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Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson
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"Ain't I a Woman?" by Sojourner Truth
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"What to the Slave is the 4th of July?" by Frederick Douglass
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Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
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Atlanta's Washerwomen Strike
Black laundresses threatened to do a strike if they did not get higher wages, respect for their work, and control over how their work was organized. This strike helped to emphasize black women's work. The strike went in honor of laundresses, white included, which helped to push forward the respect others have for them. -
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Samuel Gompers
He founded the American Federation of Labor, which helped members earn money that they would not have earned outside of it. This helped to raise the workers pay. Gompers was also a strong unionist and labor spokesman. He helped to change the working conditions of men in the United States. -
Strike at Homestead Mill
At the Carnegie steel plant in Pennsylvania, the economy was straining. The workers had the belief that part of the mill belonged to them. They refuted against the Carnegie's due to the pay cuts. Violence did not start until the Pinkerton detectives arrived. -
The Battle of Cripple Creek
The Free Coinage Union declared that the miner's working hours would increase while their paying stayed the same. The strike happened due to the owners wanting to cut miners' pay. This strike helped to outline the future miners and the Federation of Miners. -
Pullman Strike
A strike broke out at the Pullman Factories, where Pullman cars were used widely. Due to this, the boycott caused rail traffic nationwide. The American Railway Union (ARU) could not stop the workers, which caused the strike to occur. -
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Eugene V. Debs
He advocated for labor laws that protected workers. Debs organized the Pullman Strike in 1894, which helped to make Labor Day a national holiday. Debs also advocated for shorter work times and against child labor. His impact on labor rights was prominent as he led many unions to strike. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
The Triangle Factory was a sweatshop that employed majorly young immigrant women. Their work conditions were not optimal, considering this was a sweatshop, making them work for 12 hours straight. Due to the poor transportation in and out of the building, when the fire happened, many workers died when the deaths could have been preventable if the owners had left the other exits unlocked. This event transformed the labor code for New York State and changed fire safety measures in the country. -
Steel Strike of 1919
A steel union tried to negotiate with steel plants to unionize the steel industry, but the U.S. Steel industry refused. This caused the Union to strike. This was 90% effective until the public was indifferent to the strike. This caused many steel companies to reopen. -
Flint Sit-Down Strike
The autoworkers in Flint, Michigan formed a United Auto Workers (UAW) to bargain for the workers. They started the strike to gain recognition for their United Auto Workers. This strike helped to gain recognition for the union and to make the employers not give jobs to people not in the union. -
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Martin Luther King Jr.
One of the most prominent figures in civil rights movements. He had a major impact on this movement all the way up until his assassination in 1968. His most famous speech, "I Have a Dream," talks about racial color, and how he hopes one day the nation will be free and without prejudice. -
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Nelson Hale Cruikshank
Cruikshank helped enact the Social Security Disability Insurance, which helped workers get coverage by paying social security taxes. He was a leading voice for health insurance and Social Security insurance, especially the elderly. This helped change the way owners treat their elder workers as the workers had more coverage. This also helped to emphasize that older workers exist and should be treated the same, pay and working conditions, etc. -
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Cesar Chavez
Cesar Chavez was committed to nonviolence acts where he advocated for his movement for better work for farm workers. He advocated for raised pays, and improved working conditions. He organized a union of farm workers to strike against their poor working conditions. This helped the workers to gain rights in their pay, increasing it, as well as making work conditions better and more healthy for the farm workers. -
"A Letter to My Nephew" by James Baldwin
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The U.S. Postal Strike
This strike occurred due to postal workers wanting better pay and an increase due to inflation. Workers walked off the job due to their pay not increasing because of the time needed to wait for it. With an agreement, the postal workers went back on the job. This strike helped postal unions become unionized and emphasized how unity worked best in terms of labor rights. -
"Testimony Before the Senate" by Gloria Steinem
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Thomas R. Donahue
Donahue was the secretary-treasurer of the national AFL-CIO American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations). He embraced innovation and preached about moving forward in order to keep workers moving forward. His impact on this movement was strong as he helped the unions for labor rights to move forward and actualize themselves, which helped the unions to grow and advocate their rights more. -
"Address to the Commonwealth Club of California" by Cesar Chavez
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"Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
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"Harvey Weinstein is My Monster Too" by Salma Hayek
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Amazon Labor Union
This is a union of amazon workers where it concerns Amazon worker labor. Chris Smalls organized this group when Amazon made attacks against several unions. His goal was to unionize Amazon. -
"Barbie" by America Ferrera
