Although Disney artists were the best paid in the motion picutre industry during the 1930s, there was discontent. Many of the employees had given Disney large quantities of free overtime during the drive to complete the 1937 Snow White, and despite the fact that Snow White was an enormous success, instead of getting the bonuses they had been vaguely promised, they were faced with a layoffs. Accordingy to Richard Schickel, "An animator working on Fantasia took piano lessons at his own expense" and when Walt Disney found out about it, he allegedly snarled, "What are you, some kind of fag?". Disney became an obvious target for the Screen Cartoonists' Guild, and on May 29, 1941, a strike began. The strike actually occurred during the making of the animated feature Dumbo, and a number of strikers are caricatured in the feature as clowns who go to "hit the big boss for a raise". The strike lasted five weeks and was settled by a federal mediator in the Guild's favour.
2) 1919 Boston Police Strike
In the years following World War I, inflation dramatically eroded the value of a police officer's salary. From 1913 to May 1919, the cost of living rose by 76%, while police wages rose just 18%. After repeated requests, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) began accepting police organizations into their membership in June 1919. The Boston police rank later went on strike on September 9, 1919. Of the force's 1,544 officers 1,117 (72%) failed to report for work. During the strike, Boston experienced several nights of lawlessness. Several thousand members of the State Guard restored order. The strikers were called "deserters" and "agents of Lenin" by the media. The strike ultimately failed, as the Police Commissioner refused to re-hire the striking policemen, instead training new recruits. His decision was supported by Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge. The new recruits reeived the higher wages and extra vacation time sought after by the strike force.
3) 1977 Coors Beer Strike
In April 1977, the brewery workers union at Coors, representing 1,472 employees, went on strike. The brewery in Golden, Colorado, kept operating with supervisors and 250 to 300 union members, including one member of the union executive board who ignored the strike. Soon after, Coors announced that it would hire replacements for the striking workers. In December 1978, the workers at Coors voted by greater than a two to one ratio to decertify the union, ending 44 years of union representation at Coors. Because the strike was by then more than a year old, striking workers could not vote in the election. Labor unions organized a boycott to punish Coors for its labor practices. One tactic employed was a push for state laws to ban sales of unpasteurized canned and bottled beer. Because Coors was the only major brewer at the time not pasteurizing its canned and bottled beer, such laws would hurt only Coors. The AFL-CIO ended its boycott of Coors in August 1987, after long negotiations.
4) 1965 Delano Grape Strike
Through its grassroots efforts—utilizing consumer boycotts, marches, community organizing and nonviolent resistance—the grape workers movement gained national attention for the plight of some of the nation's lowest-paid workers. The strike began when the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, mostly Filipino farm workers in Delano, California, walked off the farms of area table-grape growers, demanding wages equal to the federal minimum wage. One week after the strike began, the predominantly Mexican-American National Farmworkers Association, led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, joined the strike, and eventually the two groups merged, forming the United Farm Workers of America in August 1966. The stike began on September 8, 1965, quickly spread to over 2,000 workers within a week, and lasted more than five years. The strike was a significant victory for the UFW, leading to a first contract with the grape growing corporations.
h the grape growing corporations.
5) 1988 Writers Guild of America strike
The 1988 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action taken by members of both the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW). It ran from March 7 to August 7, 1988, for a total of 5 months, and 7 days. It remains the longest strike in the history of the guild, surpassing the 1960 Writers Guild of America strike by one week and the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike by seven weeks. Networks were forced to hold back their fall scheduling until the winter period. The second season finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation entitled "Shades of Gray" was a clip show as the bulk of this episode is composed of footage from previous TNG episodes; this is generally considered the worst episode produced in the franchise's 40+ year history. After weeks of reruns, both Johnny Carson and later David Letterman crossed the picket line and resumed their shows, without writers. Mission: Impossible was relaunched as a series, reworking old episodes
source : http://www.whatpoll.com/unusual-strikes
No comments:
Post a Comment