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Formation of the National Labor Union
The National Labor Union wanted to bring together all the current unions and "eight-hour leagues" in order to press for an eight-hour work day and other labor laws. They also wanted to bring unions to places where there were none to press companies and policy makers. -
Haymarket Affair
Workers were peacefully protesting for an eight-hour day as well as protesting the killing of several workers the previous day. Eventually someone threw a bomb at the police and they fired upon the crowd to disperse them. The bomb then exploded resulting in 7 police deaths, 4 works deaths, as well as many more injuries. -
Homestead Strike
Workers at one of Andrew Carnegie's Steel Mills did not like their wages being cut and hours raised so they decided to lockout the steel plant. Eventually private security agents were called in to breakup the strike and they eventually fired upon the workers. This was one of the most serious labor disputes in U.S. labor history and only resulted in setting back the union. -
Pullman Strike
4,000 workers near Pullman, Illinois started striking over recent wage cuts. They eventually came together to for the American Railway Union. The strike called for a boycott of all Pullman cars being pulled and involved 250,000 workers at its peak. The strike ended when the U.S. Government intervened after workers would not let trains carrying federal mail through. This led to violence which brought the strike crashing down. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
This is considered the worst industrial disaster in New York City. Due to a common practice at the time of locking the factory doors to prevent unauthorized brakes and stealing, workers could not exit the building when a fire broke out. Even worse was that fire engines could not reach the higher stories which resulted in workers jumping and some to their deaths. Overall the fire caused 146 deaths of men and women and resulted in investigation of multiple factories across the country. -
Norris-LaGuardia Act
The law says that yellow-dog contracts in which employers make workers not sign up for a union to get a job, cannot be brought up in a federal court. It also allows employees to join or form a union without interference from their employer. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
This law establishes a minimum federal wage which is currently set at $7.25. It outlaws most child labor, establishes the 40-hour work week, and guarantees "time and a half" overtime pay. -
Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
Union elections had to be reviewable by the Department of Labor. Union members were also guaranteed that they would be protected against abused by the bill of rights. Unions have to submit annual financial reports to the Department of Labor. -
U.S. Postal Strike of 1970
The American Postal Workers Union decided to strike after congress only raised postal workers wages 4% and did not attempted to improve unhealthy working conditions. After starting in New York the strike eventually spread to many cities after President Nixon tried to order the workers back to their jobs. At its peak the strike involved 210,000 postal workers. The strike eventually ended when the national guard was called in. It eventually led to reforming the Postal Branch into the USPS.
