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National Labor Union
The National Labor Union, made up of skilled and unskilled workers, farmers, and reformers, called on Congress to order an eight-hour workday. The National Labor Union was created to pressure Congress to make labor law reforms. The Union failed to persuade Congress to shorten the workday and the labor organization itself dissolved in 1873. However, its efforts heightened public awareness of labor issues and increased public support for labor reform. -
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor began as a secret society of tailors in Philadelphia. Grand Master Workman Terence V. Powderly took office in 1879, and under his leadership the Knights flourished; by 1886 the group had 700,000 members. The group established rules of secrecy and committed the organization to seeking the eight-hour day, abolition of child labor, equal pay for equal work, and political reforms including the graduated income tax. -
Great Railroad Strike
Workers for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad went on strike, because the company had reduced workers' wages twice over the previous year. The strikers refused to let the trains run until the most recent pay cut was returned to the employees. The strike was disbursed in August due to President Rutherford B. Hayes' federal involvement and use of state militias. -
The very first labor day
Peter J. McGuire, a carpenter and labor union leader, was the person who came up with the idea for Labor Day. He thought American workers should be honored with their own day. He proposed his idea to New York's Central Labor Union early in 1882, and they thought the holiday was a good idea. Ten thousand workers marched in a parade from City Hall to Union Square. -
Haymarket Riot
A labor protest rally near Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police, killing eight people. The Haymarket Riot was viewed a setback for the organized labor movement in America, which was fighting for such rights as the eight-hour workday. At the same time, the men convicted in connection with the riot were viewed by many in the labor movement as martyrs. -
American Federation of Labor
AFL was a national federation of labor unions founded in Columbus, Ohio by many small union groups of skilled workers. The AfL was led by 27 year old Samuel Gompers who was the head of the local union group cigarmakers. Their group kept growing and by the 1900's over 20,000 marches had taken place and they won at least half of them with their bosses giving in to their demands for better working conditions and higher wages. -
Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The triangle shirtwaist factory in New York City caught on fire which ended up killing 145 workers. The deaths of the victims were pretty much preventable. These workers died as a result of the company building lacking in safety features and locked doors being established. This fire did lead to lots of laws and regulations that would better protect the safety of workers. -
The Wagner Act
Senator Wagner introduced the National Labor Relations Act to create a new independent agency consisting of three appointed members. These members then would enforce employee rights instead of mediating disputes. This act gave employees rights to form unions and it obligated employers to bargain collectively with unions selected by a majority of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping, and youth employment standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. It also limited the age of child labor to be 16. -
The Taft-Harley Act
This act was created by senator Robert A. Taft and representative Fred A. Hartley to amend much of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 and discontinued parts of the Federal Anti-Injunction Act of 1932. It allows the president to appoint a board of inquiry to investigate union disputes when he believes a strike would endanger national health or safety and obtain an 80-day injunction to stop the continuation of a strike.
