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. 1 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 2 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 3 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. 4 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 5 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 6 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 7 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 8 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 9 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 10