Timeline of

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

history

1600–1699

;1619 (United States) : 1619 Jamestown Polish craftsmen strike. ;1636 (United States) :

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

Indentured Servant's and Fisherman's Mutiny. ;1648 (United States) :

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

Coopers and Shoemakers form guilds. ;1661 (United States) :

Virginia's Indentured Servants' Plot A sizable indentured servant's uprising occurred in Virginia in 1661 over the issue of adequate food. The customary ration for servants at the time included meat three times a week. When a planter named Major Goodwin decided to keep his servants on ...

. ;1663 (United States) :

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

Indentured Servants' Strike. ;1675 (United States) :

Ship Carpenters' Protest. Howard Pyle - The Burning of Jamestown

;1676 (United States) :

Bacon's Rebellion Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion held by Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Colonial Governor William Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native American ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

. ;1677 (United States) :New York City Carter's Strike. ;1684 (United States) :New York City Carter's Strike.

1700–1799

1740s

;1741 (United States) :New York City Bakers' Strike.

1760s

;1768 (United States) :

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Indentured Servants' Revolt.

1770s

;1774 (United States) : Hibernia, New Jersey, Ironworks Strike. ;1778 (United States) :Journeymen printers in New York combine to increase their wages.

1780s

;1781 (Austria) :Holy Roman Emperor,

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 u ...

, issues the Serfdom Patent of 1781, to abolish serfdom throughout the Habsburg lands.

1790s

;1791 (United States) :

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

carpenters conduct first strike in the building trades in the United States. ;1792 (United States) :Philadelphia has first local union in the United States organized to conduct collective bargaining. ;1794 (United States) :Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers formed in

. ;1797 (United States) :Profit sharing originated at

Albert Gallatin Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849) was a Genevan– American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early year ...

glassworks Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container ...

New Geneva, Pennsylvania New Geneva is an unincorporated community in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located along Pennsylvania Route 166 and the Monongahela River, across from Greensboro. New Geneva has a post office, with ZIP code 1 ...

. ;1799 (England) : Combination Act outlawed trade unionism and collective bargaining by workers.

1800–1899

1800s

;1805 (United States) :Journeymen Cordwainers union includes a closed-shop clause in its constitution in New York City. ;1806 (United States) :''

Commonwealth v. Pullis ''Commonwealth v. Pullis'', 3 Doc. Hist. 59 (1806) was a US labor law case, and the first reported case arising from a labor strike in the United States. It decided that striking workers were illegal conspirators. Facts In 1794, Philadelphia shoem ...

'' was the first known court case arising from a labor strike in the United States. After a three-day trial, the jury found the defendants guilty of "a combination to raise their wages" and fined.

1810s

;1816 (England) :Food riots broke out in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

. Workers demanded a double wage and for the setting of triple prices for food.

1820s

;1824 (England) :The Combination Act of 1799 was repealed. ;1824 (United States) :

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Fa ...

, Textile Strike. ;1825 (United States) :United Tailoresses of New York organized in New York City. ;1825 (United States) :Boston House Carpenter's Strike ;1827 (United States) :Mechanics' Union of Trades' Associations formed in Philadelphia. ;1827 (United States) :Philadelphia Carpenter's Strike. ;1828 (United States) :

Workingmen's Party The Workingmen's Party of the United States (WPUS), established in 1876, was one of the first Marxist-influenced political parties in the United States. It is remembered as the forerunner of the Socialist Labor Party of America. Organizational ...

was organized in

by the Mechanics' Union of Trades' Associations. ;23 April 1829 (United States) : Committee of Fifty, a group of prominent trade unionists in New York City, organized to resist efforts by business owners to revoke the 10-hour workday and reinstate the 11-hour workday. Their efforts lead directly to the forming of the

Workingmen's Party of New York : ''For other organizations with a similar name, see Workingmen's Party (disambiguation).'' The Working Men's Party in New York was a political party founded in April 1829 in New York City. After a promising debut in the fall election of 1829 ...

. ;1829 (United States) :

formed.

1830s

;1831 (United States) :New England Association of Farmers, Mechanics, and other Workingmen formed. ;9 January 1831 (England) :Twenty-three workers from Buckingham were sentenced to death for destruction of a paper machine by one of a number of Special Commissions sent to East Anglia to suppress insurgent workers by the Whig Ministry. FrameBreaking-1812

;11 January 1831 (England) :Three workers in Dorset were sentenced to death for extorting money and two workers were sentenced to death for robbery by one of the Special Commissions sent by the Whig Ministry to suppress insurgent workers. :Fifty-five workers in Norwich were convicted of "machine breaking and rioting" by one of the Special Commissions sent by the Whig Ministry to suppress insurgent workers. :Three workers in Ipswich were convicted of extorting money by one of the Special Commissions sent by the Whig Ministry to suppress insurgent workers. :Twenty-six workers in Petworth were convicted of "machine breaking and rioting" by one of the Special Commissions sent by the Whig Ministry to suppress insurgent workers. :"Upwards of thirty" workers in Gloucester were convicted of "machine breaking and rioting" by one of the Special Commissions sent by the Whig Ministry to suppress insurgent workers. :Twenty-nine workers in Oxford were convicted of "machine breaking and rioting" by one of the Special Commissions sent by the Whig Ministry to suppress insurgent workers. ;1832 (United States) :Boston Ship Carpenters' Ten-Hour Strike. ;1833 (United States) :

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by Eu ...

