Month: April 2026

1877 rail workers’ walkout sparked first general strike in US

Vol. 90/No. 14 - April 13, 2026
Blockade of engines at Martinsburg, West Virginia, during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Firemen walked off job July 16, 1877, shutting the trains down, winning support from other workers.

The Great Labor Uprising of 1877 by Philip S. Foner is one of Pathfinder’s Books of the Month for April. After five years of economic depression, railroad workers in Martinsburg, West Virginia, went on strike against yet another wage cut.…

Cane cutters in Dominican Republic mark Int’l Women’s Day

Vol. 90/No. 14 - April 13, 2026

Women organized by the Sugarcane Workers Union (UTC) in the Dominican Republic held an International Women’s Day celebration March 8 on the outskirts of Batey Palo Blanco, in La Romana province. The meeting was marked by their growing involvement in…