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13th Amendment
The thirteenth amendment is the one that led to abolishing slavery and it had large economic effects on farmers. Farmers who couldn't afford to pay labor workers had to sell some land or close shop. While many jobs opened a lot of them were not given to African Americans because of the color of their skin. -
Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor was the first labor union that promoted union worker rights in wages, hours and working conditions. Many others union organization branched off the Knights of Labor and they gained popularity during a depression during the 1870s.The union had a history of inclusion and exclusion but their major contribution is the introduction of workers rights through unions, specifically for 8 hour work days. -
The 1st Labor Day
The first labor day came about because the idea from Peter McGuire suggested having a day to celebrate the labor workers of the country and on the first day, unions organized a parade. After the first union day parade it was introduced as a statewide holiday in New York and spread in legislation to other states until it became a national holiday. -
Great Southwest Railroad Strike
Great Southwest Railroad Strike was a labor union strike that had 200000 against railroads owned by Jay Gould because his company fired a Knight of Labor for attending union meetings on company time even though that was allowed in their agreement. Gould would continue to not meet any of the demands of the labor unions and over the course of the strike vandalism and violence occurred to railroad workers and strikers. Some unions broke away from the Knights of Labor because they could not win. -
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was an alliance of craft unions that broke off the Knights of Labor. They had provided funds for other unions and brought federal unions other their wing to provide union rights to a large amount of people.The AFL had gotten their workers job security and helped passed legislature that allowed workers to strike without being fired. -
Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The factory fire is the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of New York which left 146 workers dead. Because owners used to lock doors to stairwells and exits, many people died and others tried to survive by jumping out of the building only to land to their death. Because of the fire, legislation was introduced that led to better working conditions and safety standards for sweatshops. -
Wagner Act
The Wagner Act allowed union workers to legally organize or join labor unions and bargain collectively with their employers. Through this act the National Labor Relations Board was made to regulate employers to go with the rules of the new act. Even though the act excluded some workers like farmers and domestic workers, large amounts of unions were given legitimacy and unions became more favorable because of the act. -
Fair Labor Standard Act of 1938
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established minimum and maximum wage laws for workers. This in turn allowed for workers to have better working conditions in terms of hours and interstate commerce. CHild labor was outlawed as well -
Taft-Hartley Act
The Taft-Hartley Act made amendments to what was proposed in the Wagner Act. The major changes in the Taft-Hartley Act were that closed shop and agency shop were shut down. In addition, the law made the definition of unfair practices wider and shut more down practices, which many people who were for unions were actually against. -
Steel Strike of 1959
The Steel Strike happened because management wanted to change workers assigned to a task that would reduce hours and number of employees. The strike was the longest ever at the time and made Eisenhower use the Taft Hartley law to send people back to work. The strike failed and while minimum wage was increased, the U.S. started to import foreign steel more instead of using domestic.
