13 April 1890: Ben Fletcher born

On this day, 13 April 1890, Black dock worker and leading Industrial Workers of the World union activist, Ben Fletcher, was born in Philadelphia. Starting work on the docks in 1910, he joined the revolutionary IWW union three years later and became the lead organiser of its Local 8 on the Philadelphia docks. At a time when most unions were racially segregated, Fletcher helped build a powerful, multiracial workers' organisation which organised a strike in 1913 and won many improvements.In 1918, after the entry of the US into World War I, Fletcher was arrested and charged with dozens of other IWW members for supposedly hampering the war effort. Despite there being no witnesses to testify against Fletcher, he and all the others were convicted. Fletcher was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment, after which he quipped to fellow defendant Big Bill Haywood: "The Judge has been using very ungrammatical language." When Hayward asked him "How is that, Ben?" Fletcher replied: ‘His sentences are much too long.’” His sentence was commuted in 1922, and he immediately returned to Philadelphia to take part in a strike for a maximum 40 hour work week.Learn more about his life and activism in episodes 73-74 of our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e73-ben-fletcher/And you can find out even more in this book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/ben-fletcher-the-life-and-times-of-a-black-wobbly-peter-coleOur work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History