Union Timeline

Haymarket Riot

May 4, 1886

A rally at HayMarket Square in Chicago to get support for 8 hour days. An unknown person throws a bomb at the police, causing them to fire at the crowd. Creating a bad image of unions and rally's.

Pullman Strike

May 10, 1894

Union workers walk out of the factory of the Pullman Company in Pullman, Illinois.The strike, organized by Eugene V. Debs and the American Railway Union ends in total defeat.

Great Anthracite Coal Strike

May 4, 1902

Seeking better wages and conditions, the union went on strike in eastern Pennsylvania, an area that contained the majority of the nations supply of anthracite coal. President Theodore Roosevelt became concerned that a heating crisis could develop and attempted to help but was unsuccessful.

IWW Founded

Jun 27, 1905

An organized labor group that did not accomplish many of their goals but did inspire generations of activists. (Industrial Workers of the World)

First State Mininum Wage Law

Jun 12, 1912

Massachusetts creates the first mininum wage law, more states will set laws like this one afterward.

Railway Labor Act

Apr 19, 1926

Prohibiting discrimination against unions. It as well applied to interstate railroads. In 1936, it was amended to include airlines engaged in interstate commerce.

Norris-LaGuardia ACT

Mar 23, 1932

This new law was one if the first of its kind when it came to Unions. it pretty much gave people the right to join a union, and as well, prohibited any "yellow-dog" contracts that would not allow employees to join unions.

Fair Labor Standards Act

Apr 19, 1938

This law was designed to give employers a better life and not let the employer use the workers. This law enacted a 40 hour work week, a mininum wage was given nationally, outlawed child labor, and gave an overtime.

Smith-Connally Act

Jun 25, 1943

This act allows the government to interfere and take control over industries critically hit by a strike(s) as well, it does not allow unions to contribute to political campaigns. It is the first anti union law since the 1930s.

Steel Strike

Jul 5, 1959

The nations steelworkers, represented by the United Steelworkers of America, demanded higher wages. Management was working against the union to lose a contract clause that protected worker jobs and hours. This conflict resulted in a 500,000-worker strike. In the end, the union received wage increases and preserved the contract clause.

Equal Pay Act

Jun 10, 1963

This law prohibits the pay wage based on gender. Resulting in a clime for womens wage.

UPS Workers Strike

Aug 20, 1997

Largest strike of the 1990s lead by 185,000 UPS employees. They were looking for full-time jobs rather than part-time, increased wages and the retention of their multiemployer pension plan. These workers gained major support and eventually had all of their demands given. UPS lost more than $600 million in business as a result.