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Contract
spoken or written agreement intended to be enforced by the law -
Samuel Gompers
First and longes serving president of the AFL, under his rule it became the largest most influential labor federation in the world and he was a cigar maker
I believe that the trade unions will bring about both the improvement of conditions and the ultimate emancipation of workers. . . . I think that the emancipation of the working classes has to be achieved by the workers themselves. Trade unions are the pure, unadulterated organizations of the working classes.
(Vol. 2: New Yorker Volkszeitun -
AFL
American Federation of Labor was the first federations of labor unions in the United States. Led by Samuel Gompers, the members wanted higher wages and better working conditions. There predecessor wasthe Knights of Labor. -
Eugene V. Debs
American union leader, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World, and was a candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States. "It is better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it." -
Emma Goldman
anarchist that was a good public activist and active in the trade labor movement.
"As for the violence which people take as the characteristic mark of the Anarchist, it cannot and it shall not be denied that most Anarchists feel convinced that “violence” is not any more reprehensible toward carrying out their designs than it is when used by an oppressed people to obtain freedom. The uprising of the oppressed has always been condemned by tyrants." -
Mother Jones
charismatic and very famous organizer for the United Mine Workers, fought for the rights of workers, labeled "the most dangerous woman in America" by a U.S. district attorney. "I have been in jail more than once and I expect to go again. If you are too cowardly to fight, I will fight," -
International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU)
one of the largest labor unions in america that represented the women’s clothing industry -
International Workers of the World (IWW or Wobblies)
dedicated to controlling the means of production by the workers, won its greatest victories in the mining and lumbering industries. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
deadliet industrial disaster until the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center 90 years later, it killed 146 workers. Enforced the urgency of the labor movement to improve women's and immigrants' rights and conditions in the workplace. -
Department of Labor
the federal department responsible for promoting the working conditions of workers in America -
Clayton Act
It strengthened the antitrust laws that were put into place by the Sherman Act prohibited anticompetitive price discrimination, kept corporations from making exclusive deals, expanded the ability to sue and allowed unions to organize and prevent anticompetitive mergers. -
WWI (World War One)
world war -
Ludlow Massacre
attack by the colorado national guard on strinking coal miners, 18 people killed -
Adamson Act
Eight hour workday on the railroads with additional pay for overtime work. -
Open Shop
employees can work without joining the union -
Collective Bargining
negotiation between an employer and trade union to agree upon working conditions -
Great Depression
economic depression before world war 2, stock market crashed and led to bankruptcy, banks and industries closed, people lost their jobs and didn't spend as much money -
Yellow Dog Contract
forced employees to either sign an agreement not to join a union or be fired, got outlawed -
Davis Bacon Act
requires federal contractors to pay construction workers the prevailing wage, goal was to outlaw wage exploitation -
Norris LaGuardia Act
banned yellow dog contracts and further restricted the use of court injunctions in labor disputes against strikes, picketing, and boycotts -
CIO
Congress of Industrial Organizations-federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States, basically they try to improve the lives of people who work. -
Wagner Act
it gave labor unions government support and gives workers the right to organize and outlines the legal framework for labor union and management relations. -
Fair Labor Standard Act
protects workers by setting standards for minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping and youth labor - 44 hour 7 days work week -
Minimum wage
the least amount of money someone can be paid to work, permitted by the law -
Closed Shop
form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times in order to remain employed