' Shoebinders' Protest begins. Black-eyed Sue and Sweet Poll of Plymouth taking leave of their lovers who are going to Botany Bay

;1834 (England) :The

Tolpuddle Martyrs The Tolpuddle Martyrs were six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, England, who, in 1834, were convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. They were arrested ...

, agricultural workers who formed a trade union in

Tolpuddle Tolpuddle () is a village in Dorset, England, on the River Piddle from which it takes its name, east of Dorchester, the county town, and west of Poole. The estimated population in 2013 was 420. The village was home to the Tolpuddle Martyrs, s ...

Dorsetshire Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

, were sentenced by a Whig Ministry Special Commission to

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipel ...

to a penal colony in Australia. ;March 1834 (United States) : National Trades' Union formed in New York when the New York General Trades' Union solicited labor organizations from around the country to send delegates to a national convention. This union was the first attempt to create a national labor federation. ;1834 (United States) : Lowell, Massachusetts Mill Women's Strike. ;1834 (United States) : Manayunk, Pennsylvania Textile Strike. ;1835 (United States) :Carpenters, masons, and stone-cutters began a strike as part of the Ten-Hour Movement among skilled workers. They drafted a strike circular in Boston outlining their demands and seeking assistance from other tradespeople. Wherever this circular was distributed, a strike in favor of the ten-hour workday erupted. The 1835 Philadelphia general strike, in which workers successfully struck for shorter working hours and higher wages, was influenced by the Boston circular. ;3 July 1835 (United States) :Textile workers, many of whom were children of Irish descent, launched the

1835 Paterson textile strike The 1835 Paterson textile strike took place in Paterson, New Jersey, involved more than 2,000 workers from 20 textile mills across the city. The strikers, many of whom were children and of Irish descent, were seeking a reduction in daily working ho ...

in the silk mills in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ;1836 (United States) :National Cooperative Association of Cordwainers formed in New York City. This association was the first national union for a specific craft. ;1836 (United States) : Lowell, Massachusetts, Mill Women's Strike. ;1836 (United States) :New York City Tailors' Strike. ;1836 (United States) :Philadelphia's Bookbinders' Strike.

1840s

;1840 (United States) :Ten-hour day for federal employees on federal public works projects without loss of pay established by President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

by executive order. ;1842 (United States) :Ten-hour Republican Association was formed by New England mechanics to pressure the Massachusetts legislature to establish a ten-hour workday throughout the state. ;March 1842 (United States) :''

Commonwealth v. Hunt ''Commonwealth v. Hunt'', 45 Mass. 111 (1842) was a case in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on the subject of labor unions. Prior to ''Hunt'' the legality of labor combinations in America was uncertain. In March 1842, Chief Justice Lemuel ...

'' was a landmark legal decision by the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously functi ...

on the subject of labor unions. Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw ruled that unions were legal organizations and had the right to organize and strike. Before this decision, labor unions which attempted to 'close' or create a unionized workplace could be charged with conspiracy. See ''

;1844 (United States) : Lowell Female Labor Reform Association formed. ; April 1844 (United States) :Fall River Mechanics' Association established 'The Mechanic', a weekly paper dedicated "to advocate the cause of the oppressed Mechanic and Laborer in all its bearings." ;1847 (Scotland) :The

Educational Institute of Scotland The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) is the oldest teachers' trade union in the world, having been founded in 1847 when dominies became concerned about the effect of changes to the system of education in Scotland on their professional st ...

, the oldest teachers' trade union in the world, was founded. ;1847 (United States) :

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

is first state to establish the ten-hour workday. ;1848 (United States) :

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

's child labor law establishes the age of 12 as the minimum age for workers in commercial occupations. ;1848 (Germany) Founding of the Allgemeine Deutsche Arbeiterverbrüderung (General German Workers-Brotherhood) Roland Roth, Dieter Rucht (edt), ''Die Sozialen Bewegungn in Deutschland seit 1945, Ein Handbuch'' (Frankfurt/New York, Campus Verlag, 2009), Page 159

1850s

;1850 (United States) :New York City Tailor's Strike. ;July 1851 (United States) :Two railroad strikers are shot dead and others injured by the state militia in Portage, New York. ;1852 (United States) :

Typographical Union Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing (leading), and ...

founded. ;21 April 1856 (Australia) :Stonemasons and building workers in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

achieve an

eight-hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the 1 ...

, the first organized workers in the world to achieve an 8-hour day, with no loss of pay. ;1859 (United States) : Iron Molders' International Union founded.

