Editorial
For virtually all of the history of mankind, employed persons have been compelled to struggle for improvements in their conditions of work, and employers have resisted their entreaties, quite often to the point of driving their workers to open rebellion. Over time workers came to recognize the need to organize themselves, and eventually to appreciate the benefits from so doing. Workers’ struggles have often led to protests, usually taking the form of strikes, go-slows, work-to-rule, and other devices. On 2 July 1892 thousands of iron and steel workers in Homestead, Pennsylvania, downed their tools. The employer called in the Pinkertons — a private police organization whose brutal methods resulted in a large number of workers being killed and an even larger number being wounded. In 1884, when The US Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions set a goal for an eight-hour work day by 1 May 1886, more than 40,000 Chicago workers went on strike. The police were ordered to break up the strike, resulting in numerous deaths. Similar experiences were felt across The UK, Canada, France, and all across the globe. Here in our own little nation there were the ‘Portuguese’ riots of 1896 and the Buckley’s uprising of 1928.
The workers’ struggle is, and has to be, a perpetual one. History is replete with facts and experiences which underscore those points. On Sunday our Trades and Labour Union goes into Annual Conference, whereat the officers will give an account of their stewardship over the year now ending. Our union has always been at the forefront of bringing about social, economic and industrial changes in our country. We of this newspaper urge them, one and all, to remain mindful of our mission and accomplishments, and the great and unending struggle which confronts workers all over the world. We urge them to utilize their collective knowledge and experiences in planning for the future, and, when implementing their plans, to avail themselves of the pool of talent which is at their disposal in the membership of The St. Kitts Nevis Trades & Labour Union. Best wishes to all as we seek to live up to our movement’s motto: For The Good That We Can Do. God Speed, one and all.