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Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution caused factories to be brought up. Workers into the workplace helped provide gains in profits of developing industries, however at the expense of less than ideal working conditions. -
Civil War
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The Pullman Strike
Employees walked off their jobs at the Pullman Palace Car Company because the business cut wages by 25-40% which casued strikes and boycotts. Workers across the country refused to handle Pullman cars, slowing the entire national rail system. Federal troops were sent out to enforce the injunction, and violent confrontations ensued. 700 Pullman workers were arrested and the strike was crushed. -
Great Anthracite Coal Strike
They were seeking better wages and conditions so the union went on strike in eastern Pennsylvania, an area that contained the majority of the nations supply of anthracite coal. J.P thought the strike was threatening his business so he made a agreement with the union. After the strike, the employees ended up with a 10% raise. There were a total of 147,000 strikers. -
Railroad Shop Workers Strike of 1922
The railroad labor board announced that wages for railroad shop workers would be cut by 7 cents a considerable sum at the time. 400,000 rail shop workers from a conglomeration of unions went on strike. Immediatly employing nonunion workers to replace 400,000 of the empty postions. The workers settlesd for a five cent pay cut adn went back to work. -
Great Deprssion
During the Great Deprssion Unions went down hill. The number of labor union members was around 3 million, compared to 5 million a decade before. The union movement had failed in the previous 50 years to organize much larger number of laborers in such mass production industries as steel, textiles, mining, and automobiles. -
Wagner Act
Gave unions legal protections. Led to rapid growth in union membership. The Wagner Act gave unions the right to organize workers without being harassed or intimidated by employers. It also outlawed blacklisting, intimidation, and industrial spies. -
World War 2
35% of people were in Unions. The world war 2 caused for a lot of strikes. -
Slave Labor Act
Turned public opinions against Unions. It was a huge strike wave. -
UPS Workers Strike
Lead by 185,000 UPS employees. They were looking for full-time jobs rather than part-time, increased wages and the retention of their multiemployer pension plan. These workers gained major support from the public and eventually had all of their demands met. UPS, however, lost more than $600 million in business as a result of the ordeal. -
Employee Free Choice Act
It made it easier for for unions to enlist workers by liminaing the long process and shortening the process by which workers can form a union.