1860s

;1860 (United States) New England Shoemakers Strike of 1860 :800 women operatives and 4,000 workmen marched during a shoemaker's strike in

Lynn Lynn may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lynn (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Lynn (surname) * The Lynns, a 1990s American country music duo consisting of twin sisters Peggy and Patsy Lynn * Lynn ( ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. ;1863 (United States) :The first railroad labor union, The Brotherhood of the Footboard (later renamed the

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is a labor union founded in Marshall, Michigan, on 8 May 1863 as the Brotherhood of the Footboard. It was the first permanent trade organization for railroad workers in the US. A year la ...

) is formed in

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. It is headed by

William D. Robinson William D. Robinson (22 May 1826 – 7 November 1890) was a locomotive engineer who founded the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) on 8 May 1863 during the American Civil War, America's first union for railway workers. Robinson traveled wi ...

. ;1864 (Europe) :

International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and tr ...

(often called the First International) is founded. ;1864 (United States) : Cigar Makers' Union founded. ;1864 July 21 (United States) :

Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association The Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada (OPCMIA) is a trade union of plasterers and cement masons in the construction industry in the United States and Canada. Members of the union fin ...

founded. ;1866 (United States) :

National Labor Union The National Labor Union (NLU) is the first national labor federation in the United States. Founded in 1866 and dissolved in 1873, it paved the way for other organizations, such as the Knights of Labor and the AFL (American Federation of Labor) ...

formed - 1st national labor federation in the US. ;1866 (United States) :Molders' Lockout. NationalColoredUnionConventionHarpersWeekly1869

;1867 (United States) :

Order of the Knights of St. Crispin The Order of the Knights of St. Crispin was an American labor union of shoe workers formed in Wisconsin in 1867. It soon reached a membership of 50,000 or more, largely in the Northeast. However it was poorly organized and faded away by 1874. The ...

, a union for factory workers in the shoe industry, founded. ;1868 (Germany) :The

Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund The General German Trade Union Federation (german: Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, ADGB) was a confederation of German trade unions in Germany founded during the Weimar Republic. It was founded in 1919 and was initially powerful enough t ...

(ADGB)(Federation of General German Civil Servants) was founded and represented 142,000 workers. ;1868 (United States) :First U.S. federal eight-hour law passed. This law only applied to laborers, workmen, and mechanics employed by the U.S. federal government. ;1869 (United States) :

Colored National Labor Union Established in 1869, the National Labor Union (not to be confused with the cognominal National Labor Union), more commonly known as the Colored National Labor Union (CNLU), was formed by African Americans to organize their labor collectively on ...

founded.

;1869 (United States) :

Uriah Smith Stephens Uriah Smith Stephens (August 3, 1821 – February 13, 1882) was an American labor leader. He was most notable for his leadership of nine Philadelphia garment workers in founding the Knights of Labor in 1869, a successful early American labor unio ...

organized a new union known as the

Knights of Labor Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...

. ;1869 (United States) : Collar Laundry Union Strike in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

1870s

;1870 (United States) :The first written contract between coal miners and coal miner operators signed. ;1872 (Europe) :

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

ejects

Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (; 1814–1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist, socialist and founder of collectivist anarchism. He is considered among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major founder of the revolutionary ...

and the other anarchists from the

;1873 (United States) :In 1873 the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen was established. In 1906 it became the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen. ;13 January 1874 (United States) :The original Tompkins Square Riot occurs in New York City. As unemployed workers demonstrated in New York City's Tompkins Square Park, a detachment of mounted police charged into the crowd, beating men, women and children indiscriminately with billy clubs and leaving hundreds of casualties in their wake. ;1874 (United States) : Peter M. Arthur elected Grand Chief of the

. He remained in office until his death. ;1875 (United States) :The

Molly Maguires The Molly Maguires were an Irish 19th-century secret society active in Ireland, Liverpool and parts of the Eastern United States, best known for their activism among Irish-American and Irish immigrant coal miners in Pennsylvania. After a seri ...

are convicted for the anthracite coalfield murders. ;1875 (United States) : Anthracite Coal Strike takes place. ;1876 (United States) :

Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (AA) was an American labor union formed in 1876 to represent iron and steel workers. It partnered with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee of the CIO, in November 1935. Both organizations dis ...

founded. ;1876 (United States) :

is founded. It later becomes the

Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...

;1876 (United States) :

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...

is founded. ;1877 (United States) :

Cigar Makers' International Union The Journeymen Cigar Makers' International Union of America (CMIU) was a trade union, labor union established in 1864 that represented workers in the cigar industry. The CMIU was part of the American Federation of Labor from 1887 until its merger ...

occurred. ;1877 (United States) :San Francisco Anti-Chinese Riots occur. ;12 February 1877 (United States) :The

Great Railroad Strike of 1877 The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. This strike finally ended 52 da ...

-- U.S. railroad workers began strikes to protest wage cuts. It started in

Martinsburg, West Virginia Martinsburg is a city in and the seat of Berkeley County, West Virginia, in the tip of the state's Eastern Panhandle region in the lower Shenandoah Valley. Its population was 18,835 in the 2021 census estimate, making it the largest city in the ...

