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Period: to
1776-Present Day
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President Van Buren- 10 hour work day
In 1840 President Van Buren established a ten hour work day for federal employees on public works. There was a large dispute about working hours and business owners feared fewer hours meant less production, increased costs, and a demoralization in workers. Eventually, after Van Buren's 10 hour day, states gradually reduced working hours. -
Commonwealth v. Hunt
In 1842 unemployment was spreading and union membership was down. In the court case Commonwealth v. Hunt, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that labor unions were not illegal conspiracies as long as their methods were “honorable and peaceful.” -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was a women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1858. Through leaders such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and the Grimke sisters, the "Declaration of Sentiments" was drawn up. This declaration was almost the same as "The Declaration of Independence", however, instead of saying that all men were created equal, the women changed it to being all men AND women were created equal. -
Lowell Mill
Women worked in the Lowell Mill, a Boston Associates owned textile. The worked 6 days a week for 12 or 13 hours a day, and were under constant supervision. They were forbidden to form unions, but this was one of the first signs of women in factories, after the mechanization era. -
National Labor Union
The National Labor Union lasted 6 years and had 600,000 members (skilled, unskilled, and farmers). This Union called for an eight hour work day, restrictions on immigrants entering America, and an end to convict labor. They were supportive of women and black workers and were led by William Sylvis. Although, they did participate in the iron strike. The Panic of 1893 "killed" the union and people started to leave. -
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor sought to include all workers in "one big union". It was headed by Terence V. Powderly and had nearly 750,000 members including everyone except liquor dealers, professional gamblers, lawyers, bankers, and stockbrokers. The Knights campaigned for multiple things including mainly economic and social reform, an eight hour working day, and an end to child labor. By the 1890s, it had about 100,000 members and was dying out. -
The American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor, or AF of L, was founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886. It was called a federation, not a union, because it was a combination of many labor unions all united under the AF of L. Gompers sought better wages, better hours, and better working conditions. Also, one of his main goals was the "trade agreement". The AF of L was composed of only skilled workers and skilled craftsmen. The AF of L is most likely smaller in number today, but still exists. -
Haymarket Riot
In Chicago in 1886 a strike broke out involving many members of the Knights of Labor. Labor disorder broke out and police rushed in to stop the riot. A dynamite bomb was thrown that killed and injured dozens of people, which included police. 8 anarchists were arrested although there was no proof they threw the bomb. 5 were sentenced to death, and 3 were sent to jail, years later they were pardoned. The riot became known worldwide. -
Homestead Strike
The Homestead Strike was an industrial lockout that began in the spring of 1892 at Andrew Carnegie's steel plant. Henry Clay Fricke took over Carnegie's plant while he was in Europe. The strike soon blew up and the Pinkerton Detective Agency and the Pennsylvania State Militia were called in to stop the strike. The strike ended with the leaders being blacklisted and many deaths on both sides. -
Pullman Strike and the American Railway Union
In 1894 the Pullman Palace Car Company had to cut the wages of workers by about one third because of the effects of the panic of 1893. Eugene V. Debs organized the 150,000 member American Railway Union and they rioted against the wage cut. They overturned railway cars which stopped railway traffic from Chicago to the Pacific Coast. President Cleveland called in troops to break uo the strike, mainly because the US mail was not being delivered. Debs and other leaders faced 6 months in jail. -
Anthracite Coal Strike
A strike broke out in Pennsylvania in the anthracite coal mines. 140,000 workers demanded a 20% increase in pay and a reduction in working hours to 9hrs. Mine owners refused to negociate. Coal supplies decreased and schools, hospitals and factories were forced to shut down. President Roosevelt called representatives of striking miners and mine owners to create a solution. He even threatened to bring in federal troops and seize the mines. Compromise made workers got a 10% pay increase 9hr workday -
Department of Labor and Commerce established
After the coal strike in Pennsylvania TR became aware of the antagonism between capital and labor. President Theodore Roosevelt wanted Congress to created a Department of Labor and Commerce. It was created in 1903. The Bureau of Corporations was a strong arm of the department and it authorized businesses engaged in interstate commerce, and broke up some monopolies. -
Triangle Factory Fire
A fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory near closing time burned 146 women to death. Women on the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors could not escape the fire. The managers of the factory had locked the doors. The elevators were unsafe. The fire escapes were broken. The impact of the fire on the economy was huge. It resulted in improved fire escapes, safety regulations, and safety precautions. -
Danbury, Connecticut Strike
The conservative courts in Danbury had been ruling that labor unions were illegal through the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The labor unions were under the category of "antimonopoly restraints" in the Act. This strike was the result of that court ruling. Hatmakers in Danbury, CT struck and were fined more than $250,000. The result was the loss of the hat makers homes and lifesavings. -
Clayton AntiTrust Act
The Clayton AntiTrust Act supplemented the Sherman AntiTrust Act. It lengthened the Sherman AntiTrust's list of questionable business practices. It decided if these practices were legal or illegal. The Clayton AntiTrust Act included topics such as price discrimination, interlocking directorates, rebates, exclusive sales contracts, and many more. This act impacted workers rights and their independence. -
The National War Labor Board
The National War Labor Board (NWLB) was a federal agency created in April 1918 by Woodrow Wilson. It was headed by William Howard Taft. Its purpose was to stop disputes between workers and employers in order to ensure labor reliability and productivity during the war. It generally supported and strengthened the position of labor. It was disbanded after the war in May, 1919. -
Steel Strike
