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The Knights of Labor was a secret society originating in Philadelphia around 1869by tailors. Later their organization grew and worked towards equality. Their actions were importent for seeking the abolition of child labor, demanding equal pay for equal work, and political reforms.
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The ILGWU was founded in 1900 with its members mostly being Jewish immigrants. They fought against sweatshops (cheap, unsanitary, unfair working establishments). Their actions were important for increasing wages, shortening work hours, and were recognized by the clothing manufacturers allowing the ILGWU to form a board of arbitration to handle managment-disputes.
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A fire broke out in Triangle Waist Company in New York City, killing 146 people in 18 minutes. Because of this fire the labor code was reformed and it lead to the adoption of fire safety measures. 36 new labor related bill were written and later passed by state legislature.
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Hundreds of strikes spread across the nation in result of the economic inflation after WWI. This lead to the Red Scare (widespread belief that unions were the result of communist or Bolshevik influence). Many strikes and unions failed due to public out cry caused by corporate propaganda.
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The Wagner Act is a bill signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt establishing the National Labor Relations Board. It addressed the relation between unions and employers in the private sector.
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The Fair Labor Standards Act was federal legislation enacted by Congres in 1938. It mandated a minimum wage, a maximum of 40 hour work weeks, the abolition of child labor, as well as overtime pay at a maximum of one and a half hours.
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The Taft-Hartley Act was enacted in 1947 to monitor the activities and power of labor unions. This lead to Closed Shops (a contract agreement to only hire union members) , and Union Security Clauses (which prevent union shops and prevnted binding documents from firing any workers not part of a union due to the passed right-to-work laws).
