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Haymarket Sqaure Riot
This was a labor protest rally near Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police. At least eight people died as a result of the violence that day. The Haymarket Riot was viewed a setback for the organized labor movement -
Great Southwest Railroad Strike
Hundreds of thousands of workers across five states refused to work, citing unsafe conditions and unfair hours and pay. The strike suffered from a lack of commitment from other railroad unions. So, non- union workers were hired because they would work for the pay. The strike ened in defeat and many were in loss of jobs. -
The Battle of Cripple Creek
Cripple Creek had become a boom town after gold was discovered. Some 150 mines sprang up,and so did a strong miners union. Workers began having to work 8-10 hours day with no pay increase, so strikes began. Then a secret army was hired and began fighting the strikers. This hit unions as a danger to society. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
The Triangle Shirtwaist fire was a sit-in protest. While protesting, a fire broke out and only main entrances were open because the company had all the emergancy exits locked because of the sit-in. This helped the unions because the deaths fell on the company because people jumped to their deaths becuase they couln't get out. -
The Clayton Act
The Clayton Act attempts to prohibit certain actions that lead to anti-competitiveness. Labor unions were excluded from the combinations in the restraint of trade. Unions were legally allowed to strike, picket, etc. -
Ludlow Massacre
The Ludlow Massacre was an attack by the Colorado National Guard and Colorado Fuel & Iron Company camp guards on a tent colony of striking coal miners and their families. When shooting broke out, women and children hid in holes under the tents, but the tents caught fire and many died. This changed the nation’s attitude toward labor and capital and how to deal with strikes. -
Steel Strike of 1919
Following World War I steel workers organized a strike against the United States Steel Corporation. They organized the strike becasue the had poor working conditions, long hours, low wages, and corporate harassment.The strike shut down over half of the steel inustry, but the company owners turned the tables by invoking public concerns over Communism. This was the result in the strikes failure. Unions in the steel industry would be absent for the next decade. -
The Norris-LaGuardia Act
The purpose of the Norris-LaGuardia Act was to put a stop to anti-labor injunctions. The courts would stop employees from picketing and striking. So the Norris- Laguradia Act let Labor Unions be able to stike, picket, etc. -
Textile Workers Strike
After years of long hours and low wages, American textile workers set out on strike, in response to the negligent representation of textile labor in FDR’s National Recovery Administration. The workers walked out of work for twenty days. But, from lack of support and the strike failed. Unions werre aain blacklisted for many years later. -
Taft-Hartley Act
This prohibited secondary boycotts, making it unlawful for a union that has a primary dispute with one employer to pressure a neutral employer to stop doing business with the first employer. Unions were now unable to stop buisness from going on with their employer. -
U.S. Postal Strike
The Postal strike started in New York, and was caused by Postal Workers' dissatisfaction with wages, working conditions, and benefits. Following the workers in New York, the strike went nation wide. With no mail being delivered, the National Guard was told to take their place. This did not work ans within two weeks negotiation began. he unions’ demands for wages and conditions were largely met, and they were granted the right to negotiate.
