September 2, 1921 - The Battle of Blair Mountain took place, in which U.S. troops blocked miners’ attempts to organize in southern West Virginia. The battle marked the first time the government used airplanes to drop bombs on its own citizens. Although the union effort failed, it remained an example of solidarity and heroism that has inspired West Virginia’s miners for decades since. For more on the Battle of Blair Mountain, visit http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvcoal/red.html

September 2, 1991 - Twenty-five workers were killed when a fire broke out at the nonunion Imperial Foods poultry processing plant in Hamlet, North Carolina. The plant’s fire exit doors were illegally locked and blocked, leaving the workers no escape. The 11-year-old plant had never once been inspected by federal or state safety and health officials. Eerily reminiscent of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire 80 years before, the Hamlet tragedy brought renewed calls for stronger enforcement of workplace safety laws. For more on the Hamlet fire, visit http://www.organicanews.com/news/article.cfm?story_id=103 and http://www.etext.org/Politics/AlternativeOrange/1/v1n1_lda.html