Labor History Aug 14 FDR signs Soc Sec Act, Solidarity seize the Lenin shipyard end of Iron Curtain

[Omaha Steve]

August 14

President Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act, providing, for the first time ever, guaranteed income for retirees and creating a system of unemployment benefits - 1935

And this: August 14, 1934 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, creating the most successful anti-poverty program in U.S. history.

Members of the upstart Polish union Solidarity seize the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk. Sixteen days later the government officially recognizes the union. Many consider the event the beginning of the end for the Iron Curtain - 1980

Former AFL-CIO president Lane Kirkland dies at age 77 - 1999

And this: August 14, 1999 - Former AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland died at the age of 77. A longtime assistant to AFL-CIO President George Meany, Kirkland succeeded Meany upon his death in 1979. Kirkland resigned in mid-1995, when it became clear unions were seeking new leadership in the federation. Kirkland may have been best known for his staunch anti-Communism and strong support of the Solidarity movement in Poland.

Labor history found here: http://www.unionist.com/big-labor/today-in-labor-history & here: http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?history_9_08_14_2011