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Category: Labor History
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The Women in My Life: Bringing New Meaning to the Phrase, “Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman”
(Adapted from homily given to the Community of the Living Spirit, a nondenominational prayer group in Waukesha WI, by Ken Germanson, Sept. 7, 2025) Most of you must have remembered the Ladies’ Home Journal, a popular magazine years back. The Journal created an interesting tagline: “Never underestimate the power of a woman.” And as I…
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Kenneth A. Germanson, president emeritus, Wisconsin Labor History Society, prepared this paper for the May 22, 2019, public input session at Kenosha concerning the proposed Wisconsin Historical Museum to be built in Madison. The state of Wisconsin was born and grew into a Great State thanks to the working people who toiled on the…
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It is difficult for me to fully express the depth of my gratitude to those who congratulated me for receiving the 2014 Frank P. Zeidler Public Service Award from the City of Milwaukee’s Common Council. The occasion was marked by a 30-minute ceremony in the council’s elegant anteroom, with 50 friends and colleagues showing up…
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Our recent blog, “Is Labor Losing the Battle for the Public Mind” has generated some interesting comments and ideas. Fortunately, none of them spent time playing the “blame game” on the failure to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, but focused upon how working people and unions should respond to turn the tide. You can see…
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As I write this, it has been more than 24 hours since the network declared Scott Walker the winner over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in the Wisconsin recall elections – enough time to digest the hurt and to put the loss into perspective. Don’t despair, this will not be another lament or excuse for the…
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It was 100 years ago this year that the state of Wisconsin led the nation into a whole host of reforms for worker rights, becoming the first state to enact a worker’s compensation law, leading in developing unemployment compensation, creating an apprenticeship program and in setting stricter rules in child labor. These reforms — made…
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On May 4, 1886, Wisconsin Gov. Jeremiah Rusk acceded to the business community of Milwaukee and ordered the State Militia dispatched to quell what they claimed were “riots.” The “rioters” were workers who had walked out of their jobs in most of Milwaukee’s factories as part of a nationwide campaign for workers seeking the establishment…
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Just 12 years ago this coming May, Howard Zinn spent two memorable days participating in Wisconsin Labor History Society events: our annual conference held in 1998 in Oshkosh and the Bay View Tragedy event a day later in Milwaukee. This marvelous man, whose life was spent using history to spur ordinary folks to recognize their…
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