1. “Bay View Labor Riot of 1886: The Only Real Labor Troubles in Milwaukee’s History, Exciting Times During the Administration of Mayor Emil Wallber, Graphic Description of the Rolling Mill Fight and the Milwaukee Garden Demonstration”. Milwaukee Free Press. Milwaukee, Wis.; 1910 Jul 3. Notes: The recollections of Emil Wallber, mayor of Milwaukee at the time of the 1886 Bay View Massacre; includes several contemporary photographs.N.B. A complete run of the Milwaukee Free Press (June 18, 1901-December 1, 1918) is available on microfilm at the library of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin with this article being located their microfilm reel P24668.
  1. The Bayview Massacre of 1886 . Milwaukee, Wis.: Wisconsin Labor History Society;
  2. 1 VHS videocassette (15:50 minutes). Notes: Tells the story of how agitation nationally to win the Eight-Hour Day led to the seven tragic deaths in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 5, 1886, killed by state militia ordered to fire upon a parade of striking workers–still to this day the bloodiest day in Wisconsin labor history.CREDITS: Produced by David Thomas. Voices by Melinda Macdonald; Dan Mooney, AFTRA SAG. “8 Hours” [sung] by Pete Seeger, used with permission. Guitar music of John Fahey, courtesy of Vanguard Records, Welk Record Group. Videotape produced through the facilities of Milwaukee Access Telecommunications Authority. Thanks to Milwaukee County Historical Society, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Public Library. Special Thanks to the Wisconsin Labor History Society.This video continues to be available for sale (at a cost of $15.00); to purchase a copy, write to: Wisconsin Labor History Society, 6333 West Blue Mound Road, Milwaukee, WI 53213.
  1. The Bayview Massacre of 1886 . Milwaukee, Wis.: Wisconsin Labor History Society;
  2. 1 videodisc (15:50 min.); b&w ; 4-3/4 in. Notes: Tells the story of how agitation nationally to win the Eight-Hour Day led to the seven tragic deaths in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 5, 1886, killed by state militia ordered to fire upon a parade of striking workers–still to this day the bloodiest day in Wisconsin labor history.CREDITS: Produced by David Thomas. Voices by Melinda Macdonald; Dan Mooney, AFTRA SAG. “8 Hours” [sung] by Pete Seeger, used with permission. Guitar music of John Fahey, courtesy of Vanguard Records, Welk Record Group. Videotape produced through the facilities of Milwaukee Access Telecommunications Authority. Thanks to Milwaukee County Historical Society, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Public Library. Special Thanks to the Wisconsin Labor History Society.This DVD continues to be available for sale (at a cost of $8.00 per copy) either via the society’s website at www.wisconsinlaborhistory.org or by e-mailing info@wisconsinlaborhistory.org.
  3. Workers in Wisconsin History: Commemorating the Contributions and Acknowledging the Struggles of Working People Toward Making Wisconsin a Great State, A Labor History Sesquicentennial Project of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Labor Education and Training Center, Inc. Germanson, Kenneth A., editor. Milwaukee, Wis.: Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Labor Education and Training Center, Inc.; [1999]. 24 p. Notes: “This booklet highlights presentations made at six events which were held throughout the state as part of the ‘Workers in Wisconsin History’ Project during 1998–Wisconsin’s Sesquicentennial Year. The contents … include excerpts from speeches, writings or other presentations made at the events.”–inside front cover.CONTENTS: “The Bay View Tragedy of May 5, 1886: A Look at Milwaukee’s 8-Hour March, Killings from the Workers’ Point of View” / by Howard Zinn, p. 3-5. — “The Great Oshkosh Woodworkers Strike of 1898: Women Played Heroic Role in Citywide Struggle that had National Significance” / by Virginia Crane, p. 6-8. — “The 1940s and the Union Movement in Wisconsin: Wartime Saw Unions Grow in Numbers, Enter into New Areas, Like Politics” / by Darryl Holter, p. 9-12. — “Labor in the Upper Wisconsin River Valley: From Paternalism to Cooperation, Workers, Companies Built Prosperity” / by James Lorence, p. 13-15. — “Labor in Stevens Point, 1880-1998: From $1 a Day for 12 Hours, Unions Made a Difference in Area” / by George Rogers, p. 16-20. — “Superior’s Labor History Hall of Fame: A Century of Labor’s Struggles Told in the Stories of Five Leaders” / by Joel Sipress, p. 21-23.Another edition: Also available on the web at URL http://my.execpc.com/~blake/table.htm.
