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AFL
One of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. Founded by an alliance of craft unions that broke off by the Knights of Labor. -
International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU)
The largest labor union to represent workers in the women's garment industry. It was formed by the merging of several NYC unions in 1900. -
Closed Shop
A form of union security under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times in order to remain employed -
Collective Bargaining
A process of negotiations between employers and a group of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions -
Contract
An agreement entered into voluntarily by two or more parties, and they are bound to this agreement by legal obligations -
Open Shop
A place of employment at which one is not required to join or financially support a union as a condition of hiring or continued employment -
Internation Workers of the World
Also known as the IWW or Wobblies. An international union that contends that all workers should be united as a class and that the wage system should be abolished -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers, who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. -
Department of Labor
The federal department responsible for promoting the working conditions of wage earners in the United Stares -
Clayton Act
Prohibited exclusive sales contracts, local price cutting to freeze out competitors, rebates, interlocking directorates in corporations capitalized at million or more in the same field of business, and intercorporate stock holding. -
Ludlow Massacre
An attack by the Colorado National Guard and Colorado Fuel & Iron Company camp guards on a tent colony of 1,200 coal miners and their families -
World War One (WWI)
A global war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. The Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and Russia) VS. the Central Powers (originally the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy -
Adamson Act
Established an 8 hour work day, with additional pay for overtime work, for interstate railroad workers -
Yellow-Dog Contract
An agreement between an employer and an employee in which the employee agrees, as a condition of employment, not to be a member of a labor union. -
Samuel Gompers
President of the AFL. Originally a part of the Cigar Makers' International Union. (1850-1924) -
Eugene V. Debs
An American union leader, one of the founding memebers of the Industrial Workers of the World. One of the best-known socialists living in the United States -
Great Depression
A severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II -
Mother Jones
A prominent labor and community organizer. She helped coordinate major strikes and cofounded the Industrial Workers of the World. (1837- 1930) -
Davis-Bacon Act
Established the requirement for paying the local prevailing wages on public works project. -
Norris-LaGuardia Act
This was a U.S. federal law that banned yellow-dog contracts, barred the federal courts from issuing injunctions against nonviolent labor disputes, and gave the right of noninterference by employers against workers joining trade unions. -
Wagner Act
This is a U.S. federal law that protects the rights of employees in the private sector to discuss workplace issues, strike, and engage in collective bargaining. -
CIO
The Congress of Industrial Organization- a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the U.S. and Canada -
Fair Labor Standards Act
Established a maximum 44-hour seven-day workweek, a national minimum wage, and prohibited most employment of minors in "oppressive child labor" -
Minimum Wage
The lowest salary that employers may legally pay to workers (hourly, daily, or monthly) -
Emma Goldman
An anarchist known for her political activism. (1869-1940)
