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Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was the founder and president of the American Federation of Labor. He was president of the organization from 1886-1894 and 1895-1924. His presidency of the American Federation of Labor ended with his death. -
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor began as a small secret society in Philadelphia. By 1886, the Knights of Labor had about 700,000 members. The Knights fought for an eight-hour work day, the end of child labor, and equal pay for equal work. In 1884, a successful strike brought a flood of new members. In 1886, membership plummeted after the Great Southwest Railroad Strike and the Haymarket Riot. There were about 100,000 Kings of Labor left. -
The First Labor Day
The first Labor Day was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City. It was planned by the Central labor Union. Slowly, many states started to adopt the holiday and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed it to law that the first Monday of September would be recognized as Labor Day. -
Great Southwest Railroad Strike
The Great Southwest Railroad Strike occurred on Marc 1, 1886. More than 200,000 labor union workers were involved. The strike happened because the Knights of Labor had made an agreement with Jay Gould, the owner of the railroads, that "no man should be discharged without due notice and investigation." This agreement was violated by Jay Gould and the Knights called a strike. Workers in Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Texas participated. -
Haymarket Riot
The Haymarket Riot began as a labor protest on May 4, 1886. It turned violent after a protester threw a bomb at the oncoming police. 7 officers and 1 civilian lost their lives and many others were injured. 8 men were convicted and 7 were sentenced to death, in connection to the bombing. -
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was founded in 1886 in Ohio. Those who founded the labor union were dissatisfied with way the Knights of Labor were being operated. In 1955, the American Federation of Labor merged with their competitor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, to form the AFL-CIO, which is still in operation. -
Homestead Strike
The Homestead Strike began on July 1st, 1892 due to Henry Clay Frick, the owner of the Carnegie Steel Plant, increasing production demand and locking workers out of the plant. Pinkerton guards were called to end the 10,000 strikers. Once the guards surrendered from armed strikers, the sheriff sent 8,000 militia to reopen the plant. When there was an attempt on Frick's life, hundreds of strikers were arrested for murder and the strike lost momentum, causing it to end on November 20th, 1892. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
On March 25th, 1911, a fire began in Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Due to the lack of safety features, such as sprinklers, there was no way to escape the fire. The corridors were extremely narrow and the doors in the building were locked to prevent stealing. Those who could get to the elevator first survived, but after four trips, the elevator broke down. Soon, those who were trapped in the room began to jump to their deaths to escape the fire. Those who fled to the doors burned in the corridor. -
1930s General Motors Sit Down Strike
On December 30, 1936, those who worked the night shift at the General Motors Fisher Body Plant Number One stopped working. General Motors tried to force the workers out and later turned off the heat. Outside, the police tried to cut their food supply, but a riot ensued. Other strikers then seized control over the Fisher Body Plant Number 2 and the Chevrolet No. 4 engine factory. The government refused to end the strike and in February of 1937, GM recognized the union and gave a 5 percent raise. -
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was signed on June 14th, 1938. The law established a 25 cent per hour minimum wage, a 44 hour work week, a requirement to pay employees for overtime, and made certain types of child labor illegal. The minimum wage was later raised from between 30-40 cents and the work week was shortened to 40 hours. These laws went into effect on October 24th of 1938.