  4. Cooper, Jerry M. “The Wisconsin National Guard in the Milwaukee Riots of 1886”. Wisconsin Magazine of History. 1971 Autumn; 55(1):31-48.
  5. Foner, Philip S. May Day: A Short History of the International Workers’ Holiday, 1886-1986. 1st ed. New York: International Publishers; 1986. 184 p. Notes: News of the police riot in Haymarket Square in Chicago on May 4, 1886 dominated the national attention regarding the campaign begun on May Day (May 1) by U.S. workers across the country to win the Eight-Hour Day. Contemporaneously on May 5, 1886 in Bay View, Wisconsin (a neighborhood of Milwaukee), the Wisconsin state militia fired upon a parade of workers marching in support of the Eight-Hour Day and killed seven people (six men and one boy)–still to this day the bloodiest day in Wisconsin labor history; see this book’s section titled, “The Militia Strikes in Milwaukee” (p.32-33) for a description of the Bay View Massacre.
  6. “The Polish-American Martyrs of the First May Day”. IN: Roediger, Dave and Rosemont, Franklin, editors. Haymarket Scrapbook. Chicago: Charles H. Kerr Publishing; 1986; pp. 88-90. Notes: Describes the May 5, 1886 Bay View Massacre when the Wisconsin state militia fired upon workers marching in support of the Eight-Hour Day. The contemporaneous news of the police riot in Haymarket Square in Chicago on May 4, 1886 dominated national attention regarding the campaign begun on May Day 1886 by U.S. workers across the country to win the Eight-Hour Day, but many workers in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area had also joined the general strike for the Eight-Hour Day. On May 5 they were parading to a large factory in Bay View, a neighborhood of Milwaukee, to ask the workers there to join in the strike. As the parade got close to the factory, the Wisconsin militia fired upon the marchers and killed seven people (six men and one boy)–still to this day the bloodiest day in Wisconsin labor history.
  1. Jansen. “A Bloody Day in May”. Milwaukee, Wis.: 2002 May. Notes: About the Bay View Massacre.
  2. Miller, Eugene. “Leo Krzycki–Polish American Labor Leader”. Polish American Studies. 1976 Autumn; 33(2):[52]-64. Notes: Leo Krzycki was born in 1881 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and made his home there his entire life, while rising to national prominence as a talented, effective union organizer in the garment industry and serving as a vice-president with Sidney Hillman’s Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (A.C.W.A.). This article discusses Krzycki’s entire life and career from his early recollections of the 1886 Bay View Massacre (part of the national struggle in the movement to win an eight-hour work day) through his death on January 22, 1966.Krzycki’s first union involvement began, when at age fifteen “he led a group of young press tenders out on an unsuccessful strike at a local lithography plant” (p. 53). After a period of having been blacklisted as a result of that strike, he eventually returned to lithography work in Milwaukee and from 1904 until 1908 was general vice-president of the Lithographic Press Feeders Union, an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor. His work with the A.C.W.A. began in 1910 and lasted until his retirement in 1948. His formidable oratorical skills were frequently used in the organizing campaigns of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, especially in their steel, automobile, rubber, and packing house drives. In addition, Krzycki several times served as a representative of American labor at international labor conferences.