, and then spread to many other states. ;14 July 1877 (United States) :A general strike halted the movement of U.S. railroads. In the following days, strike riots spread across the United States. The next week, federal troops were called out to force an end to the nationwide strike. At the "

Battle of the Viaduct The Battle of the Viaduct was an event that took place on July 25, 1877, in Chicago due to a much larger event, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The strike began on July 14, 1877 in Virginia. The battle By Wednesday, July 25, it was clear tha ...

" in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, between protesting members of the Chicago German Furniture Workers Union, now Local 1784 of the Carpenters Union, and federal troops killed 30 workers and wounded over 100. 1877-slp-congress

;1878 (United States) :

Socialist Labor Party of America The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...

founded when the

Workingmen's Party of the United States The Workingmen's Party of the United States (WPUS), established in 1876, was one of the first Marxist-influenced political parties in the United States. It is remembered as the forerunner of the Socialist Labor Party of America. Organizational ...

voted to change its name at its December 1877 convention. ;1878 (United States) :

Greenback Labor Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...

founded. ;1878 (United States) : International Labor Union founded.

1880s

;1881 (United States and Canada) :

Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada (FOTLU) was a federation of labor unions created on November 15, 1881, at Turner Hall in Pittsburgh. It changed its name to the American Federation of Labor (AF ...

, the ender of the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutua ...

, was founded in the United States and Canada. ;1881 (United States) : Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners was founded. ;1881 (United States) :

Revolutionary Socialist Labor Party Revolutionary Socialist Labor Party, a radical split from the Socialist Labor Party in the United States. RSLP was formed in 1881 by anarchist-oriented elements of the SLP that had rallied around 'Revolutionary Clubs'. In 1883 it merged with oth ...

was founded. ;1882 (United States) :Cohoes, New York, Cotton Mill Strike occurred. ;5 September 1882 (United States) :Thirty thousand workers marched in the first

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United ...

parade in New York City. 1919-TALC-Canada

;1883 (Canada) :The

Trades and Labour Congress of Canada The Trades and Labor Congress of Canada was a Canada-wide central federation of trade unions from 1886 to 1956. It was founded at the initiative of the Toronto Trades and Labour Council and the Knights of Labor. It was the third attempt at a nat ...

(TLC), a Canada-wide central federation of trade unions was formed. ;1883 (United States) :

International Working People's Association The International Working People's Association (IWPA), sometimes known as the "Black International," was an international anarchist political organization established in 1881 at a convention held in London, England. In America the group is best r ...

formed. ;1883 (United States) :Lynchburg, Virginia, Tobacco Workers' Strike occurred. ;1883 (United States) :Molder's Lockout began. ;1884 (United States) :The

, forerunner of the

, passed a resolution stating that "8 hours shall constitute a legal day's work from and after May 1, 1886." ;1884 (United States) : Federal Bureau of Labor established in the

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

. ;1884 (United States) :Fall River, Massachusetts, Textile Strike occurred. ;1884 (United States) :Union Pacific Railroad Strike occurred. ;1885 (United States) :

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

passed the

Foran Act The 1885 Alien Contract Labor Law (Sess. II Chap. 164; 23 Stat. 332), also known as the Foran Act, was an act to prohibit the importation and migration of foreigners and aliens under contract or agreement to perform labor in the United States, its ...

outlawing immigration of laborers on contract. ;1885 (United States) :Cloakmakers' General Strike occurred. ;1885 (United States) :McCormick Harvesting Machine Company Strike occurred. ;1885 (United States) : Southwest Railroad Strike occurred. ;1885 (United States) :Yonkers, New York, Carpet Weaver' Strike occurred. ;1885 (United States) :Ten coal-mining activists ("

") were hanged in

. ;1886 (United States) :

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georg ...

Textile strike occurred. ;1886 (United States) :Cowboy Strike occurred. ;1886 (United States) :McCormick Harvesting Machine Company Strike occurred. ;1886 (United States) :Troy, New York, Collar Laundresses Strike occurred. Great Railway Strike 1886 - E St Louis

;March 1886 (United States) :The Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886 was a labor union strike against the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

and

Missouri Pacific The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...

railroads involving more than 200,000 workers. ;1 May 1886 (United States) :Workers protested in the streets to demand the universal adoption of the

. Hundreds of thousands of American workers had joined the

. The movement ultimately failed. JMRusk

;1 May 1886 (United States) : Bay View Tragedy: About 2,000 Polish workers walked off their jobs and gathered at St. Stanislaus Church in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, angrily denouncing the ten-hour workday. The protesters marched through the city, calling on other workers to join them. All but one factory was closed down as sixteen thousand protesters gathered at Rolling Mills. Wisconsin Governor Jeremiah Rusk called the state militia. The militia camped out at the mill while workers slept in nearby fields. On the morning of 5 May, as protesters chanted for the eight-hour workday, General Treaumer ordered his men to shoot into the crowd, some of whom were carrying sticks, bricks, and scythes, leaving seven dead at the scene, including a child.Wisconsin Labor History Society: Bay View Story

/ref> :The ''

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'' reported that eight more would die within twenty-four hours, adding that Governor Rusk was to be commended for his quick action in the matter. Samuel Gompers cph

;1886 (United States) :

founded.

