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Noble Order of the Knights of Labor
The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor was organized by Philadelphia garment workers in 1869. It was opened to farmers, merchants and wage earners. The workers were looking for equal pay for equal work, abolition of child labor and an 8 hour work day. -
Labor Day
Labor Day was created to be a day of rest and appreciation for employees. The first Labor Day celebrated in the U.S. was August 26, 1878 in Boston. It was declared a federal holiday in 1894. At the height of political elections, President Cleveland put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top priority and it was declared a national holiday. It is now celebrated on the first Monday of September and is seen as a day of rest. -
American Federation of Labor(AFL)
The American Federation of Labor was organized in 1886, It's main focus was creating better working conditions and better pay. It put union labels on produced items and was craft orieneted. -
Haymarket Square Riot
Workers in Chicago marched for and eight hours to protest McComick Harvesting machine. Police were called to come break up the strike. Anarchists were blamed for the violence. Eight policemen were killed and hundreds were injured. The public saw unions and anarchists as the main problem -
How The Other Half Lives
How The Other Half Lives was a publication of photojournalism published by Jacob Riis. It showed how the citizens on the poor side lived in the slums of New York City in the 1880s. It described in detail the dirty, dingy and upleasant living conditions in the tenaments of NYC. -
The Homestead Strike
The Homestead Strike was an industrial lockout and strike that began on June 30, 1892. It was a battle between strikers and private security agents. It was one of the most serious disputes in US labor history. It happened at The Homestead Steel Works Pittsburgh near the town of Homestead, PA. It was between the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Works and the Carnegie Steel Company. The result was a defeat for the union and a setback for efforts to unionizie steelworkers. -
The Pullman Strike
A company built Pullman so workers could rent houses from the owner George Pullman. Rent was hight and wages were lowered due to the depression of 1893. Pullman still didn't lower the rent. Led by Eugene Debs, workers went on strike. Within a few days, thousands of workers in 27 states/territories went on strike. This caused no transportation from Chicago to the West Coast. Union leaders were arrested and imprisoned. The strike collapsed. -
The Coal Strike
The Coal Strike was a strike by the United Mne Workers of America in the antricite coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania. The strike threatened to shut down the winter fuel supply to all major cities. President Roosevelt became involved and set up a commission that suspended the strike. The strike was never picked up since the miners received more money for fewer work hours. It was the first labor episode in which the federal government intervened as a neutral arbitrator. -
The Jungle
The Jungle was a short published story written by Upton Sinclair. He was a Muckraker who described the working conditions of the meat packing industry in Chicago. It exposed all of the unhealthy, and unsanitary conditions. It led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act as well as the Meat Inspection Act. -
The Bitter Cry of Children
John Spargo wrote this to expose child labor. He wrote about how hard of a job it was for children to work as coal miners. He discusses how hard, dangerous and lonely it is for children to work in such a way. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug act was passed on June 30, 1906. It is a federal law that provides federal inspection of meat products. It forbade the manufacture, sale or transportation of adulterated food products and poisonous patent medicines. -
Triangle Shirt Factory Fire
This was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of New York City. There were 156 deaths among the garment workers. They could not escape because the managers locked the exits and stairwells. They were forced to jump from floors 8-10. This incident led to legislation requiring improved factory standards. It helped with the growth of International Ladies Garment Workers Union whcih fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers. -
Congress of Industrial Organization
The Congress of Industrial Organization was a part of the AFL until 1935. It broke away because it adovacted organization along industrial lines rather than craft lines. It reintegrated into AFL in 1955. -
The National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act, also known as the Wagner Act was pro labor. It gave labor's right to be organized and legally recognized. The National Labor Relations Board was created and they had the power to punish unfair labor practices. -
GM Sit-Down-Strike
The GM Sit Down Strike was a strike by General Motors employees that shut down plant operations in Flint, Michigan and other cities from December 30, 1936-February 11, 1937. This brought the tactic of sit down strikes and their effectiveness to the attention of the public. In the following weeks the strike spread to other GM plants and to cities in different states. The workers were soon able, for the first time in history, participate in the running of GM. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
In 1938, The Fair Labor Standards Act was created. Through it, the Federal Regulation of child labor was achieved. For the first time, minimum ages of emplyment and hours of work for children were regulated by federal law. -
Steel Strike
This was a strike by the United Steelworkers of America against U.S. Stel and nine other steel makers. President Truman nationalized the American steel industry just hours before the workers walked out. The steel companies sued to regain control of their work places. The Steelworkers struck to wina wage increase. The strike lasted 53 days on the same terms the union had proposed four months earlier. -
Major League Baseball Strike
The 1972 baseball strike was the first players' strike in MLB history. It lasted from April 1 to April 13. Baseball resumed when the owners and players agreed on a $500,000 increase in pension fund payments and to add salary arbitration to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The 86 gmes that were missed were never played because the league refused to pay the players for the time they were on strike. -
NYC Transit Strike
The New York City transit strike was a strike in NYC called by the Transport Workers Union Local 100. Negotiations for a new contract with the Metropolitan Authority broke down over retirement, pension and wage increases. The strike began at 3:00 a.m. on December 20, 2005. Millions of commuters were affected. The Strike ended on December 22. Service was restored overnight with all transportation systems fully operational y the moring of December 23.
