Vol. 81/No. 28 July 31, 2017
25, 50 and 75 Years Ago
August 14, 1992
SÃO PAULO, Brazil — On June 27, after a three-day trial in the city of Pôrto Alegre, in southern Brazil, five men and one woman, members of the Landless Rural-Workers Movement (MST) were convicted of complicity in the murder of a soldier. The trial received a lot of publicity in Brazilian news media.The frame-up charges stemmed from a 1990 army assault against 600 landless rural workers who were demanding government recognition of land they had occupied. The frame-up of these workers is part of a series of attacks by capitalist landlords and industrialists against the movement. There are over 4 million families of landless peasants in Brazil. For many of the landless peasants, direct occupations offer the only way to obtain land.
August 7, 1967
PHILADELPHIA — Following the outbreak of ghetto uprisings across the country, a state of limited emergency was called here July 27. The proclamation makes it illegal for more than 12 persons to assemble on the streets or sidewalks for any purpose whatsoever.In spite of the proclamation, a Black rally was held Saturday in North Philadelphia to hear Muhammad Ali. There were over 300 persons in attendance. The first use of the proclamation came against an anti-war rally Sunday.
The effect of the proclamation can been seen in the knots of police which are on all important corners after dark and red patrol cars and police wagons which seem to be everywhere. Many normally crowded streets were nearly deserted this weekend.
August 1, 1942
The government-sponsored conference between nine West Coast aircraft corporations and the unions of aircraft workers, was blown up in Los Angeles on July 16 by the flat refusal of administration and employer spokesmen to agree to union demands.The fact that Roosevelt was preparing more drastic wage controls, and that the Little Steel decision had just been handed down, probably prompted the employers to postpone the conference and await governmental aid in reducing union demands.
The joint AFL and CIO demands would replace the present 60 and 75 cent minimum in aircraft with a 95 cent minimum, and give general wage increases to all aircraft workers. The employers have resisted these demands.