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Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was in his mid-twenties when he was elected president of the Cigar Makers' International Union. In 1881, Gompers would help found the Federation of Organzied Trades and Labor. He believed that organizing skilled craft workers was the most effective way to advance the labor movement. -
Strike at Homestead Mill
According to The Strike at Homestead Mill by PBS, in 1892, a strike was held at the Carnegie Steel Company in Homestead, Pennsylvania, after news of wages being cut began to spread. The strike cultivated a lot of violence as many injuries and deaths occurred from both sides. In the end, the strike was viewed as unsuccessful, however, the event would leave an impact on the labor movement by bringing awareness to the harsh conditions workers lived in. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Incident
Around 146 workers, 123 being women/girls and 23 being men, were caught in a building fire because the doors to the exit and stairwell were locked. Many workers were forced to stay in the burning building and wait until they met their demise. Although the company owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, were charged with first and second-degree manslaughter, they would later be acquitted, therefore free from their charges. -
Radium Girls
From 1917 to 1925, women factory workers would contract radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with radium paint to make them illuminate in the dark. To save money, employers made the girls put the brushes in their mouths to make them pointy. The business even told the girls that the paint was harmless so they would agree to do it. This resulted in the girls ingesting a deadly amount of radium, causing extreme facial disfiguration, and eventually, death. -
Dolores Huerta
In 1962, Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chávez would found the National Farm Workers Association, which was the predecessor of the United Farm Workers’ Union. The National Farm Workers Association was a labor union for farmworkers in the United States who advocated for improved wages and working conditions. -
Delano Grape Strike
During the Delano Grape Strike, over 800 Filipino farmworkers walked out of their grape farms.
This event was a major moment in the labor movement as the strike aimed to get better wages and working conditions. Eventually, the strike would help lead to the formation of the United Farm Workers and a successful consumer boycott. -
March to Sacramento
After marching nonstop for twenty-five days, Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers would finally reach Sacramento on Easter Day. Chavez had led this march in order to bring awareness to the terrible conditions in the fields and fight for the rights of farmworkers. This march would eventually lead to the signing of the first union contract in California, meaning the protest was successful. -
Cesar Chavez
Chavez would start his first hunger strike, lasting 25 days, to stop violence against the strikers. This protest gained the attention of many celebrities, including Robert F. Kennedy, who would all helped spread awareness of the hunger strike. Eventually, the hunger strike would prove to be successful as California soon passed the Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975. -
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. would deliver his final public speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop" on April 3, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. In his speech, he advocated for the striking sanitation workers, encouraging the Black community to show their support through nonviolent protests and boycotts to achieve social change. -
Pedro Pietri
Pedro Pietri would perform his first-ever reading of the Puerto Rican Obituary at a rally, in support of the Young Lords Party, which was an anti-imperialist Latino youth group in New York. -
Puerto Rican Obituary by Pedro Pietri
The Puerto Rican Obituary is a poem written by Pedro Pietri, the founder of the Nuyorican Movement, which centered around Puerto Rican writers and artists who lived in or near New York City. The poem focuses on the poor working conditions and challenges Puerto Ricans in America had to face, using Juan, Miguel, Milagros, Olga, and Manuel to represent them as a whole. -
Address to the Commonwealth Club of California by Cesar Chavez
In 1984, Cesar Chavez delivered his address to the Commonwealth Club of California. He outlined his vision for farm workers and Latinos, highlighting the need for social and economic justice, and emphasizing the importance of nonviolent protests and community organizing. -
Amazon Unions by NPR
The article mainly focuses on how despite the rise of unions, many big businesses refuse and even deny allegations against them. Although workers can form unions, companies discourage them and slow their process of organizing because, under the current labor laws, it is not illegal.