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Knights of Labor
One of the largest and most important labor organizations of the 1880's who worked for things such as an 8-hour work day and other rights for workers. They sometimes even negotiated with employers. -
Pullman Strike
The Pullman Strike was a nationwide railroad strike which created a turning point for U.S. labor laws. The strike and boycott shut down much of the nation's freight and passenger traffic west of Detroit, Michigan and resulted in a huge win for labor unions. -
Great Southwest Railroad Strike
The Great Southwest Railroad Strike was a labor union strike involving more than 200,000 railroad workers in five states protesting against the Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific railroads -
Haymarket Riot
The Haymarket Riot was a response to the bombing of a labor protest that took place in Haymarket square. The protest began peacefully, with people protesting for 8-hour work days, but then a protestor threw a bomb at the police and the police open-fired on the protestors. -
National Labor Union
NLU was the first national labor federation in the United States. The NLU helped to pave the way for other labor federations like the Knights of Labor. -
American Federation of Labor
The AFL was a national federation of labor unions in the United States, and was the largest group of labor unions in the United States during its time period. -
Homestead Strike
Workers of Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel protested wage cuts, which resulted in a massacre and major loss for the union. -
Steel Strike of 1959
This was a huge labor union strike against major steel companies which occurred because management wanted the union to sign a contract reducing their hours and taking away there power. The union ended up winning what turned out to be the longest strike of its time. -
13th Amendment
Stated "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction".