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English Planters found Jamestown colony and complain about lack of laborers.
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Slaves from Africa first imported to colonies
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Laborers protest royal taxation in the Boston tea Party
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Slave importation prohibited
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President Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation
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13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishes slavery
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National Labor Union founded
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15th Amendment to the Constitution adopted; states the right to vote may not be abrogated by color
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AFL and National Civic Federation promote trade agreements with employers U.S. Industrial Commission declares trade unions good for democracy.
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One of every five workers walked out in great strike wave, including national clothing coal and steel strikes; a general strike in Seattle; and a police strike in Boston International Labor Organization founded in France
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19th Amendment to the Constitution gives women the right to vote
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Railway Labor Act sets up procedures to settle railway labor disputes and forbids discrimination against union members
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AFL and CIO create labor's Non-Partisan League and help President Roosevelt win re-election to a second term
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Fair Labor Standards Act establishes first minimum wage and 40-hour week Congress of industrial Organizations forms as an independent federation
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March on Washington for jobs and Justice Equal Pay Act bans wage discrimination based on gender
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AFL-CIO forms A. Philip Randolph Institute César Chávez forms AFL-CIO United Farm Workers Organizing Committee
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Occupational Safety and Health Act passed
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Pride at Work, a national coalition of lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender workers and their supporters, becomes an AFL-CIO constituency group AFL-CIO membership renewed growth
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(February) AFL-CIO Executive Council calls for reform in the nation’s immigration laws for undocumented workers.
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(January) Shortly after his inauguration, President Obama signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restored the rights of working women to sue over pay discrimination.
