McLean County Labor History

orn and raised on Bloomington’s west side, Patrick Henry Morrissey became a national labor leader in his early thirties.

In 1935, switchboard operators for the Wabash Telephone Company handled an average of 60,000 calls coming through its downtown Bloomington building.

The old Laborers' Local 362 union hiring hall is being demolished this week. The building featured a mural created by Kari Sandhaas in the 1980s, which displayed Bloomington-Normal’s historical relationship with labor and unionizing.

Today's Connect Transit bus system can trace its roots in Bloomington-Normal back more than 130 years. 

A new form of transportation connected Bloomington residents in the late 1800's, a horse railway.

Ever drive by Bloomington’s White Oak Park on the west-side and notice that tall flag pole?  Few realize its history.

Bloomington had its wildest labor night a century ago, July 5, 1917, with famed labor organizer Mary “Mother Jones” (1837-1930) stoking striking transit workers.  A night of mayhem brought 1,400 National Guard troops to town, but also won a contract for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 752.&n