  3. Penn, Larry and Holter, Darryl. Stickin’ With the Union: Songs From Wisconsin Labor History . Silver Spring, Md.: Produced for Collector Records by Cookie Man Music Co.; 1989 1 sound cassette (37 min.) : analog, 1-7/8 ips ; 3-7/8 x 2 1/2 in. + 1 booklet ([32] p.) (. Collector Records; 1948-C). Notes: A fine collection of labor songs performed by Larry Penn, one of Wisconsin’s labor troubadours, and Darryl Holter, former president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society. The substantial and well-illustrated accompanying booklet explains the historical connection of each song, many of which are about a specific Wisconsin event or a labor issue which affected workers and labor unions in Wisconsin. Copies are still available from: Cookie Man Music Co., 3955 South First Place, Milwaukee, WI 53207; telephone: 414/483-7306; URL: http:www.execpc.com ~cookeman/.CONTENTS: Side A. “Fifty Years Ago” (Joe Glazer)–“Babies in the Mill” (Dorsey Dixon)–“Ghosts of Bay View” (Larry Penn)–“Saturday Night” (Darryl Holter)–“Frozen in Time” (Larry Penn)–“So Long Partner” (Larry Penn)–“Willie the Scab” (Larry Penn)–“Which Side Are You On?” (Florence Reece; additional lyrics by Darryl Holter). Side B. “Cowboy Days” (Larry Penn & Traditional)–“The Wreck of the Carl D. Bradley” (Larry Penn)–“Love and the Shorter Work Week” (Darryl Holter)–“Putting the Blame” (Tom Juravich)–“So Long It’s Been Good to Know Ya” (Woody Guthrie; additional lyrics by Darryl Holter)–“Union Maid” (Woody Guthrie).”Fifty Years Ago” is about the founding of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in Madison, Wisconsin.“Babies in the Mill” was written in 1950 and is about child labor in textile mills and was included here because of the significant growth of child labor in the modern economy.“The Ghosts of Bay View” is about the 1886 Bay View Massacre when the Wisconsin National Guard fired into a group of workers marching in a parade in support of the Eight-Hour Day in Bay View, a neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; at least seven were killed (six men and one boy)–still to this day Wisconsin’s bloodiest labor dispute.“Saturday Night” is about a 1902 strike of workers at papermills up and down the Fox River Valley in Wisconsin to win Saturday nights off.“Frozen in Time” is about the 1913 Italian Hall Tragedy in Calumet, Michigan when 72 people–mostly children–died in a stampede when someone created a panic by yelling “fire” in a second-floor room where a Christmas party for the children of striking copper miners was being held. The Calumet strike was lost, but, when those who were involved moved on, the memory of the tragedy of Italian Hall inspired them to carry on the union struggle in their new communities.“So Long Partner” was written in honor of Fred Wright, the great labor cartoonist who worked for the United Electrical Workers International Union (UE); Wright’s 1975 book of the same title is a classic collection of labor cartoons. This wonderful song effectively captures the bosses’ ploy to wring all possible concessions from their employees and then dump the employees when it suits the bosses’ greed.“Willie the Scab” is about the scabs during 1987-89 strike by members of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local P-40 at the Patrick Cudahy meatpacking plant in Cudahy, Wisconsin.“Which Side Are You On?” was originally written for a strike of mine workers and became a classic song of the U.S. labor movement; additional lyrics here adapt it to the long and bitter union struggles at the Kohler Company in Kohler, Wisconsin in the 1930s and 1950s.“Cowboy Days” is about the life of a truck driver working as an over-the-road mover. “The Wreck of the Carl D. Bradley” is about the November 1952 shipwreck on Lake Michigan of one of the largest boats operating at that time on the Great Lakes.“Love and the Shorter Work Week” is a wonderfully fun song effectively capturing how the workers of “new economy” of the late 1980s struggled with work schedules and jobs designed without taking human elements into consideration.“Putting the Blame” explains how manufacturing workers were unfairly blamed during the Reagan recession of the 1980s for the ugly shutdowns of their factories; the song ends by identifying the real culprit of the plant closures.“So Long, It’s Been Good to Know Ya (Rustbowl Version)” was adapted from Woody Guthrie’s classic song about people during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s; the re-written verses by Darryl Holter eloquently tell the story of the abandoned manufacturing communities of the “rustbowl” states like Wisconsin.“Union Maid” is another rousing classic labor song by Woody Guthrie.
