richard myers's Page

The New York Times has published a very good review of William M. Adler's new book about union icon Joe Hill. "...a new biography makes the strongest case yet that Hill was wrongfully convicted of murdering a local grocer, the charge that led to his execution at age 36."The book’s author, William M. Adler, argues that Hill was a victim of authorities and a jury eager to deal a blow to his radical labor union, as well as his own desire to protect the identity of his sweetheart." …See More

Doctored right wing attack videos in which two Missouri labor professors appeared to advocate violence nearly got them fired. After an investigation, the chancellor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis commented that the videos in question "were definitely taken out of context, with their meaning highly distorted through splicing and editing from different times within a class period and across multiple class periods." …See More

The newspaper account of the Western Federation of Miners' John Barthell labor monument in Telluride, Colorado had given a brief description of damage due to vandalism, and it sounded bad. We now have good news, most of the damage can be repaired without great expense. Here is an excerpt from an email message from MaryJoy Martin, author of a book about Telluride labor history, The Corpse on Boomerang Road:  I've assessed the damage to the Barthell Monument and I'm happy to report it is minimal.…See More