Samuel Gompers Samuel Gompers (; January 27, 1850December 13, 1924) was a British-born American cigar maker, trade union, labor union leader and a key figure in labor history of the United States, American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation ...

served as first president. Haymarket Flier

;4 May 1886 (United States) :Anarchist rally lead to the

Haymarket Riot The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square i ...

in Chicago,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, the origin of international

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

observances. ;22 November 1887 (United States) :In the

Thibodaux massacre The Thibodaux massacre was an episode of racial violence that occurred in Thibodaux, Louisiana on November 23, 1887. It followed a three-week strike during the critical harvest season in which an estimated 10,000 workers protested against the li ...

Thibodaux, Louisiana Thibodaux ( ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 15,948 at the 2020 census. Thibodaux is a principal c ...

a local militia, aided by bands of "prominent citizens," shot at least 35 unarmed black sugar workers striking to gain a dollar-per-day wage, and lynched two strike leaders. ;1887 (United States) :Seven of the

bombing defendants sentenced to death, of which five are executed. ;1887 (United States) :Port of New York Longshoremen's Strike occurred. Union labor party LCCN2003656923

;June 1888 (United Kingdom) :The

London matchgirls strike of 1888 The matchgirls' strike of 1888 was an industrial action by the women and teenage girls working at the Bryant & May match factory in Bow, London. Background Match making In the late nineteenth century, matches were made using sticks of popla ...

was a strike of the women and

teenage Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the ...

girls working at the Bryant and May Factory, Bow, Bryant and May Factory in Bow, London, Bow, London. The strike was prompted by the poor working conditions in the match factory, including fourteen-hour work days, poor pay, excessive fines, and the severe health complications of working with yellow (or white) phosphorus, such as phossy jaw. ;1888 (United States) :United States enacted first federal labor relations law; the law applied only to railroads. ;1888 (United States) :International Association of Machinists founded. ;1888 (United States) :Burlington Railroad Strike occurred. ;1888 (United States) :Cincinnati Shoemakers' Lockout occurred. ;1889 (United States) :Baseball Players' Revolt began. ;1889 (United States) :Fall River, Massachusetts, Textile Strike occurred. ;1889 (Europe) :The Second International is founded. Declaration of 1 May as International Workers Day.

1890s

;1890 (United States) :United Mine Workers of America founded. ;1890 (United States) :United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Strike occurred; the union demanded an eight-hour work day. ;25 July 1890 (United States) :New York garment workers won the right to unionize after a seven-month strike. They secured agreements for a closed shop, and firing of all strikebreakers. ;1891 (United States) :Savannah, Georgia, Black Labourers' Strike occurred. ;1891 (United States) :Tennessee Miners' Strike occurred. Longshoremen-1901

;1892 (United States) :International Longshoremen's Association founded. ;1892 (United States) :International Seamen's Union founded. ;1892 (United States) :New Orleans General Strike occurred. ;6 July 1892 (United States) :Homestead Strike: Pinkerton National Detective Agency, Pinkerton Guards, trying to pave the way for the introduction of strikebreakers, opened fire on striking Carnegie mill steel-workers in Homestead, Pennsylvania. In the ensuing battle, three Pinkertons surrendered and were set upon and beaten by a mob of townspeople, most of them women. Seven guards and eleven strikers and spectators were shot to death. ;11 July 1892 (United States) :Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor strike of 1892: Striking miners in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho dynamited the Frisco Mill, leaving it in ruins. ;August 1892 (United States) :Buffalo switchmen's strike, Buffalo Switchmen's Strike collapses after two weeks when 8,000 New York State militia enter the city and peer unions fail to come to the strikers' aid. ;1893 (United States) :American Railway Union founded. ;1893 (United States) :Western Federation of Miners founded. ;1893 (United States) :Federal court in Louisiana rules that the Sherman Antitrust Act applies to unions and finds that Secondary action, sympathy strikes restrain trade. ;1893 (United States) :National Civic Federation founded. ; 1893 (United States) :Unions helped win the passage of the Safety Appliance Act. Among other things, the Act outlawed the "old man-killer link and pin coupler" by railroads. ;1894 (United Kingdom) :''History of Trade Unionism'', the influential book by Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield, Sidney and Beatrice Webb is first published. ;1894 (United States) :Coxey's Army marched on Washington, D.C. ;7 February 1894 (United States) :In Cripple Creek, Colorado, miners Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894, went on strike when mine owners announced an increase from eight to ten hours per day, with no increase in wages. This strike marked perhaps the only time in American history that a state militia was called out to protect miners from sheriff's deputies. ;21 April – June 1894 (United States) :Bituminous Coal Miners' Strike of 1894 -- A two-month nationwide strike by miners of hard coal in the United States. This unsuccessful strike almost destroyed the United Mine Workers union. Pullman-strike

