Michigan State Utility Workers Council

09/02/2026

🇺🇸 LABOR DAY 2026 — IRONWORKERS LOCAL 25 🇺🇸

This Labor Day, Ironworkers Local 25 is proud to stand with working men and women across Michigan as we celebrate the strength, skill, and solidarity of organized labor.

Join your Local 25 brothers and sisters at one of the Labor Day events happening across our jurisdiction:

🔴 Detroit Labor Day Parade
🕗 8:00 AM Step-off at 9:00 AM
📍 IBEW Parking Lot
1358 Abbott St., Detroit, MI 48226

🔴 Genesee County Labor Day Parade — Flint
🕙 10:00 AM
📍 Church of Christ
1315 Bristol Rd., Flint, MI

🔴 Muskegon Labor Day Parade
🕚 11:00 AM
📍 Corner of 4th St. & Western Avenue, Muskegon

🔴 Avoca Labor Day Event
🕘 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
📍 8989 Avoca Rd., Avoca, MI

🔴 Mackinac Bridge Walk
🕖 7:00 AM
📍 S.E. Corner of Jamet & Nicolet, Mackinaw City

Wear your Local 25 gear, bring your family, and come out to celebrate the generations of union members who fought for the wages, benefits, safety standards, and opportunities working families enjoy today.

Strong unions. Strong families. Strong Michigan.

Happy Labor Day from Ironworkers Local 25! 💪🏗️🇺🇸

Contact a business agent for details

# Iron Workers Union

09/02/2026

34 people in Michigan haven’t gone home from work so far this year with 4 months to go, Don’t let it happen to you !

🚨 MIOSHA has recorded its 34th workplace fatality of 2026.

According to the initial report, on Aug. 28, a 67-year-old co-owner was operating a tractor PTO-powered grinding machine used to process straw. The victim was found fatally crushed between the machine’s hydraulic-powered loading bowl and the machine frame.

This description reflects information provided to MIOSHA in the initial report and is not the result of the official investigation, which is ongoing.

Learn more about workplace fatalities reported to MIOSHA: bit.ly/49DfiDx

09/02/2026

On this day, 2 September 1921, federal troops arrived at Blair Mountain, in West Virginia to support mine bosses who were fighting a violent conflict against striking miners.
Armed union miners were attempting to march on non-union Logan County to free miners who had been imprisoned under martial law. Meanwhile, mine bosses used sheriff deputies, armed vigilantes, and the US Army air service dropped bombs to prevent the miners from crossing the mountain and reaching Logan.
Although the miners had fought deputies for several days, many of the miners were themselves military veterans who fought in World War I, and so were unwilling to engage in combat with federal troops.
As a result, workers either headed home, and tried to hide their weapons, or surrendered them to authorities.
In the aftermath of the battle, 985 miners were indicted for crimes including murder, conspiracy to murder, and treason.
Many of the miners were acquitted by sympathetic juries, but some were convicted and jailed for periods of up to 4 years. Bill Blizzard, one of the leaders of the miners during the battle, was put on trial for treason, but was acquitted, partly because he used an unexploded bomb dropped on workers by a military plane in his defence.
The loss of the battle by the workers was a major setback for the United Mine Workers union, whose membership in the region subsequently fell drastically.
Our first graphic novel, Black Coal and Red Bandanas, tells the story of these events: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/black-coal-and-red-bandanas-an-illustrated-history-of-the-west-virginia-mine-wars
Pictured: Miners surrendering after the battle

09/02/2026

On this day in labor history, the year was 1910. That was the day the ‘Protocol of Peace’ brought an end to the cloak makers strike in New York City. The garment industry had been rocked by the ‘Uprising of the 20,000’ months earlier. Young women had struck hundreds of small shops over pay, ...

09/02/2026

09/01/2026

09/01/2026

Today is Respiratory Protection Day 🫁
Respiratory protection is a critical part of workplace safety, helping protect workers from airborne hazards.
Since 2012, NIOSH has dedicated time each September to raising awareness about respiratory protection. Help us spread the word and promote proper respirator use!

09/01/2026

On this day in labor history, the year was 1934. That was the day nearly half a million textile workers, from Maine to Alabama, walked off the job in a general strike. The United Textile Workers had launched an organizing campaign the year before. Within months their membership had grown from 15,000...