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Post Civil War, the US economy faced a severe depression that made citizens desperate for any income no matter the danger. Men of all ages would risk their lives working in coal mines. Smaller children would separate the coal from stone ("breakers") and escort mules with carts of coal through the shallow mines ("drivers"). Returning home, if they managed to avoid getting blown up or buried alive, workers would be covered in the black dust and face difficulty breathing. -
A day after the attack on a McCormick Factory worker, the Haymarket Riot occurred. On May 4th of 1886, nearly 2000 workers and activists gathered at Haymarket Square. This was meant to be a peaceful rally against workplace violence, until the police showed up. Open Fire was released and several died. This event brought attention to the issues spoken towards in the rally. -
Throughout her lifetime (1837 to 1930), Mary Harris Jones was an activist fighting for the rights of workers. "She staged parades with children carrying signs that read, 'We Want to Go to School and Not to the Mines'" (AFL-CIO). This woman fought so hard for her rights that she scared anyone in her way--they even labeled her dangerous. -
The Nation Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was able to convince Roosevelt to open jobs for people of color by means of threatening a March on Washington. Among other things, the NAACP gave African Americans more opportunities in the workplace. -
Working situations in and before the 1900s were frightful. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was critical in bringing these problems to light and giving them a chance to be fixed. In March of 1911, the factory burned down. Workers were locked inside and either died due to suffocation, combustion, or jumping to their death--amongst other things. Thanks to this event, working situations began to steadily improve. -
In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (also known as the Child Labor Laws) was signed, reducing the workday to eight hours. This law, among others, improved work in the United States. Children could now focus on school and people were finally being paid fairly for their jobs. -
In 1942 as many as 6,000,000 women joined the workforce with Rosie the Riveter as a mascot. Women worked day by day making bullets, building airplanes, and were even seen in the battlefield as doctors and nurses. After the war, many women were forced out of jobs and back into their homes. "Women who stepped up were measured as citizens of the nation, not as women… this was a people’s war, and everyone was in it." --WWII Memorial Stone -
“Change can come but you cannot do it alone.” This is a quote by Addy Wyatt, a labor leader and fighter for civil and women's rights. From 1954 to 1984, she was part of labor movement as well as a fighter and role model for women in the workplace. Addy Wyatt, to this day, is known in history for her role in the fight for a better workplace. -
Before digital calculators were invented, women played the role. Three calculators Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson (among others) faced racial and gender discrimination in the workplace. These women (whose story was highlighted the the movie "Hidden Figures") were the key to the US and Russia's race to put a man in orbit. -
Bayard Rustin was a homosexual African American man who worked side by side with King. He lead several protests from the 1940s to the 1960s, the most famous being the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. "The proof that one truly believes is in action." --Bayard Rustin -
The most important event of those listed is the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. These hard working women were burned alive in a locked building, having been forgotten by those with means of freeing them. This event resulted in the most gruesome deaths and the biggest impact overall. Many gathered for the memorial of the lives lost that day--thousands crowding the streets. Due to this event, the lack of workplace safety was finally considered and issues began to be resolved.