AP U.S. History: Unit 9 – History of Labor Unions
A History of Labor In the United States (This list comes from Labornet)
1648
Boston Coopers and Shoemakers form guilds
1663
Maryland Indentured Servants' Strike
1675
Boston Ship Carpenters' Protest
1677
New York City Carters' Strike
1684
New York City Carters' Strike
1741
New York City Bakers' Strike
1768
New York City Tailor's Strike
1774
Hibernia, New Jersey, Ironworks Strike
1778
Journeymen printers in New York combine to increase their wages
1791
Philadelphia carpenters carry out first strike in the building trades
1792
Philadelphia shoemakers form first local union organized for collective bargaining
1794
Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers formed in Philadelphia
1805
A journeymen cordwainers' union in New York City includes a closed-shop clause in its constitution
1806
Philadelphia shoemakers found guilty of criminal conspiracy after striking for higher wages
1824
Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Textile Strike
1825
The United Tailoresses of New York, a trade union organization for women, organized in New York City.
1827
The Mechanics Union of Trade Associations, made up of skilled craftsmen in different trades, formed in
Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Carpenters' Strike
1828
The Workingmen's Party formed in Philadelphia.
Paterson, New Jersey, Textile Strike
1829
The Workingmen's Party of New York formed
1831
New England Association of Farmers, Mechanics and other Workingmen formed.
Lynn, Massachusetts, Shoebinders' Protest
1832
Boston Ship Carpenters' Ten Hour Strike
1833
Lynn, Massachusetts, Shoebinders' Protest begins.
Manayunk, Pennsylvania, Textile Strike.
New York City Carpenters' Strike.
1834
National Trades Union, first attempt at a national labor federation, formed in New York.
Lowell, Massachusetts, Mill Women's Strike
Manayunk, Pennsylvania, Textile Strike
1835
Ten-Hour Movement among skilled workers
1835
Paterson, New Jersey, Textile Strike.
1836
National Cooperative Association of Cordwainers, the first national union of a specific craft, formed in New
York City.
Lowell, Massachusetts, Mill Women's Strike
New York City Tailors' Strike
Philadelphia Bookbinders' Strike
1840
President Martin Van Buren establishes the ten-hour day for employees on federal public works projects.
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AP U.S. History: Unit 9 – History of Labor Unions
1842
Commonwealth vs. Hunt: Massachusetts Supreme Court rules that labor unions are not illegal
conspiracies.
Anthracite Coal Strike
1844
Lowell Female Labor Reform Association formed
1847
New Hampshire passes first state law fixing ten hours as the legal workday
1848
Pennsylvania's child labor law makes twelve the minimum age for workers in commercial occupations
1850
New York City Tailors' Strike
1852
Typographical Union founded - first national union of workers to endure to present day
1859
Iron Molders' International Union founded
1860
New England Shoemakers' Strike
1861
American Miners' Association, the first national coal miners' union is formed in St. Louis, Mo.
1863
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers founded
1864
Cigar Makers' Union founded
1866
National Labor Union founded - an attempt at creating a national federation of unions
1867
Knights of St. Crispin founded - a union of factory workers in the shoe industry
1868
First federal eight-hour law passed - applied only to laborers, workmen, and mechanics employed by the
government.
Anthracite Coal Strike
1869
Colored National Labor Union founded.
Knights of Labor organized in Philadelphia.
Troy, New York, Collar Laundresses' Strike.
1870
First written contract between coal operators and coal miners signed
1872
National Labor Reform Party formed
1873
Miners' National Association formed
1874
Tompkins Square Riot in New York City
1875
Conviction of Molly Maguires for anthracite coalfield murders - twenty are eventually hanged.
Anthracite Coal Strike
1876
Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers founded.
Workingmen's Party founded - first Marxist party in the United States. Later becomes Socialist Labor Party.
Greenback Party formed
1877
Federal and state troops are called out to crush the first nationwide strike in US history when railroad
workers walk off their jobs.
Cigarmakers' Strike.
