British troops kill five dock workers in Boston Massacre
Laborers protest royal taxation in the Boston Tea Party
American Revolution begins
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Struggles for Freedom
Seneca Falls women’s rights convention
Abraham Lincoln takes office as president and Civil War begins
President Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation
National Labor Union founded
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Origins of Today's Union Movement
15th Amendment to the Constitution adopted; states the right to vote may not be abrogated by color
First Labor Day parade in New York City
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The Progressive Era
Industrial Workers of the World founded
Triangle Shirtwaist factory in fire in New York kills nearly 150 workers
Woodrow Wilson takes office as president and appoints the first secretary of labor, William B. Wilson of the Mine Workers
19th Amendment to the Constitution gives women the right to vote
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Repression and Depression
Stock market crashes as stocks fall 40 percent; Great Depression begins
President Franklin Roosevelt proposes New Deal programs to Congress
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Democratizing America
Fair Labor Standards Act establishes first minimum wage and 40-hour week Congress of industrial Organizations forms as an independent federation
John L. Lewis resigns and Philip Murray becomes CIO president
U.S. troops enter combat in World War II National War Labor Board created with union members
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The Fight for Economic and Social Justice
Largest strike wave in U.S. history
President John Kennedy's order gives federal workers the right to bargain
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., during sanitation workers' strike
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Progress and New Challenges
Occupational Safety and Health Act passed
Coalition of Labor Union Women founded
Lane Kirkland elected president of AFL-CIO
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Recent Times: 2000-2010
The Coalition for Labor Union Women (CLUW) celebrates its 30th anniversary.
The AFL-CIO endorses Sen. Barack Obama for U.S. President.
Shortly after his inauguration, President Obama signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restored the rights of working women to sue over pay discrimination.
