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Kennedy Legalizes Public Employee Unions
President Kennedy allows the federal employees to organize, join unions, and bargain collectively with the government. -
Equal Pay Act
The Equality Pay Act is put into effect and prohibits discrimination based on gender. -
UAW Splits from AFL
Walter Reuther splits from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and forms the United Auto Workers (UAW) because of a dispute between him and the AFL president, George Meany. -
New York Teachers Strike
A Strike of New York teachers ends. More than a million public school students miss 36 days of school and the protests adds to the distrust between the public and organized unions. -
Postal Strike
200,000 Post Office workers walk in the first national strike of public employees. The strike lasted for 2 weeks and succeeded in modernizing the postal office. -
Pension Standards
he Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is passed and creates a minimum standard for almost all pension and health plans in the private sector. Employees are given an important safeguard. -
Major League Baseball Strike
Major League Baseball players go on strike after team owners wanted a team to have to pay compensation when they hire a free agent to protect their claim on the teams. The strike cancels about 40% of the season and a compromised to reached in August. -
Air Traffic Controllers Strike
Ronald Reagan fires strikers from the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) for illegally stopping work. This abolished the union and employers because not hesitating to replace strikers. Union memberships declines rapidly. -
Hormel Foods Strike
Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) goes on strike against Hormel Foods Corporation against the advise of the national union. The strike continues even after the company said they would reopen the plant with new workers. The strike goes on for 10 months with no results. -
UPS Strike
A 16-day walkout, partly due to the company using part-time employees to avoid paying benefits, led to the United Parcel Service signing a contract with the Teamsters Union. This was the first successful nationwide strike in 2 decades. -
UAW Loses Nissan Plant Election
The United Automobile Workers loses an election to represent the workers in a Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. This was part of an attempt to organize foreign car maker plants in the US. -
Change To Win
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Teamsters, and other activist unions leave the AFL-CIO to form a new labor coalition called Change to Win. The labor wants to organize more members to join a labor movement that needs more people and support.