;11 May – 10 July 1894 (United States) :Pullman Strike: A nation-wide strike against the Pullman Company begins with a wildcat walkout on 11 May after wages are drastically reduced. On 5 July, the 1892 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago's Jackson Park (Chicago), Jackson Park was set ablaze, and seven buildings were burned to the ground. The mobs burned and looted railroad cars and fought police in the streets, until 10 July, when 14,000 federal and state troops finally succeeded in putting down the strike, killing 34 American Railway Union members. Leaders of the strike, including Eugene Debs, were imprisoned for violating injunctions, causing disintegration of the union. ;1895 (France) :The Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT), was formed. This French union is the oldest confederation still in existence. ;April 1895 (United States) :American Industrial Union established by former American Railway Union Vice President George W. Howard. The union proves to be short-lived, disappearing in the second half of 1896. ;June 1895 (United States) :U.S. Supreme Court rules in ''In re Debs'' to uphold an injunction against the Pullman Strikers on the grounds that the federal government is empowered to regulate interstate commerce. ;1895 (United States) :Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance founded. ;1895 (United States) :Haverhill, Massachusetts, Show Strike occurred. ;21 September 1896 (United States) :The state militia was sent to Leadville, Colorado to Leadville Colorado, Miners' Strike, break a miner's strike. ;10 September 1897 (United States) :Lattimer massacre: 19 unarmed striking coal miners and mine workers were killed and 36 wounded by a posse organized by the Luzerne County sheriff for refusing to disperse near Hazleton, Pennsylvania. The strikers, most of whom were shot in the back, were originally brought in as strike-breakers, but later organized themselves. ;1898 (United States) :The Erdman Act was passed providing for mediation and voluntary arbitration on the railroads. It made it a criminal offense for railroads to dismiss employees or to discriminate against prospective employees because of their union membership or activity. It provided legal protection of employees' rights to membership in a labor union, a limit on the use of injunctions in labor disputes, lawful status of picketing and other union activities, and requirement of employers to bargain collectively. Subsequently, a portion of the Erdman Act, which would have made it a criminal offense for railroads to dismiss employees or discriminate against prospective employees based on their union activities, was declared invalid by the United States Supreme Court. ;1898 (United States) :American Labor Union founded. ;1898 (United States) :Marlboro, Massachusetts, Shoe Workers' Strike began. Miner extracting ore from Bunker Hill mine

Miner extracting ore from Bunker Hill mine

;1899 (United States) :Miners in Idaho Coeur d'Alene, Idaho labor confrontation of 1899, dynamite a mill in retaliation for the Bunker Hill Mining Company firing 17 union members. ;1899 (United States) :Teamsters Union, Brotherhood of Teamsters founded. ;1899 (United States) :Buffalo, New York, Grain Shoveler's Strike occurred. ;1899 (United States) :Cleveland, Ohio, Street Railway Worker's Strike occurred. ;1899 (United States) :Newsboys Strike of 1899 occurred in New York City.

1900–1999

1900s

;1900 (United States) :International Ladies' Garment Workers Union founded. ;1900 (United States) : Anthracite Coal Strike occurred. ;1900 (United States) :Machinists' Strike occurred. ;1901 (United States) :Textile Workers Union of America, United Textile Workers founded. ;1901 (United States) :Machinists' Strike occurred. ;1901 (United States) :National Cash Register Strike occurred. ;1901 (United States) :San Francisco Restaurant Workers' Strike occurred. ;1901 (United States) :U.S. Steel Recognition Strike of 1901 occurred. Coal miners in Hazleton PA 1900

;15 May 1902 (United States) :Coal Strike of 1902 -- United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coal fields of eastern

struck in seven counties, from May through October. The strike caused a nationwide coal shortage. President of the United States, President Theodore Roosevelt imposed the first mediated agreement of its kind. ;1902 (United States) :Chicago Teamsters' Strike occurred. ;1903 (United States) :U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor created. ;1903 (United States) :Women's Trade Union League founded. ;1903 (United States) :Oxnard Strike of 1903, Oxnard, California, Sugar Beet Strike occurred. ;1903 (United States) :Carbon County Strike began. ;23 November 1903 (United States) :Colorado Labor Wars: Troops were dispatched to Cripple Creek, Colorado, Cripple Creek, Colorado to defeat a strike by the Western Federation of Miners, with the specific purpose of driving the union out of the district. The strike had begun in the ore mills earlier in 1903, and then spread to the mines. Mother Jones 02

;July 1903 (United States) :Labor organizer Mary Harris Jones, Mary Harris "Mother" Jones leads child workers in demanding a 55-hour work week. ;1904 (United States) :New York City Interborough Rapid Transit Strike. ;1904 (United States) :United Packinghouse Workers of America. ;1904 (United States) :Santa Fe Railroad Shopmen's Strike. ;8 June 1904 (United States) :A battle between the Colorado Militia and striking miners at Dunnville ended with six union members dead and 15 taken prisoner. Seventy-nine of the strikers were deported to Kansas two days later. ;1905 (United States) :Industrial Workers of the World founded in Chicago, Illinois. ;17 April 1905 (United States) :The Supreme Court held in Lochner v. New York that a maximum hours law for New York bakery workers was unconstitutional under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, 14th amendment. ;1906 (United States) :An eight-hour workday is widely adopted in the printing industry. ;1907 (United States) :Goldfield, Nevada#Labor relations during the boom years, Goldfield, Nevada, Miners' Strike began. 1908-WTUL-laborday