San Francisco Anti-Chinese Riots
Members of the militant Molly Maguires, a rank and file anthracite coal miners' organization, are hanged
after being framed by a Pinkerton spy.
1878
Socialist Labor Party founded.
1878
Greenback Labor Party organized.
International Labor Union founded.
1881
Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada founded; predecessor
of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners founded
Revolutionary Socialist Labor Party formed
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AP U.S. History: Unit 9 – History of Labor Unions
1882
First Labor Day celebration held in New York City.
Congress passes Chinese Exclusion Act.
Cohoes, New York, Cotton Mill Strike.
1883
International Working People's Association (anarchist) formed.
Lynchburg, Virginia, Tobacco Workers' Strike.
Molders' Lockout begins.
1884
Federal Bureau of Labor established in the Department of the Interior.
Fall River, Massachusetts Textile Strike.
Union Pacific Railroad Strike.
1885
Congress passes Foran Act to forbid importation of foreign laborers on contract.
Cloakmakers' General Strike.
McCormick Harvesting Machine Company Strike.
Southwest Railroad Strike.
Yonkers, New York, Carpet Weavers' Strike.
1886
In Chicago, 350,000 workers demonstrate for the eight-hour workday, founding May Day as an
international workers' holiday.
Eight-hour-day movement fails.
"Haymarket Massacre (Riot)": Police attack Haymarket Square labor rally in Chicago, sparking violence
and the frame up of eight labor leaders.
American Federation of Labor (AFL) founded with Samuel Gompers as first president.
Augusta, Georgia, Textile Strike.
Eight-Hour Day Strikes.
McCormick Harvesting Machine Company Strike.
Southwest Railroad Strike
Troy, New York, Collar Laundresses' Strike
1887
Seven anarchists sentenced to death for the Haymarket bombing (five eventually executed).
Port of New York Longshoremen's Strike
1888
First federal labor relations law enacted - applied only to railroads
International Association of Machinists founded
Burlington Railroad Strike
Cincinnati Shoemakers' Lockout
1889
Baseball Players' Revolt begins
Fall River, Massachusetts, Textile Strike
1890
United Mine Workers (UMW) of America founded in Columbus, Ohio.
Carpenters' Strike for the Eight-Hour Day
1891
People's (Populist) Party formed.
Savannah, Georgia, Black Laborers' Strike.
Tennessee Miners' Strike.
1892
International Longshoremen's Association founded.
Seamen's Union founded
Strike in Homestead, Pennsylvania, by iron and steel workers gains national attention
Coeur d'Alene Miners' Strike
New Orleans General Strike
1893
American Railway Union founded.
Western Federation of Miners founded.
Federal court in Louisiana applies the Sherman Antitrust Act to unions for the first time in finding a
sympathy strike to be in restraint of trade.
National Civic Federation formed.
1894
Nationwide Rail Strike led by American Railway Union in Pullman, Ill. paralyzes nation's transportation.
Coxey's Army of the unemployed marches on Washington, DC
Cripple Creek, Colorado, Miners' Strike
Great Northern Railroad Strike
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AP U.S. History: Unit 9 – History of Labor Unions
1894
Labor Day becomes an official US holiday
1895
U.S. Supreme Court, in In re Debs case, upholds an injunction restraining the Pullman strikers based on
the power of the government to regulate interstate commerce.
Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance founded
Haverhill, Massachusetts, Shoe Strike
1896
Leadville, Colorado, Miners' Strike begins.
1897
Lattimer, Pennsylvania, Massacre, a sheriff and deputies gun down 19 striking miners and wound 40
others during a peaceful protest
1898
Congress passes the Erdman Act providing for mediation and arbitration of railroad labor disputes.
