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One of the earliest and most influential labor organizations, the Knights of Labor is founded by Philadelphia tailors.
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The first nationwide strike stops trains across the country. About 100,000 railroad workers are involved. Federal troops are called out to break the strike.
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Samuel Gompers founds the American Federation of Labor.
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During a labor demonstration in Chicago, a bomb explodes and rioting ensues. Anarchists are singled out and convicted of inciting violence during the Haymarket Square riot.
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Violence ends the Homestead steel strike in Homestead, Pennsylvania.
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The Pullman strike, involving 50,000 rail workers, ends in rioting and violence
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The International Workers of the World (IWW), a radical union, is formed with the aim of overthrowing capitalism and replacing it with a socialist system.
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The U.S. government establishes the Department of Labor to protect the rights of workers
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The Clayton Antitrust Act legalizes nonviolent strikes and boycotts
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Over the course of the year, a record 4 million workers strike
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The Wagner Act (also called the National Labor Relations Act) affirms the right of workers to unionize and requires employers to participate in collective bargaining
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John L. Lewis breaks with the AFL and forms the Committee of Industrial Organization (CIO), later changing its name to the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
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United Auto Workers (UAW) sign a contract with General Motors after a successful sit-down strike in Flint, Michigan.
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The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes the minimum wage.
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The Taft-Hartley Labor Act limits some of the powers of unions and the circumstances under which they can strike.
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An amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 outlaws child labor
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The largest U.S. labor organization, the AFL, merges with the CIO, forming the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
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The Landrum-Griffin Act is passed to help eliminate union corruption.
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One third of all workers in the United States belong to a union
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Mexican American labor leader Cesar Chavez garners national attention for the plight of farm workers by spearheading what becomes a five-year California grape pickers strike. Chavez's union, the NFWA, primarily made up of Mexican Americans, joined forces
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The postal worker strike, involving 180,000 strikers, becomes the United States' largest public employee walkout.
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President Ronald Reagan orders the replacement of striking air traffic controllers with nonunion workers.
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Over the last several decades, union membership has dropped considerably. Only 14 percent belong to unions
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The Teamsters and Service Employees unions announced their withdrawal from the AFL-CIO. The split is considered organized labor's worst crisis since 1935, when the CIO split from the AFL. A few days later, another one of the country's largest unions, the