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Haymarket Riot
Taken place at the Haymarket Square in Chicago, the Haymarket Riot occurred because workers wanted raises for 8-hr days. An unknown party within the mob threw a bomb at the police, resulting in the police firing into the crowd. This strike is related to the labor movement because much turmoil was caused within the movement afterwards. Some sources say the Haymarket Riot stained the image of labor. -
Homestead Strike
The Homestead Strike took place at Homestead Steel Works. When 300 detectives arrived at the mills, the picketing mob broke out in violence, resulting in 18 deaths total. This strike is related to the labor movement because after everything was over, the court system helped to destroy the union. The steel industry then became safeguarded from organized labor for decades. -
ILGWU Strike
The International Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), decided to hold a strike in New York because they wanted a 20% pay raise and 52-hr work weeks. This strike is related to the labor union because it is the largest labor action taken by women in this nation's history. Also, the “Uprising of 20,000” (when more than 20,000 workers from 500 factories walked off the job in a time span of 2 days), left an impact on the history of the labor movement. -
World War 1
World War One was a time of great economic depression. Many americans lost their jobs and were paid lower wages. Progressive central labor council led the growth of the unionized workforce because workers were upset that they couldn’t work and if they did, they were not treated fairly. While they wanted to strike in retaliation, because of the war unions decided to hold of. -
The Great Depression
From 1929 to 1939, the US economy crashed. We all named this historical event The Great Depression. The labor movement relates to this tragedy because when the economy plummeted, so did the labor unions. In fact, all labor was struggling during this time. The Great Depression left a major impact on the history of labor worldwide. -
Norris LaGuardia Act
The Norris-LaGuardia Act was one of the first laws supporting organized labor and unions. It outlawed the practice of only hiring workers who agreed to not join the union. Many view this act as a victory in labor reform, which connects back to the labor movement. -
Wagner Act
The Wagner Act is related to the labor movement because it established the federal government as the regulator of union relations. By creating the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the government prohibited employers from discriminating against employees. Also, the NLRB was granted the power of picking and choosing which unions workers could refuse bargains from and which ones they had to accept offers from. -
Fair Labor Standards Ac
The Fair Labor Standards act relates to the labor movement in various ways. For example, this act decided the first ever federal minimum wage for workers, which became 25 cents. Not only did the FLSA invent minimum wage, but it also set restrictions for child labor. Finally, overtime pay was established for workers through the Fair Labor Standards Act. -
Cold War
During the Cold War, America became afraid of communism. They filtered members of media, labor forces, and even government. Members of the labor union that had any ties to communism were rejected and their membership terminated because the government believed they would eventually aid in a communist take over -
Truman Breaks Railroad Strike
Railroad strikers were interrupted by President Truman when they tried to speak out about their pay. Truman threatened to take over the railroads and draft the workers if the strikes did not end. This strike is related to the Labor Movement because during this time period, people began to notice that the sympathy the nation had for unions was running out. The cause of these realizations came from Truman's demanding tone.