American Labor Union founded
Marlboro, Massachusetts, Shoe Workers' Strike begins
1899
Brotherhood of Teamsters founded
Buffalo, New York, Grain Shovelers' Strike
Cleveland, Ohio, Street Railway Workers' Strike
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Miners' Strike
New York City Newsboys' Strike
1900
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union founded
Anthracite Coal Strike
Machinists' Strike
1901
Socialist Party of America founded
United Textile Workers founded
Machinists' Strike
National Cash Register Strike
San Francisco Restaurant Workers' Strike
Steel Strike
1902
Great Anthracite Coal Strike, miners walk off the job for 164 days.
Chicago Teamsters' Strike
1903
Department of Commerce and Labor created by Congress.
Women's Trade Union League founded.
Cripple Creek, Colorado, Miners' Strike begins.
Oxnard, California, Sugar Beet Strike.
1903
Telluride, Colorado, Miners' Strike begins.
Utah Coal Strike begins
1904
New York City Interborough Rapid Transit Strike.
Packinghouse Workers' Strike.
Santa Fe Railroad Shopmen's Strike begins
1905
Industrial Workers of the World founded in Chicago.
New York Supreme Court, in Lochner v. New York, declares maximum hours law for bakers
unconstitutional
1906
Eight-hour day widely installed in the printing trades
1907
Goldfield, Nevada, Miners' Strike begins
An explosion kills 361 miners in Monongah, West Virginia in the nation's worst mining disaster.
1908
US Supreme Court, in Adair v US, finds that yellow-dog contracts are constitutional.
US Supreme Court, in Danbury Hatters Case, holds a boycott by the United Hatters Union against a
manufacturer to be a conspiracy in restraint of trade under the Sherman Antitrust Act.
US Supreme Court, in Muller v. Oregon, declares an Oregon law limiting working hours for women
Unconstitutional.
IWW Free-Speech Fight in Missoula, Montana.
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AP U.S. History: Unit 9 – History of Labor Unions
1909
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People founded
Georgia Railroad Strike
IWW Free-Speech Fight in Spokane, Washington
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, Steel Strike
"Uprising of the 20,000" Garment Strike in New York
Watertown, Conn. Arsenal Strike
1910
Bethlehem Steel Strike
1910
Cloakmakers' Strike
Chicago Clothing Workers' Strike
Los Angeles strike wave
Philadelphia General Strike
1911
US Supreme Court, in Gompers v. Bucks Stove and Range Company, upholds an injunction ordering the
AFL to remove the company from its unfair list and cease a boycott.
Fire kills 146 workers at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City.
Illinois Central and Harriman Lines Rail Strike begins
Southern Lumber Operators' Lockout begins
1912
Massachusetts adopts the first minimum wage act for women and minors.
Chicago Newspaper Strike.
Fur Workers' Strike.
IWW Free-Speech Fight in San Diego, California.
Lawrence, Massachusetts, Textile Strike, twenty thousand textile workers representing 26 different
nationalities win the 60 day "Bread and Roses" strike.
Louisiana Timber Workers' Strike begins
New York City Hotel Strike
Pain Creek and Cabin Creek, West Virginia, Mine Strikes
1913
US Department of Labor established
Ludlow, Colorado, Massacre
Machinists Strike and Boycott
Michigan Copper Strike
Paterson, New Jersey, Textile Strike
Rubber Workers' Strike
Studebaker Motors Auto Workers' Strike
1914
Congress passes the Clayton Antitrust Act. Ostensibly limits the use of injunctions in labor disputes
Amalgamated Clothing Workers founded
Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill Strike begins
Company gunmen attack a tent colony of striking UMWA families in Colorado and kill 19 men, women, and
children in the Ludlow Massacre
1915
Congress passes the LaFollette Seamen's Act - regulates working conditions for seamen
Standard Oil Strike
Youngstown, Ohio, Steel Strike begins
1916
Congress passes Federal Child Labor Law - later declared unconstitutional
Congress passes the Adamson Act establishing the eight-hour day for railroad workers
Six killed and forty wounded in bombing of San Francisco preparedness parade - labor leaders arrested
American Federation of Teachers founded
Arizona Copper Strike
Minnesota Iron Range Strike
