On this day in Labor History the year was 1854. That was the day that the founders of what became the Republican Party met in Ripon, Wisconsin. The idea was to form a new party, opposed to the Southern labor system based on slavery. That July the Republicans held their first convention in Michigan.

On this day in Labor History the year was 1834. That was the day that six Englishmen, who would become known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs were sentenced to seven years “transportation” to the penal colony of Australia. Their crime? Forming a union

On this day in Labor History the year was 1968. That was the day that the staff at radio station KMPX in San Francisco went on strike. The radio station had broken new ground with their “underground rock” format. In 1967, the station hired Tom “Big Daddy” Donahue as a DJ.

On this day in Labor History the year was 1890. That was the day that the executive council of the American Federation of Labor decided that the Carpenters union should lead a national campaign for the eight-hour day. The cry “eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will!” had been on the lips of working people for more than twenty years.

“Too long have others spoken for us." Those were the words published On this day in Labor History the year was 1827. This was the message of the co-editors of the Freeman’s Journal, the first black newspaper in the United States. Slavery had been outlawed in New York that same year.

On this day in Labor History the year was 1999. That was the day the Bruce Springsteen was inducted into the Rocking Roll Hall of Fame.

Two years later, an article in Rolling Stone magazine read, “For nearly four decades Bruce Springsteen has been a working-class hero: a plainspoken visionary and a sincere romantic whose insights into everyday lives — especially in America's small-town heartland — have earned comparisons to John Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie.”

On this day in Labor History the year was 1912. That was the day that participants in the famed Bread and Roses strike, gathered in Lawrence, Massachusetts to celebrate their victory. The strike had begun in January and was a hard-fought battle.

On this day in Labor History the year was 1946. That was the day that United Autoworkers members won an 18.5-cent hourly raise after a four-month strike against General Motors. After World War II workers grew increasingly frustrated.