Vol. 80/No. 19      May 16, 2016

 

25, 50, and 75 Years Ago

 

May 17, 1991

COTTAGEVILLE, West Virginia — Chanting “Liberate Ravenswood,” and “Union, union,” 5,000 members and supporters of United Steelworkers of America Local 5668 rallied here April 28, four miles from Ravenswood Aluminum Corporation (RAC). The 1,700 Steelworkers at RAC have been locked out for six months.

Groups of union hospital workers, postal workers, garment workers, rail workers, and Steelworkers from many locals and several states were visible in the crowd. Arriving cars and buses were greeted by Local 5668 members with buttons commemorating “The Battle of Fort RAC.” This refers to the barbed wire fences, video cameras, armed security guards, and federal marshals brought to Ravenswood by the company and the courts.

May 16, 1966

HAYNEVILLE, Ala. — Nearly 900 members of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (known as the Black Panther party) attended a mass meeting here on May 3 to nominate a full slate of candidates for county offices. The spirit of the meeting was reflected in the comment of one Lowndes woman: “We’re making history today.”

Holding such a meeting is one of the ways a new party can win a place on the ballot in Alabama. But one of the major battles for recognition of the new party was fought and won during the preceding week. County officials refused to allow the meeting to be held on the courthouse lawn as scheduled. The determination of the people of Lowndes prevented this attempted denial of their rights by the racist officials from succeeding.

May 17, 1941

John Maynard Keynes, advisor to the Bank of England, gave some tips to the American government on how to extort more funds from the American workers to finance the war.

Keynes offered the example of the British government’s present methods, in a statement to the American press upon his arrival in New York, May 8, on the Atlantic Clipper.

Keynes explained that beginning this year the collection of income taxes from the British workers would be accomplished by deducting the taxes at their source — by the employer from their pay.

This, the British government thinks, will be a more “acceptable” method of tax collections, on the theory as Keynes stated, that “what you don’t have you won’t miss.”  
 
 
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