Seeds of Fire: A People’s Chronology
Recalling events that happened on this day in history.
Memories of struggle, resistance and persistence.
Compiled by Ulli Diemer
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May 29, 1932
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Some 10,000 World War I veterans calling themselves the “Bonus Expeditionary Force” or “Bonus Army,” many of them unemployed and in dire straits, march in Washington, asking to be paid the bonuses they have been promised for their war service.
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May 29, 1968
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French President Charles de Gaulle flees to a military base in Germany as a general strike brings France to the brink of revolution. He receives assurances that the military is still loyal to the state. Back in France, the trade union leadership is working feverishly to divert the revolutionary upsurge into traditional demands for higher wages, winning substantial wage increases in exchange for calling off strikes and factory occupations.
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May 29, 1969
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The Córdobazo. Workers go out on a general strike in the city of Córdoba in Argentina. The strike grows out of a resistance to the repressive policies of the Argentine military dictatorship headed by General Juan Carlos Onganía. The regime had suspended the right to strike, frozen workers' wages, extended the age of retirement, imprisoned trade unionists and political activists, and expelled politically active teachers and students from the universities.
When police murder a political activist in Córdoba on May 29, workers start taking over the city and setting up barricades. The uprising is put down by the military, but contributes to the radicalization of workers and students in other parts of the country.
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May 29, 1972
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Workers at Dare Foods in Kitchener Ontario go out on strike to back up their demands for wage increases, equal wages for men and women, and better working conditions in the sweltering plant. When the company starts using scabs to try to defeat the strike, striking workers receive support from people in Kitchener and beyond, and an organized boycott of Dare products begins.
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