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National Labor Union
The NLU was formed by William Sylvis In 1866. They fought for many things such as the banning of prison labor shorter work hours and higher wages. It brought many skilled and unskilled workers together along with workers who were on farms. They wanted as much help as possible however African Americans were not allowed into the group due to the racism of the time. -
Knights Of Labor
The KOL was made by Uriah Stephens as a secret society. The KOL allowed any worker in, including women and African Americans. They believed class was more important than race or gender. For them to influence the federal government, complete solidarity would be required. They advocated limits on immigration, restrictions on child labor, and government ownership of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones. At the height of its membership in 1886, it had 750,000 workers. -
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The Panic of America
The Panic of America that hit in 1873 was very devastating. Thousands of workers lost jobs from factories and banks closing. The New York stock exchange became closed for 10 days from the panic. The panic also caused the National Labor Union's downfall. As the panic of America happened, they slowly started loosing supporters, until eventually the union was finally gone. -
Railroad Strike
In Martinsburg, West Virginia many workers decided to go on strike since they had enough of the pay cuts. They stopped all the trains in the station until their company owners restored their pay. This was a big event even other locals gathered and helped the strike they were making. This strike also led to other strikes happening across America which eventually had the government get involved in the affairs of the strikes. -
Haymarket Affair
An anarchist group had gathered in response to a death at an earlier nationwide demonstration for the eight-hour workday. A bomb was intentionally thrown at the police, killing 7 police. the police opened fire on the crowd and killed four people. an untold number of people were injured in the violence that broke out that day. -
American Federation of Labor
This organization was made after the KOL and NLU died down and no longer were a big player in the role of unions. The American Federation of Labor decided to only focus on the usual topics that brought the workers together instead of personal ones. The prime reason for doing this is so they could keep alive since involving personal ideas led to the downfall of the KOL and NLU. Finally by the time of the 1900's the AFL gained over 500,000 supporters for the union. -
American Railway Union
Eugene V. Debs formed the American Railway Union after making his way into the railroad industry. The goal was to unite railway employees from all over into one giant union. They believed that the trade unions for different types of railroad workers was ineffective. These brotherhoods was unable to present a united front to the railroads. In light of the railroad's growth and the concentration of railroad capital, the founders argued, the need for worker solidarity was especially great. -
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Homestead Strike
The Homestead strike involved steel workers working for the carnegie steel company. The strikers were locked out of the plant when they were on strike. Henry Clay Frick hired three hundred Pinkerton's to guard the building, but they were faced with ten thousand armed striking workers. after a long battle, the Pinkerton's surrendered. nine strikers and seven Pinkerton's died, there were over one hundred arrests, and many people were seriously injured. However, the strike failed. -
Pullman Strike
Eugene V. Debs found himself leading one of the largest strikes in American history, the Great Pullman Strike.When workers refused to accept a pay cut, The Pullman Car Company fired 5000 employees. Debs called for the members of the American Railway Union to refrain from operating any trains that used Pullman cars. The strike was declared illegal by a court injunction. President Cleveland ordered federal troops to quell the strikers and Debs was arrested. Soon order was restored, the strike died -
Industrial Workers of the World
More radical than the Socialists were the Industrial Workers of the World. They thought that compromise with owners wasn't a solution. Founded in 1905, led by William "Big Bill" HAYWOOD, the "Wobblies", encouraged their members to fight for justice directly against their employers. They led hundreds of strikes across America, calling for the overthrow of the capitalist system. The I.W.W. won few battles, but their efforts sent a strong message across America that workers were being mistreated.
