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Knights of Labor founded
labor organization lead by Terrence V. Powderly that demanded an eight-hour workday. Important because it was the first workers rights movement. -
AFL
Samuel Gompers founds the American Federation of Labor with an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, This is important because the AFL was the largest union grouping in the United States for the first half of the 20th century. -
ILGWU
International Ladies' Garment Workers Union was founded and accepted an arbitrated settlement in February 1910 that improved workers' wages, working conditions, and hours. This is important because it was one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membership, and a key player in the labor history. -
Fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company
146 young immigrant women died on the eighth floor of the factory because the doors were locked. Most died because of the fire or jumped out of the windows. This is important because unions pushed for comprehensive safety and workers’ compensation laws. -
Outlawed Yellow Dog Contract
It was an agreement in 1930s that was between an employer and an employee in which the employee agrees, as a condition of employment, not to be a member of a labor union. This soon became outlawed under the Norris-LaGuardia Act a few years later. This is important because it allowed people to organize a strike against a company. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
This provided an 8 hour day and a 40 hour workweek and allowed workers to earn wage for an extra 4 hours of overtime as well. This is important because it set the child labor law, minimum wage, and required overtime pay. -
Taft-Hartley Act
this was a law that restricted the activities and power of labor unions. It is important because the act was seen as a means of demobilizing the labor movement by imposing limits on labor's ability to strike. -
Farmworkers Union
A union lead by Cesar (like the salad) Chavez. It is important because it was the first established labor agreement with growers.
