Union fails to win control of works council at Tesla’s German factory

This month in labour history

3-03-1919 At the call of the German Communist Party, the workers' councils in Berlin launched a general strike. Reichswehr Minister declares siege followed by clashes between demonstrators and army the next day. [more]

4-03-2008 Hundreds of thousands of bus and train drivers, preschool teachers, and waterworks employees walk off their jobs in most of Germany's 16 states in an effort to win higher pay for public service workers. [more]

9-03-2007 The statutory retirement age is raised from 65 to 67. [more]

10-03-1919 Leo Jogiches, Polish-German socialist and co-founder of the German Communist Party, is arrested and executed as he investigates the murder of his comrades Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. [more]

11-03-1883 Paul Levi, German socialist and revolutionary, is born in Hechingen. [more]

13-03-1920 After the Kapp Putsch and calls for a general strike by the SPD, workers of the anarcho-syndicalist FAUD formed a council and took control of Sömmerda, Germany. Troops killed 23 and arrested 180 before retaking the town. [more]

14-03-1920 General strike called to counter the Kapp-Von Luttwitz coup d'etat. In Berlin at 17:00. there are no trams, water, gas or electricity. Clashes break out between soldiers and workers. [more]

15-03-1920 The Kapp-Lüttwitz government is paralyzed. Fighting in Leipzig, Frankfurt, Halle and Kiel. Mutiny in Wilhelmshaven. In Hagen, the "red army" of 2,000 armed workers marches on Wetter. [more]

16-03-1920 Workers are fighting or preparing for it all over the country. The "Red Army" marches on Dortmund. At 13:00, Kapp gives the order "to shoot the leaders and workers on the picket lines". [more]

17-03-1920 During the night, a pioneer regiment mutinies in Berlin. The army is no longer safe. Kapp realizes the defeat. He chose to flee, followed closely by General von Lüttwitz. The general strike and heavy fighting continue. [more]

22-03-1920 The general strike in progress since the 14th ends. A new social democratic government was formed, chaired by Hermann Müller, who instructed General von Watter to restore order in the Ruhr area and crush the Red Army there. [more]