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CIO organizing poster, circa 1935 On this day July 5, 1935 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act, which among other provisions, allowed labor to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining. The National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act (named for its sponsor, Senator Robert…
Read More »In today’s New York Times “The Opinion Pages” – Harold Holzer reminds us that in that simmering time after the Confederacy opened fire on Fort Sumter in April 1861, after the Baltimore Riots of April 18-19, 1861, after Lincoln ordered a naval blockade of Southern ports and after his call…
Read More »Happy Independence Day! Happy Fourth of July!
Read More »The Baltimore Riot – April 19, 1861 Remembrances of the Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War are being marked in various ways in the communities – North and South – that sent tens of thousands of their citizens to participate in this bloodiest of wars. Massachusetts and the Merrimack Valley…
Read More »On this day July 2, 1964, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the historic Civil Rights Act in a nationally televised ceremony at the White House. After the assassination of President Kennedy in November, 1963, President Johnson pledged to follow-through with Kennedy’s commitment to a civil rights bill…
Read More »There are many food traditions connected with celebrating Independence Day on the Fourth of July. Cooking food on the grill – hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken and corn with all the fixin’s is one of them. Another is the celebratory picnic – fried chicken, potato salad, strawberry shortcake, watermelon – maybe…
Read More »Essex Dam on the Merrimack River in Lawrence Massachusetts The mayoral term of William Lantigua could be “water over the dam” if the petition for his recall is successful. The Eagle-Tribune is reporting that the citizen group collecting signatures to recall Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua is ready to start the…
Read More »The recent rather positive statement from FERC – the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – about ENEL’s $6 million proposed bladder dam project for the Pawtucket Dam was detailed in a Lowell Sun story by Jen Myers followed by a soft “let everyone sit down and talk” editorial. The letter has…
Read More »The state’s Division of Health Care Finance & Policy (DHCFP) is holding a series of presentations, speeches and panel discussions this week in regards to health care cost trends reports and cost containment efforts. Globe staff writer Liz Kowalczyk covered yesterday’s healthcare costs hearing and is reporting that some hospital…
Read More »The capture of James “Whitey” Bulger is the talk of the town. In today’s Boston Globe, writer Don Aucoin reminds us of the books, movies and television shows inspired by the actual and mythic Whitey Bulger. The Boston mystique of “everybody knows your name” evolved into the ruthless, Nicholson-esque imagery.…
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