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William Sylvis and His Precious Union
By 1866, 200,000 factory workers in the U.S. were in local unions. William Sylvis took the opportunity with the number of workers that stood by his side and established the first nationwide labor organization. This would be called the National Labor Union. The Union fought for higher wages and shorter hours. They also supported legislation banning prison labor, land reform laws to keep public holdings out of the hands of speculators, and national currency reform to raise prices. -
The Knights of Labor
Thought to be started from the slow death of the NLU, the Knights of Labor was organized by Uriah Stephens as a secret society in 1869. They allowed all wage earners into their club, including women and African Americans. The Knights supported the entire agenda of the NLU and fought for workers. -
Panic of 1873 Panics the NLU
When the Panic of 1873 hit America, the economy went under a great depression. This also meant enforced wage cuts. The NLU kept striking against this and seemed change. However, the union was intensely disabled. Union membership was driven down and eventually the union went way forever. -
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
The Great Railroad Strike of 1887 has been put down in the history books as one of many small local strikes put down by force. The movement spread into Pennsylvania, when workers on the Pennslvania and Reading Railroads joined their compatriots. Pittsburgh is the gateway to the Midwest so the strike widened to that region. The Militia was sent in and stopped the event by force -
Conflict in Haymarket Square
On May 1, 1886, which is International Workers Day, the KOL went on strike. They were demanding an eight-hour work day for all workers. Just three days later at a rally in Haymarket Square in Chicago, someone threw a bomb into the crowd. The outcome was chaos as one police officer died and several crowd members sustained injuries. -
The Rise of the American Federation of Labor
In December of 1886, Gompers met with the leaders of other craft unions and planned to form the American Federation of Labor. This was the same year that the KOL lost all of their capability due to the tragedy at Haymarket Square. The AFL was a loose grouping of smaller craft unions. Each craft union had a special skill they had kept so every member of the AFL in the end, was a skilled worker in a way. -
The Blow of the Homestead Strike
Homestead Strike was a violent labour dispute between the Carnegie Steel Company and many of its workers that occurred on July 6, 1892, in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The strike pitted the company’s management, the strikebreakers who had been hired, and the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. A gun battle resulted in death of 3 Pinkertons and six workers. Many were also injured. -
Debs Leads the American Railway Union
The American Railway Union was found on June 20, 1893, by railway workers gathered in Chicago. Under the leadership of Eugene V. Debs, the American Railway Union main goal was to establish a policy of unionizing all railway workers, regardless of craft or service. This could even lead to workers with little skill in craft. -
Debs Back Again with the Pullman Strike
Two years after the establishment of the ARU, he had lead one of the largest strikes in American history, the Pullman Strike. When its workers refused to deal with a wage cut, the Pullman Car Company fired 5,000 workers. After this, Debs called to the members of the ARU to no longer operate any trains that used Pullman cars. When the strike kicked in motion, chaos occurred. President Cleveland ordered federal troops to stop the program. In the aftermath, Debs was arrested and the strike failed -
Energy Crisis Formed from the Great Anthracite Coal Strike
The United Mine Workers of America mined and built a strike that threatened to create an energy crisis. With the goal of seeking better wages and conditions, the union went on strike in eastern Pennsylvania, which is also an area that contained the majority of the nations supply of anthracite coal. The UMWAs regular demands were for a 20% wage increase. However, they ended up with a 10% raise. -
The Wobblies Fight for Justice
The Industrial Workers of the World was found in 1905 and led by William Haywood. They were also called the Wobblies and they encouraged their members to fight for justice against their employers. Although the union was small, they led hundreds of strikes across America. Their goal was to call for the overthrow of the capitalist system. The Wobblies won a few battles, but their efforts sent a strong message across America. The message was centered around the fact that workers were mistreated. -
The Wobblies Antiwar Movement
As soon as the United States entered World War I, the Wobblies activated an Antiwar Movement. Many people who went along with this movement were arrested or beaten. The movement's membership eventually declined after the war. They were against the decision of the U.S. entering World War 1 and opposed it. -
The Steel Strike Steeling Itself for Rights
The United States Steel Corporation workers which was also represented by the AFL, organized a strike against the company. They addressed problems like poor working conditions, long hours, low wages, and corporate harassment. The number of strikers grew to 350,000 members which shut down nearly half of the steel industry. In the end, the strike failed due to company owners invoking public concerns over communism and immigration as a way of turning public sentiment against the unions. -
The Textile Workers Strikes of 1934 Organization without Preparation
On Labor Day in 1934, after years of long hours and low wages, American textile workers set up a strike at last in response to the
FDRs National Recovery Administration. The United Textile Workers ordered 400,000 workers to walk out. However, a lack of outside support and an excess of textile materials, especially in the Southern states, forced the strike to end without any of the demands being fulfilled. -
A Relatively Recent Strike: United Parcel Service strike of 1997
This large strike was lead by the number of 185,000 UPS Teamsters. Their demands excelled to full-time jobs rather than part-time jobs, higher wages, and the retention of their multiemployer pension plan. Workers gained incredible support from the public and had all of their demands met. In the end, UPS also lost more than $600 million in business as a result -
Citations
Citations Used:
"The 10 Biggest Strikes in American History | Fox Business." Fox Business. N.p., 9 Aug. 2011. Web. 05 Sept. 2016.
