Union Timeline

  • Knights of Labor

    the "Knights of Labor" was founded by Uriah Stephens. under the radar of management. this was the start of the Union.
  • railway strike of 1877

    Strike against Baltimore and Ohio railways started to cause an uprise in strikes in the northwest. violence got so bad the federal troops had to come in.
  • Haymarket Riot

    Riot about the hourly work day in Chicago. mostly remembered by one of the rioters throwing a bomb in the middle of everyone.
  • American Federation of Labor (AFL),

    Samuel Gompers finds the AFL, which is a collection of trade unions that will pay a huge major role in the labor movement for years to follow.
  • Homestead Strike

    lockout at at the Homestead steel company. Pinkertons were hired to handle situation, violent battle happened between the rioting workers and the Pinkertons
  • Anti-Labor Injunction

    a federal court issues the very first injunction against a union under the "Sherman Anti-Trust Act".
  • LA Times Bombing

    bomb explodes at LA times, which is an anti union. The bomb killed 20 people inside the LA Times. the two men connected to the bombing were apart of the Iron Workers Union, and this wasn't first time this particular union bombed an anti union company. they have been connected to several bombings at the time.
  • Clayton Act

    exempts unions from the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. later on this act will be very ruthless, as courts void more and more of its union protections.
  • Postwar Strike Wave

    wave of strikes after World War 1. more than 40,000 coal and 120,000 textile workers walk off their jobs. police strike in Boston, causing chaos in the city.
  • Norris-La Guardia Act

    "yellow dog contracts" which means if an employer hires an employee, i the worker would have to promise not to join a union.
  • Taft-Hartley Act

    Taft-Hartley Act was a law that was passed in 1947 that caused the unions to decline in numbers.