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Sherman Antitrust Law
This rather important law also affected Unions. The law ruled that strikes and protests were covered under US Law. This allowed people to protest without fear of getting thrown in jail just for protesting. -
Homestead Strike
In one of the more well known events in Labor history, Workers at a Carnegie Steel Plant went on strike, creating a lockout and barricading themselves in the factory. The strike ended in tragedy when the Pinkertons were called in to end it, and ended up killing nine workers. -
Pullman Strike
Due to poor wages and bad hours people working for Pullman decided to go on strike. More and more members joined the strike until it numbered a quarter of a million workers. The strike ended when federal troops were sent in to end the strike -
Great Anthracite Coal Strike
This strike occurred in Pennsylvania, the workers responsible were seeking better wages and work conditions. This strike actually threatened the nation as it very well could've led to an energy crisis. The strike ended with the company making a deal with the union. -
WW1
After WW1 strikes increased massively for a variety of reasons. Workers were underpaid, they suffered poor conditions, and soon they were in the midst of the Great depression. Things would continue going down hill until WW2 -
Wagner Act
The Wagner Act boosted the confidence of Unions. This is due to the fact that the Wagner act helped protect them from intimidation by employers by doing things such as outlawing blacklisting. WIthout this, Employers could ensure that those in Unions would never be able to find a job again. -
World War Two
During WW2 participation in Unions increased massively. This was due to the massive demand placed on both workers and employers. However, union participation has slowly decreased since the war. -
Taft-Hartley Act
The Taft-Hartley act changed Unions in several major ways. The law banned closed shops, which were companies that only hired union workers, and also created "Right to work". Which allowed workers to opt out of joining a union should they choose to do that, -
Fast Food Protests
During 2014, Fast Food workers went on strike in demand of better wages. The strike happened in several different countries, mostly targeting McDonald's. The strikes are still ongoing, albeit in a much lesser degree
