http://www.unionist.com/big-labor/today-in-labor-historyAugust 8
Delegates to the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly elect 35-year-old Charles James, leader of the Boot and Shoe Workers local union, as their president. He was the first African-American elected to that leadership post in St. Paul, and, many believe, the first anywhere in the nation - 1902
And this: August 8, 1902 - About 100 men and women -- delegates to the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly -- met in downtown St. Paul for the semi-monthly meeting of the 20-year-old labor organization. They elected 35-year-old Charles James, a skilled leather cutter and a leader of the Boot and Shoe Workers Union, as Assembly president. He was the first African-American elected to that leadership post in St. Paul, perhaps the first in the nation.

Cripple Creek, Colo. miners strike begins - 1903
Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America merge with Retail Clerks International Union to become United Food & Commercial Workers - 1979
Cesar Chavez is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton, becoming the first Mexican-American ever to receive the honor - 1994
Labor history found here:
http://www.unionist.com/big-labor/today-in-labor-history & here:
http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?history_9_08_8_2011