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Industrial Revolution
During the Industrial Revolution, working conditions in factories and mines were monstrous. So, many labor unions were formed in order to protect these workers from the consequences that could result from working in such conditions. They got better conditions, but it was quite difficult due to an abundance of workers that time, so those protesting were very easy to replace. -
Irish Potato Famine
The fail of the potato crop in Ireland resulted in thousands of Irish immigrants moving to America. Many business owners would hire them for work offering very low wages and awful hours, so labor unions were very necessary for protecting them from this mistreatment and threat to their wellbeing. -
Haymarket Affair
The Haymarket Square Riot was a bombing that occurred after a labor demonstration in Chicago. An unknown person threw a bomb at police, and resulted in at least eleven deaths. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
This was passed by Congress under the presidency of Benjamin Harrison. It recommended the federal government investigate trusts and unions, because during this time they were seen as a threat toward becoming a communist society. -
Homestead Strike
The Homestead Strike was a lockout and strike by the workers of the Carnegie Steel Company. Andrew Carnegie was determined to break the union. The company sent an abundance of Pinkerton guards to break up the protest, but the strikers were already armed and awaiting their arrival. This resulted in a very heated battle, leaving sixteen killed and many injured. -
Women's Labor Movement
Many of the early labor movements were focused around women's desire to work alongside men in the factories. This led to the formation of labor unions to fight for these rights, and women were granted the privilege to do so. Since then, though, the women's labor movement has been focused around getting equal pay and opportunity in the work force, which these unions continue to push for even today. -
Coal Strike of 1902
A strike by miners for higher wages and shorter workdays in the fields Pennsylvania threatened a coal famine. The strike threatened to shut down the winter supply to major US cities. -
The New Deal
The New Deal was put in place by Franklin Roosevelt and it helped the US through the Great Depression. It was a series of federal programs, public work projects, and financial reforms and regulations. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
This was drafted by senator Hugo Black of Alabama and was designed to regulate wages (minimum wage), cut down on hours, and created the first set of child labor laws. It established a forty four hour work week, a minimum wage of twenty five cents. -
World War II
The buildup for war brought more jobs and higher wages, so it was believed that the unions would work along with everyone else to prevent strikes that would slow production, but that was not necessarily the case. These people weren't going to let going into war stop their greed, and they began many protests that slowed production during the war time. -
US Postal Strike of 1970
This was an eight day strike by postal workers against the federal government. Richard Nixon called he US armed forces to break the strike, but they still ended up getting guaranteed collective bargaining rights.
