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Noble Order of the Knights of Labor
The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor was a labor union founded by the Philadelphia garment workers in 1869. The labor union was formed because the members wanted equal pay for equal work, they wanted to get rid of child labor, and have an 8 hour work day. This was open to all wage earners, farmers and merchants. The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor union lasted until 1900. -
Creation of Labor Day Holiday
Labor Day was created to celebrate the American workers who have given of themselves for the well-being of our country. The very first Labor Day was held on September 5 of 1882. To this day, the Labor Day holiday is on the first Monday of September. The United States celebrates the hard work of everyone in the country who has made an effort to make America a better place to live. -
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
The AFL was born when workers organized the American Federation of Labor in 1886. This union labor was craft oriented. The purpose of the AFL was focused on improving working conditions and demanded better pay for their jobs. In addition, the American Federation of Labor wanted Union labels on produced items. -
Haymarket Square Riot
Workers from the McCormik Harvesting Machine in Chicago marched for 8 days in a protest. Police forces came to the scene to break up the strike and anarchists were blamed for the violence. The Haymarket Square Riot lead to the death of 8 policemen and left hundreds of others injured. This strike caused the public to unions and anarchists as an issue. -
The Homestead Strike
The Homestead Strike began on June 30 of 1892 and grew tenser and tenser in a fight between private security agents and strikers as of July 6, 1892. The strike took place at the Homestead Steel Works in Homestead, Pennsylvania and became one of the most serious disputes in U.S. labor history. The outcome was a setback for efforts to unionize steelworkers and a huge defeat for the union. -
The Pullman Strike
Homes were available for rent from George M. Pullman for employees who worked at the company in Pullman. George refused to cut the price of rents when the Panic of 1893 occurred and he decreased the wages of the workers. Eugene Debs led a strike for higher wages and less expensive rents. The protest spread throughout 27 states. Debs was later arrested and imprisoned resulting in the collapse of the strike. Thanks to Governor Aletgeld he did not send state miltia to the strike. -
The Coal Strike
The United Mine Workers of America who worked in the anthracite fields of eastern Pennsylvania went on strike because they wanted more money for less work. They threatened the company that the winter fuel supply to major cities would be shut down by them if they didn't get their way. President Roosevelt suspended the strike. This was the first time the federal government got involved in a strike. The strike never resumed since they got their point across and won the battle. -
"The Jungle"
"The Jungle" is a story based on the hardworking, brave children and adults that worked in hazardous meat factories for little pay. Upton Sinclair, a muckraker, wrote about the dangers of meat factories to warn consumers about the unsanitary conditions of where their meat was coming from. He wanted the consumers to take action and protect their families from becoming ill from the contaminated meat. This piece was also written to inform the public about the long hours youngsters worked. -
"How the Other Half Lives"
Jacob Riis wrote about the lives of the slums surviving in New York during the 1880s. His publication explained the poor, unfortunate living conditions of those who could not afford decent housing, clothing or items. Most of the slums Riis wrote about made small wages, just enough to buy tiny portions of food for their families and pay to live in a tenement (run-down, small housing apartments.) Others had no income, eating only the food they could find or get and lived in alleyways. -
"The Bitter Cry of Children"
"The Bitter Cry of Children" portrayed the suffering of young children working all day doing back-breaking tasks such as hunching over chutes to sort out pieces of slate from coal. John Spargo wrote "The Bitter Cry of Children" to expose to the world how terrible it really was for children who worked as coal miners and had no choice but to do as they were told and do their job. This story proves to the public how hard and long coal miners (who were kids) worked for such little pay. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act was passed on June 30, 1906. It became a United States federal law that provided federal meat inspection of meat products. The law also forbade manufacturing, transportation or sale of contaminated, dangerous food products and patented medicines that were poisonous. -
Triangle Shirt Factory Fire
In 1911, the Triangle Shirt Factory was one of the biggest blouse manufacturers in New York City. The workers worked very long hours in small spaces and were paid low wage. In 1909, the employees decided to go on strike for higher pay and a shorter work week. On March 25, 1911, a fire had started (but nobody knew what was the exact cause) on the 8th floor and the fire quickly grew uncontrollable, even for the firefighters. This resulted in many fire, safety and building codes being passed. -
Congress of Industrial Organization
The Congress of Industrial Organization was a part of the American Federation of Labor until 1935 when they broke off onto their own. They departed the AFL because it favored organization along industrial lines instead of craft lines. Even though they took off in 1935, they decided to rejoin the AFL in 1955. -
The National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act (also known as the Wagner Act) was passed in the year of 1935. The main ideas of this act were pro-labor and the labor's right to organize legally recognized. This act also wanted the power to punish unfair labor practices and work. -
GM Sit-down Strike
The GM Sit-down Strike brewed on December 30, 1936 and used the tactic of a sit-down strike for the effectiveness of getting the public's attention. This kind of strike involves workers sitting in the workplace while striking to avoid the conduction of business operations. The strike was the first to let workers participate in the running of GM. It spread to GM plants in other areas. The UAW was recognized as the collective bargaining agent in 17 plants thanks to GM. It ended February 1937. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act achieved the goal of the federal regulation of child labor. This means that for the first time, federal law regulated the minimum ages of employment and hours of work for young people. This specific act was passed during 1938. -
Steel Strike
The Steel Strike was originally planned for April 9, 1952, but President Truman transferred their industry hours before the workers walked out. The steel companies sued to regain control of their workplaces. On June 2, 1952, U.S. Supreme Cout ruled the president didn't have the authority to seize the steel mills. The protest lasted 53 days and ended on July 24, 1952. The workers won a wage increase. -
Major League Baseball Strike
This strike was the first player's strike in Major League Baseball history. From April 1 to 13, 1972, 86 games were cancelled and never played because the league would not pay the players while they were on strike. The baseball games started up again when the owners and players agreed on a $500,000 increase in pension funds and to add salary arbitration to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. -
New York City Transit Strike
This strike took place in New York City at 3:00 am on December 20, 2005. Transport Workers Union Local 100 organized the strike. The protest started when negotiations for a new contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority broke down over retirement, wage increases and pension. Millions of commuters were affected but two days later at 2:35 pm the strike had ended. All the transportation systems were up and running by December 23.
