-
Haymarket Square Riot
The Haymarket Square riot began with a strike against a harvesting company. The strikers were asking for an 8 hour work day, and this resulted in a lockout by the company. Upon hearing of the lockout, strikers gathered for a rally at the Haymarket Square. When things got out of hand and the police were called in, someone let off a bomb in the middle of the crowd. The labor movement was effected because people began to realize that these popular strikes can become very volitile very quickly, -
Ludlow Massacre
The Ludlow Massacre was the result of a strike from workers employed by John Rockefeller, He owned a mining company and he built a small town for workers to live in. They grew tired of poor conditions and went on strike. When kicked out of the town for striking, the workers built a shanty town which came under fire when Rockefeller's guards shot into the tents. The strikers retaliated, and over 200 died. The labor movement comes into play because people began to realize the value of unions work. -
Steel Strike
The Steel Strike of 1919 began because workers were unhappy with long hours, low wages, and harrassment surrounding the involving of unions. 350,000 people walked out, shutting down half of the steel industry. However, the strike failed because the company used propaganda to steer public opinion to believe it was communist work. The labor movement was effected because there was large public disdain towards unions. -
Norris LaGuardia Act
The Norris LaGuardia Act of 1932 prohibited yellow dog contracts. This means that employers could not keep their employees from joining unions and could not punish them for doing so. This effected the labor movement in a postive way because people were not held back from employment if they wanted to join a union. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was a time of enormous economic trouble in America. Over 11 million people were out of work and poverty was consuming the nation. People would take whatever job they could to support their families. This effected the labor movement because employers could have very low standards for pay, safety, and general working conditions. They could also make people work extremely long hours for the minimal pay because everyone needed any job they could take. -
Textile Workers Strike
The Textile Workers Strike of 1934 was the result of workers growing tired of long hours and low wages. Their union was able to get 400,000 people to walk out, however the strike was stopped short at 20 days due to lack of outside support. The union spirit was tarnished and many people were blacklisted, negatively effecting the labor movement. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act established a minimum wage, average work week, and child labor laws.These are things we often take for granted now, but these laws helped to regulate the standards for employers. This effected the labor movement in a positive way because people earned employment rights, meaning they could not be done wrong by employers, resulting in less strikes. -
World War II
World War II was a trying time in America. Men were called to war and some women were put into the workforce. Over 10 million men were drafted into the war and everyone left behind was putting in effort for the war through manufacturing. Women had a reason to enter the workforce apart form just wanting to be a part of it, so they became part of the unions and overall helped to continue the labor moevement. -
Landrum-Griffin Act
The Landrum-Griffin Act was put into effect to prohibit unfair and corrupt actions by unions. In the 50's the labor movement was under intense public and Congressional scrutiny for corrupt actions such as criminal activty and racketeering. The ban of such actions had a positive effect on the labor movement because it essentially cleared the name of labor unions and made them a valuable resource once more.