In 1919, the largest strike in American history hit the steel industry. More than 250,000 workers walked off the job demanding their employers recognize their right to organize and bargain collectively. The steel managers refused to give in to their employees' demands, and brought in 30,000 African Americans to replace those workers in the mills. After many confrontations and a handful of deaths, the strike ended. This strike slowed the union movement for over a decade. -
The Seattle Strike
The Seattle Strike of 1919 was in response to the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. Although, the strike was relatively modest and not harmful, it sparked a call for injunction. This call was made from the mayor of Seattle to the federal troops of America. This strike was small, however, it supplied the beginning of the first Red Scare in America with fears and communist "threats". -
Red Scare
The Red Scare from 1919-1920 was a time full of fear of Communism. Americans feared communism would come to America, and they feared even more that they would be accused as one. The Red Scare caused an anti labor union campaign. All-union "closed" shops were considered to be "Sovietism in disguise." In response employers "opened" shop to support "the American plan." -
Railway Labor Board
The Railway Labor Board sprung out of the different wartime labor boards. It ordered a wage cut of twelve percent in 1922. This wage cut sparked a two month long strike. This strike ended when a court injunction was ordered. This injunction was led by Attorney General Daugherty. -
Hoover supports labor unions
President Herbert Hoover endorsed and supported labor unions, yet labor unions wilted and membership continued to decreased. -
Norris-La Guardia Anti-Injunction Act
This act was passed by Congress and signed by President Hoover in 1932. It outlawed "yellowdog," antiunion, contracts and forbade federal courts to issue injunctions, restrain strikes, boycotts, and peaceful picketing. -
Filipino Workers
During the Great Depression American taxpayers wanted to stop their liability in the Philippine Islands. With this demand organized labor requested the exclusion of Filipino workers, with low wages. Laborers wanted their cheap labor. Independedce from the Philippine Islands was granted and set for the year 1946. -
The Committee for Industrial Organization
The Committee for Industrial Organization, or the CIO, was created in the New Deal years by John L. Lewis. This committee broke off of the American Federation of Labor in hopes to organize workers. It wanted to group workers and their issues in different groups to discuss problems and solutions. -
United States Steel Company Strike
The Memorial day masacre in 1937 occured at the Republic Steel Company plant in South Chicago. Police fired on pickets and workers, in a bloody massacre. Unskilled workers striked against the US Steel Company because it granted rights of unionization to to CIO organized employees. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in hopes to create a better deal for laborers. It made industries, that were involved in interstate commerce, set up a maximum wage and maximum hour bill for its employees. The maximum wage was forty cents and hour and the maximum hour was a forty hour work week. In addition, labor by children was either forbidden or limited. -
The United Mine Workers
Led by John L. Lewis, the United Mine Workers walked off of their jobs multiple times throughout WWII. They did this because the federal government asked labor unions not to strike, to help the nation prosper and be at peace, during the war. However, with this plea, the government also put a ceiling, or maximum, on the amount of money a certain worker could make. This greatly angered some of the American workforce, especially members of the United Mine Workers, causing them to leave. -
Political Action Committee
The Political Action Committee was created to make a law to ban the direct use of union funds for political purposes. Members supported Roosevelt in the election of 1944 and went door to door campaigning for him. -
War Labor Board and increase in membership
In 1942, during WWII the War Labor Board (WLB) imposed a maximum on wage increases. During the war, labor union membership increased from 10 million to 13 million workers. Many unions had no-strike pledges, but walkouts were popular. -
The Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act
During WWII, the government was worried about the loss of production in factories due to strikes. Therefore, they passed the Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act. This act allowed the federal government to seize and operate any "tied-up" industries. With the passing of this act, strikes made against these industries were considered federal crimes and the offenders were charged with criminal offenses. Through this act, the federal government took control of coal mines and railroads for awhile. -
Taft-Hartley Act
Conservatives were not happy with the growing organized labor. In 1947 a Republican- controlled Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act over Truman's veto that outlawed all "closed" shop, made unions liable for damages that resulted from jurisdictional disputes among themselves, and required all union leaders to take a non-Communist oath. This act slowed the growth of organized labor. -
Operation Dixie
"Operation Dixie" was the Congress of Industrial Organization's (CIO) plan to unionize southern textile and steel workers. This plan failed in 1948 to overcome fears of racial mixing. It became harder to organize women and diverse working groups in labor unions. Unions thus suffered and after there was a union membership peak in the 1950s, there was a steady decline. -
AF of L and CIO merge
In 1955 the American Federation of Labor and Congress on Industrial Organizations merged into one organization. For two decades the organizations were bitterly divided but finally merged. The merge was sparked by the unemployment jitters among citizens in 1954 and 1955. -
Shift in Labor
A quiet "revolution" occured when then nature of the workforce in the United States shifted in 1956. This shift of labor occured when , for the first time in history, "white-collar" workers outnumbered "blue-collar" workers. This signaled the transformation of the US from an industrial era to a post industrial era. This meant that union membership was steadily declining. It reached its peak, as a percentage of the labor force, in 1954, when it reached 35%, then started to steadily decline -
1959 Labor Reform Act
A needlessly restrictive act proposed by Senator John Kennedy of Massachusetts. Kennedy, pressured by Republican and conservative Democrats, proposed the act to put a leash on and contain the labor unions in the United States. Immediately after President Eisenhower signed the act, many labor unions and groups took the matter directly to court, arguing that if business organizations were not restricted in a similar manner, that this law was unconstitutional. The act caused much commotion. -
Landrum Griffin Act
In the 1950s, there were multiple money scandals within the many labor unions in the United States. Some scandals involved a smaller amount of $300, 000 stolen while others involved a large $10 million stolen from the government. In a response to the many different money scandals, Congress passed the Landrum Griffin Act in 1959. This act was designed to bring labor leaders to book for financial shenanigans and to prevent bullying tactics in unions.
