On this day in labor history the year was 2005. That was the day the labor movement lost a man who was willing to go to jail to fight for the rights of working people. Clinton Jenks was born in Colorado Springs in 1918. He learned of labor consciousness from his father, a postal worker.

On this day in labor history the year was 1990. That was the day that 20,000 workers in the city of Fez in the North African country of Morocco went out on strike. Austerity measures had hit the country’s working people hard during the 1980's. A drought had made the situation even worse.

On this day in labor history the year was 1924. That was the day that long-time leader of the American Federation of Labor, Samuel Gompers, died. Gompers was born to a Jewish family in England. He was a cigar-maker by trade.

On this day in labor history the year was 1964. That was the day that half of the labor force of France ended a strike that had ground the country to a halt. The strike started on December 10. It is estimated that nine million people participated in the work action.

On this day in labor history the year was 1886. That was the day that black farmers formed the Colored Farmers’ Alliance and Cooperative Union in Houston County, Texas. The Southern Farmers Alliance would not allow black members

On this day in Labor History the year was 1906. That was the day the workers at a General Electric plant in Schenectady, New York organized a sit-down strike. It is considered to be perhaps the first time the sit-down tactic was used in the United States.

On this day in Labor History the year was 1869. That was the day a new union, named the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor was founded. It started in Philadelphia as a secret society of tailors. But soon the Knights expanded to workers in other trades.

On this day in Labor History the year was 1993. That was the day that President Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement into law. The stated aim of NAFTA was to increase trade between the United States, Mexico and Canada.