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Strikes at Homestead - Text
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The Pullman Strike
The Pullman Strike, organized by Eugene V. Debs organized a nationwide strike done by about 250,000 railroad workers. This event showed the power of a labor movement. Which had the economy at a standstill, making President Cleveland make Labor Day a national holiday. Though effective, this strike brought the court to make decisions that limit strikes to an extent. It still resulted in federal labor laws to protect workers. -
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers developed strategies and techniques that are still used today when used in American unions. For this, he is recognized as one of the architects of labor movements. He was the founder and long-serving president of 40 years for the American Federation of Labor (AFL). He advocates for better wages, hours, and conditions through the AFL, but also begins implementing strikes and boycotting practices. Unfortunately, he held white people more highly and did not assist people of color. -
Frances Perkins
Frances Perkins was the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet, of which she was appointed to be the 4th U.S. Secretary of Labor. in 1935 she developed a policy for social security and helped form government policy for working labor unions. She and her department were able to mediate strikes and display why labor issues are important through the "New Coalition Deal." She helped cap the number of hours women and children could work and improved the conditions they were working under. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
This event was mainly a battle between a large portion of the nation vs. the Supreme Court. Many people were tired of seeing how the economy of the nation was. Low wages, theft of wages, and many sweatshops. The act is meant to end child labor, have a minimum wage floor, and provide access to overtime so that people will be paid for excessive
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Steel Strike of 1959
The Steel Strike of 1959 had over half a million workers on strike for 116 days shutting down the steel industry. They were defeated by the Supreme Court which ordered them to go back to work for an 80-day cooling period. Though they did retain work rules in the new contract, in the long run, the steel industry of America never recovered as people and businesses began importing steel from other countries. -
Martin Luther King, Jr.
MLK is mainly known for his marches upon civil rights, but he has also fought for labor rights. He had protested against low wages, unsafe conditions, abuse from white supervisors, and dedicated his life to fighting for racial and economic equality. He spoke at union conventions, walked picket lines with workers, and tried to bridge civil rights with African-American labor movements. He showed the injustice the nation displayed and why it needs to reform to be better, loving, & more productive. -
A. Philip Randolph
Philip Randolph directed the March on Washington, which was a movement to end employment discrimination in the defense industry and a national civil disobedience campaign to ban segregation in the armed forces. He led a ten-year drive to organize the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) and brought the gospel of trade unionism to millions of African Americans. All the mass efforts and non-violent protests inspired the civil rights movements of the 1950s-1960s. -
The March on Washington
The March on Washington had about 200,000 demonstrators there, marching through the capital, wanting jobs and freedom. This march was successful in pressuring JFK to enable to strong federal civil rights bill in Congress. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at this march which enforced the need for racial equality and for the federal law to realize this major injustice in the nation. -
Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin organized some of the most iconic protests such as the March on Washington. He fought for racial equality, workers' rights, and later advocated for gay rights. He organized the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He introduced non-violent protests, which were then enforced upon by Martin Luther King, Jr. as he used it for the foundation of his movements. Though all his contributions to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and prior things were noted, he was kept out for being gay. -
Cesar Chavez
Cesar Chavez advocated for labor laws to be reformed so that farmworkers or any worker could have basic human rights such as safe working conditions and enough of a living wage for them to provide for their families. He co-founded the National Farmworkers Association (NFWA) in 1962, which then merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) to unite under as United Farm Workers of America (UFW). He protected farmworkers and advocated for safe protests, marching, and boycotting. -
Ive Been to The Mountain Top - Text
Martin Luther King, Jr. -
The Great Postal Strike of 1970
In 30 cities, 210,000 out of the nation's 750,000 postal employees went on strike. Mail service was paralyzed in New York, Detroit, and Philadelphia. The workers wanted better pay and it all came to a halt once the postal workers won a 6% wage increase. It then increased by another 8% after President Nixon signed the Postal Reorganization Act. -
He Showed Us the Way
Cesar Chavez -
Commonwealth Club Address -Text
Cesar Chavez -
Labor's labors lost? A year after stunning victory at Amazon, unions are stalled
Andrea Hsu