New York City Transit Strike
New York Cloakmakers' Strike
Standard Oil Strike
1917
Supreme Court, in Hitchman Coal and Coke v. Mitchell, upholds the legality of yellow-dog contracts
Green Corn Rebellion in Oklahoma
Bisbee, Arizona, Miners' Strike
Butte, Montana, Miners' Strike
Pacific Northwest Lumber Strike
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AP U.S. History: Unit 9 – History of Labor Unions
1918
War Labor Board is created
First national conference of women trade unionists
1919
Huge postwar strike wave sweeps across the nation
Communist Party of America founded
Red Scare begins
Actors' Strike
Boston Police Strike
New England Telephone Strike
Seattle General Strike
16,000 Silk Workers in Paterson, NJ strike for a shorter workweek
Steel Strike
1920
Trade Union Educational League founded
Alabama Miners' Strike
Clothing Workers' Lockout
West Virginia Coal Wars begin, ten people killed in the Matawan Massacre in a battle over the right to
organize the southern West Virginia coalfields
1921
Supreme Court, in Duplex Printing Press v. Deering, rules that the Clayton Act notwithstanding, federal
courts could enjoin unions for actions in restraint of trade
Congress restricts immigration to the United States and establishes the national origin quota system
Seamen's Strike
Battle of Blair Mountain, 2000 US troops block miners' attempt to organize in southern West Virginia
1922
Conference for Progressive Political Action founded
Anthracite Coal Strike
Bituminous Coal Strike
Railroad Shopmen's Strike
1924
Samuel Gompers dies. William Green becomes president of the American Federation of Labor
1925
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters founded
Anthracite Coal Strike
1926
Congress passes the Railway Labor Act, which requires that employers bargain with unions and forbids
discrimination against union members
Passaic, New Jersey, Textile Strike
1927
Nicolo Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Mass. labor activists are executed
Bituminous Coal Strike
1928
New Bedford, Massachusetts, Textile Strike
Convict-labor system for coal mining is outlawed in Alabama
1929
Stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression
Trade Union Unity League founded
Conference for Progressive Labor Action founded
Gastonia, North Carolina, Textile Strike
1930
National Unemployed Council formed
Imperial Valley, California, Farm workers' Strike
1931
Congress passes Davis-Bacon Act providing for payment of prevailing wages to workers employed on
public works projects
"Scottsboro Boys" arrested in Alabama
Harlan County, Kentucky, Miners' Strike
Tampa, Florida, Cigar Workers' Strike
1932
Congress passes the Norris-LaGuardia Act, which prohibits federal injunctions in labor disputes and
outlaws yellow-dog contracts
Bonus Army March of World War I veterans on Washington, DC
American Federation of Government Employees founded
California Pea Pickers' Strike
Century Airlines Pilots' Strike
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AP U.S. History: Unit 9 – History of Labor Unions
Davidson-Wilder, Tennessee, Coal Strike begins
Ford Hunger March in Detroit, Michigan
Four workers killed as protesters march on Ford Rouge Plant near Detroit seeking jobs during the Great
Depression
Vacaville, California Tree Pruners' Strike
1933
Congress passes the National Industrial Recovery Act, which guarantees rights of employees to
organize and bargain collectively.
Frances Perkins becomes secretary of labor and the first woman named to a presidential cabinet
Newspaper Guild founded
Briggs Manufacturing Strike
California Farm workers' Strikes
Detroit, Michigan, Tool and Die Strike
Hormel, Iowa, Meat-Packing Strike
New Mexico Miners' Strike
1934
Southern Tenant Farmers' Union founded
Harlem, New York City, Jobs-for-Negroes Boycott
Imperial Valley, California, Farm workers' Strike
Minneapolis Teamsters' Strike
Newark Star-Ledger Newspaper Strike begins
Rubber Workers' Strike
San Francisco Longshoremen & General Strike
Textile Workers' Strike
Toledo, Ohio, Auto-Lite Strike
1935
US Supreme Court declares the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional
Congress passes the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which protects the rights of workers to
organize and bargain collectively.
