which made it more difficult for workers to change unions, in order to keep workers in the moderate Türk-İş union federation rather than joining the more militant DİSK federation. 
Up to 150,000 workers in Istanbul walked out, joined by others in Ankara, Izmir, Izmit and elsewhere. 
Police and soldiers attacked the workers, killing at least four workers, including Abdurrahman Bozkurt, Yaşar Yıldırım, Mehmet Gıdak and Mustafa Baylan and injuring nearly 200. 
The government then enacted martial law for three months, and thousands of workers were sacked, but resistance continued and in 1972 the new laws were annulled.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8693/15-16-June-workers-resistance

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History