It must be great to be able to view the history of the last 200 years through rose coloured glasses. It was benign employers who gladly changed working conditions from 16 hour days and children as young as 5 working down mines. Industrial agitation had nothing to do with it. How lucky we are to have a system so accepting of change? How lucky we are to have employers imbued with altruism forsaking profits for the sake of the betterment of their workers. Joe Hill was just an unlucky guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Unbelievable!!

Thanks Shal for saving me from attempting a reply.I would not know where to start with such ignorant bias. Leslie

Asbestosis of course is a myth, and epithelioma is caused by workers' carelessness. The kindly employers had nothing to do with it. And they would have, from the goodness of their own hearts, provided enough money to enable all those who stupidly got sick with support.

The employers who are pressing for an end to penalty rates for weekend work are deeply concerned about the consequences for workers' family life--they weep, and would do anything to make life better. Governments that force public servants an others to work longer and longer hours (by cutting funds) really are doing them a favour--their health is going to be so much better as a consequence.

And the drunken foreman I saw who sacked workers without any good reason, and the management who backed him up without inquiry--they really just wanted their workers to have an unpaid holiday for their own good. They would have reemployed them without a strike. Of course they would.