;1908 (United States) :The Federal Employers' Liability Act was passed. Also that year, the Adair v. United States, Erdman Act was further weakened by the Supreme Court when Section 10, related to use of "yellow dog" contracts, was declared unconstitutional (see 1898). ;1908 (United States) :U.S. Supreme Court rules in ''Danbury Hatters Case'' that a boycott launched by the United Hatters Union is a conspiracy in restraint of trade under the Sherman Antitrust Act. ;1908 (United States) :U.S. Supreme Court rules in ''Muller vs. Oregon'' that an Oregon law that limited the working hours for women was unconstitutional. ;1908 (United States) :Free speech fights#.22Free speech fights.22 and the IWW, IWW Free Speech Fight began in Missoula, Montana. ;1909 (United States) :National Association for the Advancement of Colored People founded. ;1909 (United States) :Free speech fights#.22Free speech fights.22 and the IWW, IWW Free Speech Fight began in Spokane, Washington. McKees-constables-1909

;1909 (United States) :Pressed Steel Car Strike of 1909, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, Steel Strike began. ;1909 (United States) :Watertown, Connecticut, Arsenal Strike occurred. Ladies tailors strikers

;22 November 1909 (United States) :The New York shirtwaist strike of 1909 (Uprising of the 20,000) began. Female garment workers went on strike in New York; many were arrested. A judge told those arrested: "You are on strike against God".

1910s

;1910 (United States) :Bethlehem Steel Strike occurred. ;1910 (United States) :Cloakmakers' Strike occurred. ;1910 (United States) :1910 Chicago Garment Workers' Strike, Chicago Clothing Workers' Strike occurred. ;1910 (United States) :The 1910 Accident Reports Act was passed and a 10-hour work day and standardization of rates of pay and working conditions were won by the Railway Brotherhoods. :Union membership topped 8 million workers in 1910. Photo-los-angeles-times-building-post-bombing

Photo-los-angeles-times-building-post-bombing

;1 October 1910 (United States) :The Los Angeles Times bombing killed twenty people and destroyed the building. Calling it "the crime of the century," the newspaper's owner Harrison Gray Otis (publisher), Harrison Gray Otis blamed the bombing on the unions, a charge denied by unionists. ;25 December 1910 (United States) :A dynamite bomb destroyed a portion of the Llewellyn Iron works in Los Angeles, where a strike was in progress. In April 1911 James McNamara and his brother John McNamara, secretary-treasurer of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers, were charged with the two crimes. James McNamara pleaded guilty to murder and John McNamara pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the dynamiting of the Llewellyn Iron Works. ;1911 (United States) :The Locomotive Inspection Act passed. Four years later, the Hours of Service Act passed. The Railroad Brotherhoods had won an eight-hour day. :The Supreme Court in ''Gompers v. Buck's Stove and Range Co.'' (221 U.S. 418) affirmed a lower court order for the AFL to stop interfering with Buck's Stove and Range Company's business or boycotting its products or distributors. :On 24 June 1912 in the second contempt trial, the defendants (Samuel Gompers, John Mitchell, and Frank Morrison (labor unionist), Frank Morrison) were again found guilty and sentenced to prison. The Supreme Court overturned the convictions because the new proceedings had not been instituted within the three-year statute of limitations (233 U.S. 604 1914).The Samuel Gompers Papers
/ref> ;1911 (United States) :Illinois Central and Harriman Line Rail Strike occurred. ;1911 (United States) :Southern Lumber Operators' Lockout began. ;1911 (Wales) : Two men are shot dead by police during the Llanelli railway strike of August 1911, leading to rioting. Image of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire on March 25 - 1911

Image of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire on March 25 - 1911

;25 March 1911 (United States) :Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire -- The Triangle Shirtwaist Company, occupying the top three floors of a ten-story building in New York City, was consumed by fire. One hundred and forty-six people, mostly women and young girls working in sweatshop conditions, died. ;1912 (United States) :Massachusetts passes the first minimum wage law for women and minors. ;1912 (United States) :Chicago newspaper strike occurred. ;1912 (United States) :Fur Workers' Strike occurred. ;1912 (United States) :Free speech fights, IWW Free Speech Fight occurred in San Diego, California. ;1912 (United States) :New York City Hotel Strike occurred. 1912 Lawrence Textile Strike 3

