Free Printable May Day, Labor History, Union Organizing Lesson Plans

Spring is poignant for labor. March 25, 1911 lost 146 workers in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. April 28 is Workers Memorial Day, honoring fallen in workplace accidents or in organizing struggles. May 1 is May Day, International Worker's Day. May 4 commemorates casualties at Chicago's Haymarket riot in a 1886 labor rally. On May 19, 1920 saw the Matewan massacre of coal miners. On May 26, 1937 union organizers were beaten at Ford's River Rouge plant "Battle of the Overpass." Labor history is American (and world) history: it impacts every industry, occupation and person. Teachers and homeschoolers, why not educate students about unions with these free printable labor history lesson plans? I've listed websites, activities, worksheets, movies and books.Free Printable May Day, Labor History, Union Organizing Lesson Plans
 

Ford River Rouge Plant, UAW-CIO Battle of the Overpass History

Mention Henry Ford and you'll get mixed responses from people. Whether you think Ford was a sinner, saint, or both, he did open doors in Michigan, particularly in Detroit. Ford's assembly line, auto industry jobs, $5 daily wage, working man's car, 1943 Detroit race riots, village industries, "give them any color they want, as long as it's black," anti-union brutality, UAW Battle of the Overpass - all of these are part of the Ford legacy.
At the Henry Ford in Dearborn, visitors get to see, feel, hear, touch, and experience Ford's vision as it moves into the new millennium. Each day, visitors to the Ford Dearborn Truck Plant, known locally as "the Rouge," watch as vehicles of the future are designed and built.Built on the confluence of the Detroit and Rouge rivers south of Detroit, the plant is located near the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn. Here is a profile of the original Rouge plant complex, by the numbers:  Trucks Still Roll Off Ford River Rouge Assembly Line in Dearborn