Franklin Roosevelt signs the labor-backed Social Security Act into law
Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) formed inside the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
Negro Labor Committee founded
United Auto Workers (UAW) founded
Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri Metal Workers' Strike
Pacific Northwest Lumber Strike
Southern Sharecroppers' and Farm Laborers' Strike
1936
Steel Workers' Organizing Committee formed
Atlanta, Georgia, Auto Workers' Sit-Down Strike
Berkshire Knitting Mills Strike
First sit-down strike by auto workers starts at Bendix Products in South Bend, Indiana
General Motors Sit-Down Strike
RCA Strike
Rubber Workers' begin the nation's first major sit-down strike at the Firestone tire plant in Akron, Ohio
Seamen's Strike
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Newspaper Strike
1937
US Supreme Court declares the NLRA constitutional
American Federation of Labor expels the CIO unions
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union founded
General Motors Sit-Down Strikes in US and Canada - strikes end after workers win first UAW contract
Battle of the Overpass, Ford Co. thugs beat Walter Reuther and other UAW organizers in Dearborn, Mich.
Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chocolate Workers' Strike
Little Steel Strike and Memorial Day Massacre, ten strikers shot at Republic Steel in Chicago
US Steel signs a first contract with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee
1938
Congress passes the Fair Labor Standards Act, which establishes the forty-hour work week, the
minimum wage, and bans child labor in interstate commerce
Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) is founded with John L. Lewis as president
Chicago Newspaper Strike begins
Maytag Strike
US Supreme Court issues decision permitting employers to permanently replace strikers
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AP U.S. History: Unit 9 – History of Labor Unions
1939
Chrysler Auto Strike
General Motors Tool and Diemakers' Strike
1940
Ford Motor Strike
1941
AFL and CIO give no-strike pledges for the duration of World War II.
Allis-Chalmers Strike
Captive Coal Mines Strike
Detroit, Michigan, Hate Strike against black workers
International Harvester Strike
New York City Bus Strike
North American Aviation Strike
1942
National War Labor Board established: establishes "Little Steel Formula" for wartime wage adjustments
United Steel Workers of America founded
1943
Fair Employment Practices Committee is established
Congress passes the Smith-Connally Act to restrict strikes and union political activity during the war
Bituminous Coal Strike, UMWA strike which triggered a US government takeover of the mines ends with a
contract providing portal-to-portal pay and other benefits
Detroit, Michigan, Hate Strikes against black workers
1944
Philadelphia Transit Strike
1945
Kelsey-Hayes Strike
New York City Longshoremen's Strike
Montgomery Ward Strike
Oil Workers' Strike
1946
Huge postwar strike wave sweeps across the nation
United Mine Workers win a health and welfare fund in bargaining with the coal operators
Nationwide coal strike prompts US government to seize the mines to continue production
Electrical Manufacturing Strikes
General Motors Strike
Pittsburgh Power Strike
Railroad Strike
Steelworkers launch 30 state strikes against US Steel
1947
Congress passes the Taft-Hartley Act (Labor Management Relations Act) restricting union practices and
permitting the states to ban union security agreements.
RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company Strike
Telephone Strike
1949
CIO expels two unions for alleged Communist domination
Hawaii Dock Strike
1950
CIO expels nine unions for alleged Communist domination
United Auto Workers and General Motors sign a contract that provides for pensions, automatic cost-ofliving wage adjustments and guaranteed increases over the life of the contract
"Salt of the Earth" Strike of New Mexico Miners begin
1951
UAW president Walter Reuther elected president of CIO
1952
President Truman seizes the steel industry when the steel companies reject the Wage Stabilization Board
recommendations. Supreme Court rules the action unconstitutional
George Meany becomes president of the AFL
Steel Strike
1953
AFL and CIO agree to a "no raiding" pact. AFL expels the International Longshoremen's Association for
corruption
Louisiana Sugar Cane Workers' Strike
1954
Kohler Strike begins
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AP U.S. History: Unit 9 – History of Labor Unions
1955
United Auto Workers win supplementary unemployment benefits in bargaining with Ford
AFL and CIO merge with George Meany as first president, Walter Reuther as vice-president.
