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Norris-La Guardia Act
The Norris-La Guardia Act proclaims that yellow-dog contracts, which require a worker to promise not to join a union, are unenforceable, settling a long-standing dispute between management and labor. The law also limits courts' power to issue injunctions against strikes. -
Truman Breaks Railroad Strike
President Truman ends a strike against the nation's railroads -
Kennedy Legalizes Public Employee Unions
An order by President Kennedy allows federal employees to organize, join unions, and bargain collectively with the government. It does not give them the right to strike. The move begins an era of public employee unionization. -
Equal Pay Act
The Equal Pay Act prohibits discrimination in wages on the basis of sex. The result: women's earnings will climb from 62% of men's in 1970 to 80% in 2004. -
Pension Standards
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) sets minimum standards for most private-sector pension and health plans. It provides key safeguards for employees. -
Air Traffic Controllers Strike
President Ronald Reagan fires the striking members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), calling the work stoppage illegal. Reagan's action and the demise of the union sets a new tone for labor-management relations across the country. Employers begin to take tough stands against unions and do not hesitate to replace strikers with replacements. The decline in union membership accelerates. -
UPS Strike
After a 16-day walkout, United Parcel Service agrees to a contract with the Teamsters, marking labor's first successful nationwide strike in two decades. One of the main issues leading to the strike is the company's practice of using part-time workers to avoid paying benefits. -
Change To Win
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Teamsters, and other activist unions leave the AFL-CIO to form a new labor coalition called Change to Win. The move represents a new emphasis on organizing workers to bring them into a labor movement starved for members.