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Noble Order of the Knights of Labor
The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor started in 1869 and lasted through 1900. This organization was founded by garment workers in Philadelphia. As a group they fought for equal pay for equal work, no more child labor, and only 8 hour days. -
The First Labor Day Holiday
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882. This day is a day to reconize all the hard working people of our country without whom this country would not run as smoothly. The workers of America were finally reconized for all the hard work they did. To give them the day off and a holiday to acknowledge all their work was the government's way of saying we are here for you and we will fight for you because we need you. -
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
The American Federation of Labor was organized in 1886. This organization focused on craft oriented trades. Helping them to get what they want was one of their priorities. They fought for better pay and improved work conditions. -
Haymarket Square Riot
In Chicago workers gathered in the streets in 1886 in protest to the McComick Harvesting Machine. They marched for eight hours and, when police finally came to break up this strike, a bomb went off in the square. Eight policemen died and 100 people were injured. The police force saw the unions and anarchists as problems and threats and, at this time, wanted to stop them, not help them. -
How The Other Half Lives
"How the Other Half Lives" is a piece written by Jacob Riis in 1890. Riis wrote this to share with the public what it was like to live in the slums of New York City and have little to no money. It talked about how unclean the apartments were and how small they were, too small for all the people that lived in one. Writing this really gave everyone else an understanding of how bad off some people were. -
The Homestead Strike
The Homestead strike began on June 30, 1892. It was the most serious argument in US labor history. It took place in a town called Homestead, Pennsylvania and it was between the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel workers and the Carnegie Steel Company. In the end the union was defeated, which severly set back the effort to unionize the steelworkers. -
The Pullman Strike
In 1893 the company-built town of Pullman hit a rough patch. The owner started to lower the wages of the workers of the town but he didn't lower the rent cost for the houses. This caused an uproar. The workers went on strike and within only a day, thousands of other railroad workers did too. This caused a transportation shut down from Chicago to the West Coast. When the union leaders were arrested and sent to prison the strike came to a stop. -
The Coal Strike
During this strike mine workers in Eastern Pennsylvania stopped working. The coal that was mined here went to the winter fuel supply. The strike threatened to deplete the winter supply in all the major cities. The President at the time, Theodore Roosevelt, got involved and helped resolve the problems that led to the strike. This was the first time the government got involved with the labor of the states, and this particular strike didn't start again. -
The Jungle
"The Jungle" was written in 1905 by Upton Sinclair. He wrote this piece to address the state of meat packing factories so that something would be done about it. He emphasized that they were unclean and that the meat produced in these factories was unhealthly for the public to eat. -
The Bitter Cry of Children
"The Bitter Cry of Children" is a piece written by John Spargo in 1906. This story tells of the tragedies in the Pennsylvania coal mines. It tells of how they employed children no older than nine and had them work in such terrible conditions for very little pay and for long days. It tells of their troubles and tries to convince the public that this is not right. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
On June 30, 1906 the United States passed the Pure Food and Drug Act. This act was created to make sure that all food handling industries were safe for the public. Now, because of this law, all food production industries and the sale of and transportation of food is inspected. Along with food, medicine is also inspected. -
Triangle Shirt Factory Fire
On March 25, 1911 a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirt Factory in Manhattan, New York City, claiming the lives of 146 people. The factory's devistating fire brought serious attention to the hard labor in the Unite States.The factory employed young workers, payed very little, and the work conditions were dangerous and unsanitary. The fire, as horrible as it was, brought good things. People came together and fought for not only higher pay, but safer job conditions and this time people listened. -
Congress of Industrial Organization
Congress of Industrial Organization started in 1935 and lasted thorugh 1955. This organization was part of the AFL until it broke away in 1935 to focus on industrial jobs instead of craft jobs. In 1955 it joined up again with the AFL. -
GM Sit-Down Strike
The GM sit-down strike was a strike at a General Modors plant in Flint, Michigan. On December 30, 1936 the workers came in that day and didn't do anything. They shut down operation from December 30,until February 11, when the strike ended. The sit-down in Flint caused strikes in GM factories all over the state. The strike finally came to an end when President Roosevelt got the company and employers to talk it out; for the first time ever the workers had a hand in running the company. -
The National Labor Relation Act
The National Labor Relation Act was created in 1938. This act was the government showing the workers of America that they were pro labor. The National Labor Relations board was created because of this act and it gave the government the power to punish companies that had unfair labor policies. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act was created. This act, for the first time ever, put a minimum age on child labor. It also limited the hour sthat a child could work. The Fair Standard Act is a federal law, so everyone has to follow it. -
Steel Strike
Steel workers across America planned to start the strike on April 9, 1952. President Truman stopped the impending strike by making all the steel companies factories owned by the government so they could not go on strike. On June 2, 1952 the workers took the case to court, saying the president couldn't do that to the companies. They won and the strike began against the companies. On July 24, 1952 the strike came to an end when the companies and the workers agreed on new terms. -
Major League Baseball Strike
On April 1, 1972 the major league baseball players went on their first strike ever. The players wanted a higher pay. The strike lasted until April 13, 1972 and it made the fans very unhappy that they could not watch the baseball games. In total they missed 86 games and they were never made up. -
New York City Transit Strike
On December 20 at 3:00 a.m. the New York City Transit strike started. All the transportation through and about New York stopped. Millions of commuters were affected and could not get to work. This happened because the workers wanted more benefits like retirement, pension, and wage increases. In the end they all agreed on a new contract and all transportation in New York was running by the morning of December 23, 2005, even though the strike offically ended at 2:35 p.m. on December 22, 2005.
