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Knights of Labor founded
Led by Terence Powderly, the Knights promoted the social and culteral uplift of the working man and demanded an eight-hour workday. Sometimes acted like a labor union and negotiated with workers. -
Samuel Gompers founds the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
One of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its founding convention and was reelected every year until his death in 1924. -
International Ladies' Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) founded
Founded in New York City by seven local unions, with a few thousand members between them. Was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. to have a primarily female membership. -
John Lewis becomes president of United Mine Workers by leading a successful strike
On November 1, 1919, he called the first major coal union strike, as 400,000 miners walked off their jobs. In 1920 he was elected president of the UMWA. -
Wagner Act gives workers right to organize
Sponsered by Robert Wagner, is a 1935 United States federal law that protects the rights of employees in the private sector to engage in concerted activity. This may include creating labor unions, discussing organizing and workplace issues among coworkers, engaging in collective bargaining, and taking part in strikes and other forms of protected concerted activity in support of their demands. -
Fair Labor Standards Act creates minimum wage, band child labor, requires overtime pay
A federal statute of the United States. Introduced a maximum 44-hour seven-day workweek, established a national minimum wage, guaranteed 'time-and-a-half' for overtime in certain jobs, and prohibited most employment of minors in "oppressive child labor," a term that is defined in the statute. It applies to employees engaged in interstate commerce or employed by an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, unless the employer can claim an exemption from coverage. -
Taft-Hartley Act allows states to pass right-to-work laws
The act, still effective, was sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. A "right-to-work" law is a statute in the United States of America that prohibits union security agreements, or agreements between labor unions and employers that govern the extent to which an established union can require employees' membership, payment of union dues, or fees as a condition of employment, either before or after hiring. -
AFL and CIO merge to create AFL-CIO
Is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States. It was formed in 1955 when the AFL and the CIO merged after a long estrangement.
