Union Timeline

  • U.S. Department of Labor

    U.S. Department of Labor
    This was formed to insure all regulations were being enforced at the time. Also protected workers by setting standards for eymployers. before they were regulated employers could treat their employees anyway they wanted to by low wages, long hours and child labor. Unions benefited from this because what they were wanting finally became enforced by law.
  • Ludlow Massacre

    Ludlow Massacre
    Ludlow was a coal mining town in Colorado and when 1,200 coal miners went on strike the workers set up tents on the outskirts of this town. The campers often times got attacked by the camp guards which would set fire to the tents and the stike got really violent at times resulting in about two dozen deaths. The strike lasted from September 1913 through December 1914.
  • The Steel Strike of 1919

    The Steel Strike of 1919
    350,000 Pittsburgh steel workers went on strike after years of long hour, low wages and harassment. During the strike half of the country's steel production. The strike lasted from September 1919 to January 1920.
  • Gompers Dies

    Gompers Dies
    Samuel Gompers dies at the age of 74. Gompers was the most influental union activist. He started on of the first unions know as the American Federation of Labor.
  • Norris-LaGuardia Act

    Norris-LaGuardia Act
    eleiminated yellow dog contracts and prevented courts from issuing injuctions to stop strikes. Also the company you are working for could not stop you from joining a union. Because before many people wouldnt be hired or harassed by employers if they wanted to join a union.
  • Committee for Industrial Organization

    Committee for Industrial Organization
    CIO was founded within the AFL. But in later years they will split and become two different organizations. This was started by 8 unions to try to change AFL policy
  • Fair Labor Standard Act

    Fair Labor Standard Act
    This act brought minimum wage to 25 cents per hour. In the act was child labor laws that are still enforced today. Also the act limited the work week to 40 hours and anything over that was overtime.
  • National War Labor Board

    National War Labor Board
    Roosevelt recreates the war labor board first used by woodrow wilson during Worl War 1. the board was designed to quickly end any labor disputes (just like unions would try to do) that could cause a pause in production for the war. The National War Labor Board was made up of political, business and labor leaders.
  • Bituminous Coal Strike

    Bituminous Coal Strike
    During the months of April all the way through December of 1946 the United Mine workers of America went on strike with 400,000 miners walking off the job. They wanted better working conditions, benefits and pay. With the strike affecting 26 states Truman tried to reach an agreement but was not sucessful so he just fined them and forced the to take a deal.
  • Occupational Safety & Health Act

    Occupational Safety & Health Act
    This act insures safe and healthy working conditions for workers. Before the act workers would have to work in dangerous dark crowded spaces causing many injuries and death. OSHA is still operating to this day and can inspect your business at any given time. This helped unions because better working conditions are what a bunch of unions were wanting.
  • The U.S. Postal Strike of 1970

    The U.S. Postal Strike of 1970
    The stike began over what they believed was low wages and meager benefits. It began in New York City and then spread nation wide. It stopped mail delivery with 210,000 works just not working.