Throughout history, working class people have stood up and fought back against oppression and exploitation in the food system. Each month, Food Fight documents a timeline of historical labor struggles to inform and educate today’s workers on historical class struggle in the food industry. We commemorate their struggles each day of the month.
June 1
1648: Workers in Moscow confront the Tsar over rising salt prices
1933: Agricultural workers strike in El Monte over wages and working conditions
1981: Shlitz workers strike in Milwaukee during contract negotiations
2012: Workers strike at Palermo’s in Milwaukee
2020: Workers at Condado Tacos in Columbus refuse to fulfill orders for police officers and walk off the job during nationwide protests against police brutality
2023: The favorite restaurant of French President Emmanuel Macron is set on fire during nationwide protests over pension cuts
2024: Taco Bell workers in Oakland walk off the job over health and safety issues
2024: Activists pull items from the shelves at Home Bargains in Belfast to cut support for genocide in Palestane
June 2
1648: Workers burst into the Moscow Kremlin and demand the surrender of officials responsible for salt taxes
1855: Residents of Portland storm the city hall after learning that the mayor was hoarding rum during an alcohol ban
1913: The IWW leads a strike against the United Fruit Company in New Orleans
June 3
1983: Workers strike at Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee
2016: IWW members at Ellen’s Stardust Diner in New York City refuse unsafe working conditions
2020: Workers at Di Bruno Bros restaurant in Philadelphia deliver a letter to management threatening strike action against police brutality in response to company policies providing free meals to police officers
June 4
1910: Hacienda workers and armed Mayans rise up against the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz
June 5
2023: Workers strike at International Flavors and Fragrances in Memphis
June 6
1881: Brewery workers shut down brewing operations in New York City
2020: Workers walk off the job at Northstar Cafe in Columbus in response to company discounts for police officers
June 7
1919: Workers in Malta riot over the cost-of-living
1944: Bottlers and drivers strike across seven breweries in the Newark area
2024: Workers strike Tops Markets warehouses in Buffalo
June 8
2021: Argentinian customs agents strike for access to COVID vaccines by threatening the halting of grain exports
June 9
2022: Indigenous people in Tanzania protest against land enclosures
June 10
2023: Workers strike at Little Dog in Brunswick over unsafe working conditions
June 11
1942: Workers picket outside of Pearlman’s Bakery in Detroit
June 12
1949: Brewery workers in New York City reject offers from brewery bosses and continue striking, locking managers out of some locations
2024: Aramark workers protest outside of corporate headquarters in Philadelphia, demanding improved wages and benefits
2024: Taco Bell workers strike in San Jose over dangerous working conditions
June 13
1842: Townspeople riot over food scarcity in Galway
2022: Truck drivers strike at Breakthru Beverage in Cicero
2024: Workers strike at Habit Burger Grill in San Jose over unsafe working conditions
2024: Workers strike at Taco Bell in Los Angeles over pregnancy discrimination
June 14
1381: Workers burn the houses officials and the prison in Westminster during a peasant’s revolt
June 15
2023: IWW members picket over wage theft at the Kickin’ Caribou in Plymouth
2024: Workers strike at Carl’s Jr in Sacramento over unsafe working conditions
2024: Workers strike at Popeye’s in Citrus Heights over unsafe working conditions
June 16
1347: Crowds seize shipments of grain headed for export in Lynn and Boston during ongoing food riots
1969: Workers strike across seven restaurants in Seattle
June 17
1960: Students stage a sit-in at Hooper’s lunch counter in Baltimore in defiance of racial segregation policies
2024: Workers at Delbar Middle Eastern in Atlanta deliver a demand letter to management
June 18
1964: Protesters jump in the pool of the Monson Motor Lodge Hotel and Restaurant in St. Augustine in defiance of racial segregation policies
2024: Fast food workers rally in Atlanta, Charleston, and Durham to demand safe working conditions
June 19
2024: Warehouse workers strike at Smart & Final in Commerce and Riverside
June 20
1919: Restaurant workers strike in Galesburg
1934: Onion pickers strike in Hardin County
2024: Workers strike at CanPack Food and Industrial Packaging across Poland
June 21
2022: Workers strike and picket at Origlio Beverage in Philadelphia
June 22
2019: Workers walk off the job at Slate Coffee Roasters in Seattle
2023: Consumer groups in Italy stage “pasta strikes” over rising food costs
June 23
1937: Workers set fire to the fields at the Orange Grove estate during a general strike in Trinidad and Tobago
1950: Delivery drivers strike at Smithfields meat market in London
1957: Activists stage a sit-in at Royal Ice Cream in Durham in defiance of racial segregation policies
2022: Activists stage a fishing vessel in Hobart to protest the fishing of toothfish
June 24
1855: Crowds gather in London to protest bans on Sunday food and alcohol service
1976: Strikes, protests and riots break out across Poland in response to rising food prices
June 25
1830: Riots break out in Limerick over food shortages and rising food costs
1938: Activists pricket Peoples Drug Stores over racist hiring practices
2015: Workers walk off the job at Pure Food & Wine in New York City over wage theft
2022: Workers strike at the Saint James Tavern in Kemptown
June 26
2008: IWW members stage a work stoppage at the Mall of America Starbucks in Bloomington
2024: Amazon drivers strike in Skokie
2024: Workers picket an Amazon fulfilment center in Windsor
June 27
2024: Oilseed crushers strike in Buenos Aires
2024: Workers strike at Ono Hawaiian BBQ in Los Angeles
2024: Workers strike at McDonald’s in Santa Clara
June 28
1636: Fisherman strike in Richmond over wage theft
1969: Patrons riot at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village over LGBTQ persecution
2023: Farmworkers strike at at Hussey & Co in Pearcedale
2024: Workers picket the Lofton hotel in Minneapolis
2024: Food concession workers confront management at Oracle Park in San Francisco
June 29
1934: Striking onion pickers in Hardin County block trucks carrying strikebreakers
June 30
1960: Protesters stage a lunch counter sit-in at the Glen Echo Amusement Park in defiance of racial segregation policies
2001: Activists confront management at Raffle’s Grand Cafe in Amsterdam as part of an ongoing dispute between workers and management