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Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period of scientific and technological development in the 18th century that transformed largely rural, agrarian societies—especially in Europe and North America—into industrialized, urban ones. Goods that had once been painstakingly crafted by hand started to be produced in mass quantities by machines in factories, thanks to the introduction of new machines and techniques in textiles, iron making and other industries. -
Samuel Gompers
Born: January 27, 1850, Samuel Gompers was a British-born American cigar maker, labor union leader, and a key figure in American labor history. Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor and served as its president for nearly forty years, between 1886 and 1924, and the nation's leading trade unionist and labor spokesman. -
13th Amendment
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. -
National Labor Union
The National Labor Union (NLU) is the first national labor federation in the United States. Founded in 1866 and dissolved in 1873, it paved the way for other organizations, such as the Knights of Labor and the AFL. It was led by William H. Sylvis and Andrew Cameron. -
The Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was founded as a secret society of tailors in Philadelphia in 1869. It grew in size and prominence in the early days of the American labor movement from the mid-to-late-1800s and played a key role in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. -
The 1st Labor Day
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883. -
American Federation of Labor
The AFL was founded on the principle of "pure and simple" unionism, which prioritized self-organization along occupational lines and achieving job-conscious goals for industrial emancipation. -
Great Southwest Railroad Strike
The Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886 was a labor union strike involving more than 200,000 workers. Beginning on March 1, 1886, railroad workers in five states struck against the Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific railroads, owned by Jay Gould. At least ten people were killed. -
Haymarket Riot
Labor protest rally near Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police. At least eight people died as a result of the violence that day. Despite a lack of evidence against them, eight radical labor activists were convicted in connection with the bombing. The Haymarket Riot was viewed as a setback for the organized labor movement in America, which was fighting for rights like the eight-hour workday. -
Homestead Strike
In July 1892, a dispute between Carnegie Steel and the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers exploded into violence at a steel plant owned by Andrew Carnegie in Homestead, Pennsylvania. In what would be one of the deadliest labor-management conflicts in the nation’s history, some 12 people were killed when striking workers attacked 300 Pinkerton detectives hired by the plant’s management as security guards. -
Pullman Strike
During a nationwide economic recession, George Pullman laid off hundreds of employees, and cut wages for many of the remaining workers at his namesake railroad sleeping car company by some 30 percent. Angry Pullman workers walked out in May 1894, and the following month, the American Railway Union (ARU) and its leader, Eugene V. Debs, declared a sympathy boycott of all trains using Pullman cars. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
The Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City burned, killing 146 workers. One of the most infamous incidents in American industrial history, as the deaths were largely preventable–most of the victims died as a result of neglected safety features and locked doors within the factory building. The tragedy brought widespread attention to the dangerous sweatshop conditions of factories and led to the development of a series of laws and regulations that better protect the safety of workers -
Textile Workers Strike of 1934
The United States textile workers' strike of 1934, colloquially known later as The Uprising of '34 was the largest textile strike in the labor history of the United States, involving 400,000 textile workers from New England, the Mid-Atlantic states, and the U.S. Southern states, lasting twenty-two days. -
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1935
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and "time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits the employment of minors in "oppressive child labor". -
The Wagner Act
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action such as strikes. -
1930s General Motors Sit Down Strike
Autoworkers occupied the General Motors Fisher Body Plant Number One in Flint, Michigan. The autoworkers were striking to win recognition of the United Auto Workers (UAW) as the only bargaining agent for GM’s workers; they also wanted to make the company stop sending work to non-union plants and to establish a fair minimum wage scale, a grievance system and a set of procedures that would help protect assembly-line workers from injury. In all, the strike lasted 44 days. -
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 29 U.S.C. § 203 is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and "time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits the employment of minors in "oppressive child labor". -
Taft–Hartley Act
The Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, better known as the Taft–Hartley Act, is a United States federal law that restricts the activities and power of labor unions. It was enacted by the 80th United States Congress over the veto of President Harry S. Truman, becoming law on June 23, 1947. -
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
The central purpose had always been–to advance the economic and job interests of the union membership. Collective bargaining performed impressively after World War II, more than tripling weekly earnings in manufacturing between 1945 and 1970, gaining for union workers an unprecedented measure of security against old age, illness, and unemployment, and, through contractual protections, greatly strengthening their right to fair treatment at the workplace. -
Steel Strike of 1959
The steel strike was a 116-day strike by the United Steelworkers of America July 15, 1959 - November 7, 1959. 519,000 workers. The strike was caused by management's demand that the union give up a contract clause that limited management's ability. Other causes included: High profits reported by major American steel companies. A request for a major wage increase by McDonald and Steelworkers general counsel Arthur J. Goldberg