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Noble Order of the Knights of Labor
The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor was organized by Philadelphia garment workers in 1869. It was open to farmers, merchants, and wage earners. The objectives were to create equal pay for equal work, abolish child labor, and create 8 hour work days. -
American Federation of Labor (AFL) Formed
The American Federation of Labor was organized in 1886. It focused on creating better working conditions, better pay, union labels on produced items, and craft oriented jobs. The AFL was a part of the Congress of Industrial Organization until the groups split in 1935. -
Haymarket Square Riot
Workers in Chicago, IL marchedfor an 8 hour day to protest against McComick Harvesting machine. The police were involved and came to break up the strike, but eight died during the event and hundreds of people were injured. The public saw uniouns and anarchists were the problem, and they were blamed for the violence. -
How the Other Half Lives
"How the Other Half Lives" is a story that studies families living in small tenements of New York. Jacob Riis, documented the terrible conditions of living in New York City slums. Conditions were very unsanitary and not safe to live in. -
The Homestead Strike
An industrial lockout and strike began on June 30, 1892, culminating in a battle between strikers and private security agents on July 6, 1982. The incident occured at the Homestead Steel Works in the Pittsburgh area town of Homestead, Pennsylvania. It was one of the most serious disputes in United States labor history. -
The Pullman Strike
George M. Pullman was a railroad company owner in the late 1800's who built a town where the workers could live and pay rent. In 1893, wages slashed due to the Panic of 1893, and rents were very high When Pullman refused to lower rents, the workers went on strike led by Eugene V. Debs. Within days thousands of railroad workers in 27 states were on strike. This meant there was no transportation from Chicago to the West Coast. The Federal Government sent the miltia to end the dispute. -
Labor Day Holiday Created
The first national Labor Day was on the first Monday of September in 1894. In New York City, 20,000 people in the work force marched through the streets demanding an eight-hour work day and other important labor law reform to be made. Now, Labor Day occurs every year, on the first Monday of September. -
The Coal Strike
The United Mine Workers of American went on strike in the anthracite coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania. The strike threatened to shut down the winter fuel supply to all major cities. President Roosevelt became invlved and set up a fact-finding commission that supspended the strike. The strike never resumed, as the miners received more pay for fewer hours; the owners got a high price of coal, and did not recognize the trade union as a bargaining agent. -
The Jungle
"The Jungle" is a important book writtern by the muckraker Upton Sinclair. He described the filthy conditions of the meat packing industry in the early 1900's. Sinclair's horrific descriptions of the meat industry led to the "Pure Food and Drug Act." -
The Bitter Cry of Children
"The Bitter Cry of Children" is a story written by muckrackers during the early 1900's to inform people about the terrible jobs children were forced to do. They would work extreme hours and had to accomplish dangerous jobs like mining, sewing, and working in factories. Many children became physically injured and some even died while working. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act was made on June 30, 1906. The United States created a federal law that provided inspections of meat products and forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products. The government also inspected poisonous patent medicines. -
Triangle Shirt Factory Fire
On March 25, 1911, a large fire started inside a building in downtown New York. As the workers tried to escape, all of the doors were locked to the stairways and exits. 146 workers died, and this incident created many laws about fire saftey, emergency escape routes, and fire exits. Many of the workers burned to death or died jumping out of the building. -
Congress of Industrial Organization
The Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) was a part of the AFL until 1935, until the two orginazations split. The two groups broke away from each other because it advocated organization along industrial lines rather than craft lines. The CIO finally reintegrated into the AFL in 1955. -
The National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act, also known as the Wagner Act was created in 1935. It was made to create Pro Labor and the right to organize legally. Also, the NLR act gave the power to punish unfair labor practices. -
GM Sit-down Strike
A strike by General Motors employees shut down plant operations in Flint, Michigan, and other cities from December 30, 1936-February 11, 1937. The action against GM bought the tatic of sit down strikes and their effectiveness to the attention of the public. A sit down strike involves workers reamining in the workplace while on strike to prevent normal business operations from being conducted. -
Fair Labor Standareds Act
In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act was created. For the first time, minimum ages of employment and hours of work were regulated by federal law. This was a solution to the "Bitter Cry of Children." -
Steel Strike
The United Steelworkers of America went on strike against U.S. Steel and nine other steelmaking companies. The strike was scheduled to being on April 9, 1952, but president Truman nationalized the American steel industry hours before the workers walked out. The steel companies sued to regain control of their facilities, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v . Sawyer. v. U.S. The workers struck a wage increase. The strike lasted 53 days. -
Major League Baseball Strike
The 1972 MLB strike was the first players' strike in Major League history. It lasted 12 days and started on April 1, 1972. Base resumed when the owners and players agreed on a $500,000 increase in pension fund payments and to add salary arbitration to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The 86 games that were missed over the 13 day period were never played because the league refused to pay the players for the time they were on strike. -
New York City Transit Strike
The 2005 New York City Transit strike was a strike in NYC called by the Transport Workers Union Local 100. Negotitations for a new contract with the Metropolitian Transportation Authority broke down over retirement, pension, and wage incresases. The strike began at 3:00 a.m. on December 20, 2005. Millions of commuters were affected. The strike ended 2 days later on Decmber 22, 2005 and service was restored overnight.