Southern Telephone Strike
1956
East Coast Longshoremen's Strike
Steel Strike
1957
AFL-CIO expels Teamsters, Bakery Workers, and Laundry Workers for corruption
1959
Congress passes the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (Landrum-Griffin), which regulates
the internal affairs of unions
Steel Strike
1960
Civil rights sit-ins begin at Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, NC.
Negro American Labor Council founded
General Electric Strike
Seamen's Strike
Mother Jones, UMWA organizer, dies at age 100
1962
Presidential executive order gives federal employee's union’s right to bargain with government agencies.
New York City Newspaper Strike begins
East Coast Longshoremen's Strike
1963
Congress passes Equal Pay Act prohibiting wage differentials based on sex for workers covered by the
Fair Labor Standards Act
1964
Civil Rights Act bars discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin
1965
United Farm Workers Organizing Committee formed
California Grape Workers' Strike
1966
New York City Transportation Strike
1967
Copper Strike begins
1968
Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., while supporting sanitation
workers.
New York City Teachers' Strikes
1969
Charleston, South Carolina, Hospital Workers' Strike
Black Lung compensation bill passes in West Virginia after mass demonstrations by UMWA members
1970
Postal strike is first nationwide strike of public employees
Hawaii becomes the first state to allow local and state government employees the right to strike
Congress passes the Occupational Safety and Health act
1970
General Motors Strike
Postal Workers' Strike: President Nixon declares a national emergency and orders 30,000 troops to New
York City to break the first nationwide postal strike.
Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act takes effect after passing Congress December 30, 1969
1971
New York City Police Strike
1972
Farah Clothing Workers' Strike and Boycott
Lordstown, Ohio, Auto Workers' Strike
Philadelphia Teachers' Strike begins
1973
United Farm Workers, led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, is chartered by the AFL-CIO
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AP U.S. History: Unit 9 – History of Labor Unions
1974
Coalition of Labor Union Women is founded (CLUW)
Congress passes the Employment Retirement Income Security Act regulating all private pension plans
Baltimore Police Strike
Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers union activist Karen Silkwood is killed during investigation of KerrMcGee nuclear plant in Oklahoma
1975
First legal statewide public employees' strike in nation's history occurs in Pennsylvania
Washington Post Pressmen's Strike begins
1977
Bituminous Coal Strike begins
Coors Beer Strike and Boycott begins
J.P. Stevens Boycott begins
Willmar, Minnesota, Bank Workers' Strike
1978
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Newspaper Strike begins
1979
Lane Kirkland becomes president of the AFL-CIO
1979
Independent Truckers' Strike
1980
Joyce Miller of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union becomes the first woman to sit on the
AFL-CIO executive board
1981
President Ronald Reagan fires most of the nation's air traffic controllers for striking illegally and orders
their union, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Association, decertified.
400,000 unionists, the largest labor rally in American history, takes place in Washington in protest against
the policies of the Reagan administration.
Baseball Players' Strike
1983
Phelps-Dodge Copper Strike begins
1984
Yale University Clerical Workers' Strike
1985
Hormel Meatpackers' Strike begins
Los Angeles County Sanitation District Strike
Yale University Clerical Workers' Strike
1986
Trans World Airlines Flight Attendants' Strike
USX (United States Steel) Lockout begins
After years of lawsuits and passage of local legislation federal asbestos in schools regulations are
established.
1987
Paper workers' Strike and Lockout begins
Professional Football Players' Strike
1989
Eastern Airlines Workers' Strike
Mine Workers' Strike against Pittston Coal Company
1990
UMWA Pittston Strike ends, miners ratify a new contract
1991
Three hundred thousand unionists march in Washington, DC to demand workplace fairness and health
care reform
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