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AFL promotes trade agreements with employers. The U.S Industrial Commision trades union goods for democracy.
AFL stands for American Federation of Labor. -
International Workers of the World (IWW) founded.
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The fire of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory killed nearly 150 workers.
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20,000 people for Bread and Roses strike. The Bill creating Department of Labor passed at the end of congressional session.
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Massachusetts creats the first minimum wage law. Same pay for minors and women.
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Ludlow Massacre kills 7 men and 13 women and children in the coal miners' strike in Colorado.
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President Wilson signs Clayton Act which exempts unions from the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
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Adamson Act establishes 8-hour work days for workers on the railroads.
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The United States enters World War I (WWI)
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In 1917, President Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Imperial Germany and its allies. Debs, who was very sick, delivered a series of antiwar speeches; he was arrested, charged with impeding the war effort, convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail.
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AFL President Samuel Gomphers dies. William Green becomes new AFL President.
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The Great Depression begins after stock market fell 40%.
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Davis-Bacon Act is passed. Passed for prevailing wages on publicly funded construction projects
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The Norris-LaGuardia Act is passed. Used to prohibit federal injunctions in most labor disputes.
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This contract stated that workers had to agree not to join a union as a condition of employment. William Green helped abolish this contract in 1832.
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President Roosevelt signs the Wagner Act. This law authorizes the National Labor Relations Board to assure fairness in union elections.
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CIO splits from AFL, become rivals until they merge later in 1955.
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Fair Labor Standards Act is passed. Established first 40- hour week and first minimum wage.
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Mary got the nickname "Mother" by addressing the railway union convention, she began to be referred to as "Mother" by the men of the union. Mother Jones was deeply affected by the "machine-gun massacre" in Ludlow, Colorado. She traveled across the country, telling the story, and testified before the U.S. Congress.