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Haymarket Square Riot
Labor radicals organized a protest for the killing and wounding of workers the day before during a strike. During the protest a bomb was thrown at Chicago police. At least 8 were killed and 8 activists were convicted for the bombing.At the time a big right activists were fighting for was an 8-hour workday, so this riot was a major setback for labor unions. -
The ILGWU Strike
The International Ladies' Garment Workers Union was mainly comprised of Jewish immigrants employed in sweatshops. The protocol of peace was the result of many successful strikes in 1909 and 1910. Not only did workers receive higher wages, lower hours, and recognition by clothing manufacturers, they received a board of arbitration to handle disputes with management. -
The Great Anthracite Coal Strike
The miners wanted to have a say in their wages, working conditions, and working hours. Coal miners won, getting a 10% wage increase and a decrease in work hours per day. After this victory of the strikers, the United Mine Workers became the most powerful union in the U.S. -
Ludlow Massacre
The Ludlow Massacre ended the Colorado Coal Strike. Altogether 66 people died during the strike. One of the strike leaders was killed while negotiating a treaty. The National Guard was sent in to attack the strikers. The strike was not effective, wages and working conditions were not improved. -
The Great Depression
During the early years of the Great Depression, the union lost nearly 2 million members. Towards the end of the Depression the union started to gain members due to Roosevelt's pro-union stance. -
The Norris-LaGuardia Act
The Norris-LaGuardia Act declared that employees could not be inhibited from joining unions. This stopped federal courts and employers from enforcing yellow-dog contracts. Federal courts were no longer able to issue restraining orders and injunctions against labor union members. -
The New Deal
The New Deal was put into place by FDR. This was an attempt to rebuild America's economy after the Great Depression. A part of the New Deal was the Economy Act which cut the pay of those who worked for the government and the armed forces. The money saved went to funding the New Deal. -
The Wagner Act
The Wagner Act also known as the National Labor Relations Act gave the right for unions to form and protected strikes. The federal government became the regulator for labor relations. This act was a big achievement for labor unions. -
World War II
Since men were off in the war, more women were hired into men's jobs. The amount of working women spiked from 5.1 million to 7.25 million. Trade unions began to worry about what the wages of men would be once they got back from war. -
Post-World War II Strike Wave
Over 5 million Americans were involved in many strikes between 1945 and 1946. After WWII, wages dramatically dropped. The strike was stopped when the Taft-Hartley Act was passed. -
Taft-Hartley Act 1947
It is also known as the Labor Management Relations Act.The Taft-Hartley Act was a major revision of the Wagner Act. Labor disputes was controlled by an enlarged National Labor Relations board. Strikes that endangered the nations health and safety were prohibited.
