On this date in Labour History …
On October 15, 1914, the Panama Canal opens after 33 years of construction and an estimated 22,000 worker deaths, mostly caused by malaria and yellow fever. The 51-mile canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The cargo ship SS Ancon is the first ship through the canal.
On October 15, 2008, eight [8] automotive department employees at a Walmart near Ottawa won an arbitrator-imposed contract after voting for UFCW representation, becoming the giant retailer’s only location in North America with a collective bargaining agreement. Two months later the company closed the department. Three years earlier Walmart had closed an entire store on the same day the government announced an arbitrator would impose a contract agreement there.
On October 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon announces a 90-day freeze on wages, prices and rents in an attempt to combat inflation
Source: Union Communication Services