  4. Stickin’ With the Union: Songs From Wisconsin Labor History . Milwaukee, Wis.: Produced for the Wisconsin Labor History Society by Cookie Man Music Co.; 2005 1 sound disc (39 min., 51 sec.) : digital ; 4-3/4 in. + 1 booklet ([32] p.)(; “C-M~LHS ; Originally released on cassette as Collector Records #1948-C”–back of CD-ROM sleeve). ISBN: 0-9663267-1-7 ; 9780966326710. Notes: A fine collection of labor songs performed by Larry Penn, one of Wisconsin’s labor troubadours, and Darryl Holter, former president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society. The substantial and well-illustrated accompanying booklet explains the historical connection of each song, many of which are about a specific Wisconsin event or a labor issue which affected workers and labor unions in Wisconsin. Copies sold of this CD version of Stickin’ with the Union benefit the Special Legacy Fund of the Wisconsin Labor History Society and may be ordered via the society’s website at www.wisconsinlaborhistory.org or by e-mailing info@wisconsinlaborhistory.org. CONTENTS: “Fifty Years Ago” (Joe Glazer)–“Babies in the Mill” (Dorsey Dixon)–“Ghosts of Bay View” (Larry Penn)–“Saturday Night” (Darryl Holter)–“Frozen in Time” (Larry Penn)–“So Long Partner” (Larry Penn)–“Willie the Scab” (Larry Penn)–“Which Side Are You On?” (Florence Reece; additional lyrics by Darryl Holter)–“Cowboy Days” (Larry Penn & Traditional)–“The Wreck of the Carl D. Bradley” (Larry Penn)–“Love and the Shorter Work Week” (Darryl Holter)–“Putting the Blame” (Tom Juravich)–“So Long It’s Been Good to Know Ya” (Woody Guthrie; additional lyrics by Darryl Holter)–“Union Maid” (Woody Guthrie).”Fifty Years Ago” is about the founding of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in Madison, Wisconsin.”Babies in the Mill” was written in 1950 and is about child labor in textile mills and was included here because of the significant growth of child labor in the modern economy.“The Ghosts of Bay View” is about the 1886 Bay View Massacre when the Wisconsin National Guard fired into a group of workers marching in a parade in support of the Eight-Hour Day in Bay View, a neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; at least seven were killed (six men and one boy)–still to this day Wisconsin’s bloodiest labor dispute.“Saturday Night” is about a 1902 strike of workers at papermills up and down the Fox River Valley in Wisconsin to win Saturday nights off.“Frozen in Time” is about the 1913 Italian Hall Tragedy in Calumet, Michigan when 72 people–mostly children–died in a stampede when someone created a panic by yelling “fire” in a second-floor room where a Christmas party for the children of striking copper miners was being held. The Calumet strike was lost, but, when those who were involved moved on, the memory of the tragedy of Italian Hall inspired them to carry on the union struggle in their new communities.“So Long Partner” was written in honor of Fred Wright, the great labor cartoonist who worked for the United Electrical Workers International Union (UE); Wright’s 1975 book of the same title is a classic collection of labor cartoons. This wonderful song effectively captures the bosses’ ploy to wring all possible concessions from their employees and then dump the employees when it suits the bosses’ greed.“Willie the Scab” is about the scabs during 1987-89 strike by members of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local P-40 at the Patrick Cudahy meatpacking plant in Cudahy, Wisconsin.“Which Side Are You On?” was originally written for a strike of mine workers and became a classic song of the U.S. labor movement; additional lyrics here adapt it to the long and bitter union struggles at the Kohler Company in Kohler, Wisconsin in the 1930s and 1950s.“Cowboy Days” is about the life of a truck driver working as an over-the-road mover. “The Wreck of the Carl D. Bradley” is about the November 1952 shipwreck on Lake Michigan of one of the largest boats operating at that time on the Great Lakes.“Love and the Shorter Work Week” is a wonderfully fun song effectively capturing how the workers of “new economy” of the late 1980s struggled with work schedules and jobs designed without taking human elements into consideration.“Putting the Blame” explains how manufacturing workers were unfairly blamed during the Reagan recession of the 1980s for the ugly shutdowns of their factories; the song ends by identifying the real culprit of the plant closures.“So Long, It’s Been Good to Know Ya (Rustbowl Version)” was adapted from Woody Guthrie’s classic song about people during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s; the re-written verses by Darryl Holter eloquently tell the story of the abandoned manufacturing communities of the “rustbowl” states like Wisconsin.“Union Maid” is another rousing classic labor song by Woody Guthrie.
  5. Zinn, Howard. “The Bay View Tragedy of May 5, 1886: A Look at Milwaukee’s 8-Hour March, Killings from the Workers’ Point of View”. IN: Germanson, Kenneth A., editor. Workers in Wisconsin History: Commemorating the Contributions and Acknowledging the Struggles of Working People Toward Making Wisconsin a Great State, A Labor History Sesquicentennial Project of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Labor Education and Training Center, Inc.U. Milwaukee, Wis.: Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Labor Education and Training Center, Inc.; n.d. [1999]; pp. 3-5.