IWW

On October 2, 2007, the Industrial Workers of the World's Starbucks Workers Union won their grievances against a Starbucks location in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company settled after the National Labor Relations Board found it had committed anti-labor violations. Labor historians and supporters are marking the anniversary as interest in coffee shop union organizing continues.

On this day in 1909, the Industrial Workers of the World launched its first major free speech fight in Missoula, Montana, in response to local ordinances banning public speaking by union members. Members deliberately lined up to speak, were arrested in large numbers, and filled the jails until the laws were changed. The tactic became a model for later free speech campaigns across the American West, and the anniversary is being commemorated by labor historians and activists.