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Knights of Labor Founded
A secret society, the Knights are able to organize workers around the country under the radar of management. -
Gompers Founds AFL
A collection of trade unions that will play a major role in the labor movement throughout the century to come. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Act prohibited certain business activities that federal government regulators deem to be anti-competitive, and requires the federal government to investigate and pursue trusts. 1890 -
Homestead Strike
Turned violent as 300 Pinkerton detectives hired by the company arrive at the mills by barge. Workers picketing the plant greet the Pinkerton's with violence and the confrontation soon becomes a full-scale pitched battle, with seven Pinkertons and eleven union members killed. -
Pullman Strike
Union workers walk out of the factory of the Pullman Company in Pullman, Illinois, in spite of the paternalistic treatment the company had afforded to workers. -
IWW Founded
One of the most radical of all organized labor groups. They would achieve only limited success in moving their agenda forward, they will inspire generations of labor activists with their militant spirit. -
ILGWU Strike
A strike in New York, demanding a 20-percent pay raise and a 52-hour workweek. -
Clayton Antitrust Act
Prescribed certain additional activities that had been discovered to fall outside the scope of the Sherman Antitrust Act. -
Wagner Act
This Act gave unions legal protections, led to rapid growth in union membership. -
Post World War II Strike Wave
Workers strike to win wage increases in the face of postwar inflation.
