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Noble Order of the Knights of Labor Formed
The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor was organized in 1869. It was organized by Philadelphia garment workers and opened to farmers, merchants, and wage earners. The goal of this was to get equal pay for equal work, stop child labor, and create a standard 8 hour work day. -
Labor Day Holiday
It is said that the Labor Day Holiday was originally propsed by Matthew Maguire, the secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York City, in 1982. However, there are people who do disagree with this theory. The first Labor Day was celebrated on September 5th, 1882, and it is still celebrated on the first Monday of September every year as a tribute to the workers of America. -
Haymarket Square Riot
In early May of 1886, workers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. in Chicago decided to go on strike with a goal of getting a shorter work day. When police came to break up the strike, it got violent, and eight policemen ended up losing their lives with hundreds more injured. The Haymarket Square Riot is seen as one of the reasons for the eight hour work day not being accepted right away, as people saw how violent this strike turned. -
American Federation of Labor Formed
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was created on December 8th, 1886. It focused on better working conditions and better pay for workers, and they also wanted union labels on produced items. The AFL was craft oriented, and it definitely was important back then and still exists today. -
"How the Other Half Lives" Written
"How the Other Half Lives" was a photojournalism publication published in 1890 documenting living conditions in tenement housing. Jacob Riis, who was the creator of this publication, had wanted to show everyone what conditions in the tenement housing were really like. "How the Other Half Lives" made everyone realize that there were things to be done to correct the horrible conditions people who lived in tenement housing had to suffer through. -
The Homestead Strike
On June 30th, 1892, workers at the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (the AA) got in a dispute with the Carnegie Steel Company. The workers had a contract with the company that was set to expire on June 30, 1892, and right before that day came, Henry Clay Frick, who was extremely anti-labor unions came to be the new leader of the company. This was one of the most serious disputes in US labor history, because with the workers on strike, necessary things were not produced. -
The Pullman Strike
In the town of Pullman, workers in the town rented houses from George M. Pullman, who was the owner. In 1893, the workers wages were lowered, but their rents were not, and obviously, they saw this as a problem. The workers went on strike, and before long, thousands of railroad workers across the country had gone on strike, therefore taking away people's cross-country transportation. However, union leaders were soon arrested, and then the strike quickly collapsed. -
The Coal Strike
The Coal Strike was a strike by the United Mine Workers of Amercia in the coal fields in eastern Pennsylvania. This strike was a major problem, because for a while it seemed like there might not be coal supply for major cities for the winter. President Roosevelt got involved, however, and the strike got stopped. The Coal Strike was monumental because it was the first labor episode where the government acted unbiased. -
"The Jungle" Written
"The Jungle" was a muckraker book written by Upton Sinclair in 1906 describing conditions in meat factories. It described everything that actually went on inside of a meat factory, including all of the absolutely disgusting details about all the bacteria the meat had been exposed to. "The Jungle" really brought to light the actual state of the meat people had been eating, and the absolutely awful things that went on inside of meat factories. -
Pure Food and Drug Act Passed
On June 30th, 1906 the United States passed a law that revolutionized several industries. After this law was passed, there had to be federal inspection of meat products and adulterated food products could not be manufactured, sold, or transported legally. In addition, poisonous patent medicines could not be sold or produced either, and this law is still in existence today. -
"The Bitter Cry of Children" Written
"The Bitter Cry of Children" was a passage by John Spargo in 1906 that was about children who worked in the coal mines. In this passage, Spargo described the conditions down in the coal mines and the kind of work the young boys had to do. I believe this made some people realize that the work in the coal mines was not suitable for kids, and that something had to be done to stop them from having to do it. -
Triangle Shirt Factory Fire
On Saturday, March 25th, 1911, there was a fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. The building quickly went up in flames, and 146 people died, many from jumping or falling to their deaths from the 8th, 9th, or 10th floors because exit doors were locked by the owners during working hours. After this, more factory safety regulations were put into practice to prevent another tragedy like this from happening. -
Wagner Act Passed
The Wagner Act, passed in 1935, gave workers rights that they had previously not had. It created the National Labor Relations Board, which then had to power to make sure labor union members were not discriminated against. The main purpose of this was to stop and punish unfair labor practices, and it was significant because it pretty much gave labor unions the support of the government. -
Congress of Industrial Organizations
In 1935, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, broke away from the AFL because it was for industrial lines of work rather than craft trades. But, in 1955, the CIO rejoined the AFL to become one organization again. The CIO was obviously a good organization, because it still exists today. -
GM Sit-down Strike
The GM Sit-down Strike was a strike by General Motors employees from December 30th, 1936 to February 11th, 1937. This strike was a sit-down strike, which means that the workers actually went into the factory and did not work, so business could not be conducted. The strike then continued on in other GM factories, and eventually, a contract benefiting the workers was worked out and agreed upon. -
Fair Labor Standards Act Passed
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 created federal regulation of child labor, which was a huge issue at the time. This act included guidelines to new concepts like minimum wage, overtime work, and limits on child labor. The most important thing about the Fair Labor Standards Act is that it was the very first law concerning child labor, and it created minimum ages to work. It has been altered through the years, but the Fair Labor Standards Act remains in effect today. -
The Steel Strike
The Steel Strike was a strike by the United Steelerworks of Amercia against U.S. steel and other companies like them. The Steelworkers struck in attempts at a wage increase on June 2nd, 1952. It lasted 53 days, and then on July 24, 1952, the workers got the people in charge to agree to what they wanted. -
Major League Baseball Strike
This baseball strike in 1972 was the first players' strike in history. The players went on strike because they wanted a pension fund payment raise that the owners originally did not agree on, but eventually they did agree. The strike last 13 days and 86 games were missed, but they were never replayed because the league did not want to pay the players for when they were on strike. -
New York City Transit Strike
This strike in 2005 was a strike in New York City that was by the Transport Workers Union Local 100. The workers went on strike because they wanted an increase in retirement and pension payments and wages. Because pretty much everyone observed this strike, public transport on buses and subways was stopped and millions were affected.