;January–March 1912 (United States) :Lawrence Textile Strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, often known as the "Bread and Roses" Strike. Dozens of different immigrant communities united under the leadership of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in a largely successful strike led to a large extent by women. The strike is credited with inventing the moving picket line, a tactic devised to keep strikers from being arrested for loitering. :It also adopted a tactic used before in Europe, but never in the United States, of sending children to sympathizers in other cities when they could not be cared for by strike funds. On 24 February, women attempting to put their children on a train out of town were beaten by police, shocking the nation. ;18 April 1912 (United States) :The National Guard was called out against striking West Virginia coal miners at the Paint Creek and Cabin Creek, West Virginia mines. ;7 July 1912 (United States) :Striking members of the Brotherhood of Timber Workers and supporters are involved in an armed confrontation with the Galloway Lumber Company and supporters in the Grabow Riot, resulting in four deaths and 40 to 50 wounded. ;1913 (United States) :U.S. Department of Labor established. ;1913 (United States) :Machinists Strike and Boycott ;1913 (United States) :Michigan Copper Strike ;1913 (United States) :Paterson, New Jersey, Textile Strike ;1913 (United States) :Rubber Workers' Strike ;1913 (United States) :Studebaker Motors Auto Workers' Strike ;1913 (United States) :Wheatland Hop Riot, Wheatland, California, Hop Riot ;11 June 1913 (United States) : Police shot into a crowd of maritime workers (two of whom was killed) who were United Fruit Company strike of 1913, striking against the United Fruit Company in New Orleans. IWW demonstration NY 1914

;1914 (United States) :According to a report by the Commission on Industrial Relations, approximately 35,000 workers were killed in industrial accidents and 700,000 workers were injured in the U.S. ;1914 (United States) :U.S. Congress passes the Clayton Antitrust Act limiting the use of injunctions in labor disputes. ;1914 (United States) :Amalgamated Clothing Workers founded. ;1914 (United States) :1914–1915 Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills strike, Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill Strike occurred. ;5 January 1914 (United States) :The Ford Motor Company raised its basic wage from $2.40 for a nine-hour day to $5 for an

;14 January 1914 (United States) :Labor leader Joe Hill (activist), Joe Hill was arrested in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was convicted on murder charges, and was executed 21 months later despite worldwide protests and two attempts to intervene by President Woodrow Wilson. In a letter to Bill Haywood shortly before his death he penned the famous words, "Don't mourn - organize!" ;20 April 1914 (United States) :The "Ludlow Massacre." In an attempt to persuade strikers at Colorado's Ludlow Mine Field to return to work, company "guards," engaged by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and other mine operators and sworn into the State Militia just for the occasion, attacked a union tent camp with machine guns, then set it afire. Five men, two women and 12 children died as a result. ;20 May 1914 (United States) :1914–1915 Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills strike begins in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. ;13 November 1914 (United States) :A Western Federation of Miners strike is crushed by the militia in Butte, Montana, Butte, Montana. ;1915 (United States) :

passed the La Follette Seamen's Act regulating working conditions for seamen. ;1915 (United States) :Bayonne refinery strikes of 1915–1916 against Standard Oil began. ;1915 (United States) :Youngstown, Ohio, Steel Strike occurred. ;19 January 1915 (United States) :Twenty rioting strikers were shot by factory guards at Roosevelt, New Jersey, Roosevelt, New Jersey. ;25 January 1915 (United States) :The Supreme Court upholds "yellow dog" contracts, which forbid membership in labor unions. ;1916 (United States) :

passed the Federal Child Labor Law, which was later ruled unconstitutional. ;1916 (United States) :

passed the Adamson Act, which established an eight-hour workday for railroad workers. ;1916 (United States) :American Federation of Teachers founded. ;1916 (United States) :Arizona Copper Strike ;1916 (United States) :Minnesota Iron Range Strike ;1916 (United States) :New York City Transit Strike ;1916 (United States) :New York Cloakmakers' Strike ;1916 (United States) :San Francisco Open Shop Campaign began. ;1916 (United States) :Bayonne refinery strikes of 1915–1916 against Standard Oil continued. WP Thomas Mooney

;22 July 1916 (United States) :A bomb was set off during a "Preparedness Day" parade in San Francisco, killing 10 and injuring 40 more. Thomas Mooney, Thomas J. Mooney, a labor organizer and Warren K. Billings, a shoe worker, were convicted, but were both pardoned in 1939. ;19 August 1916 (United States) :Strikebreakers hired by the Everett Mills owner Neil Jamison attacked and beat picketing strikers in Everett, Washington. Local police watched and refused to intervene. :Three days later, twenty-two union men attempted to speak out at a local crossroads, but each was arrested; arrests and beatings of strikebreakers became common throughout the following months, and on 30 October vigilantes forced IWW speakers to run the gauntlet, subjecting them to whipping, tripping kicking, and impalement against a spiked cattle guard at the end of the gauntlet. In response, the Industrial Workers of the World, IWW called for a meeting on 5 November. When the union men arrived, they were fired on; seven people were killed, 50 were wounded, and an indeterminate number wound up missing. ;7 September 1916 (United States) :Federal employees win the right to receive Workers' compensation, Worker's Compensation insurance. Everett massacre newspaper headline

;5 November 1916 (United States) :Everett massacre, The Everett Massacre (also known as Bloody Sunday) was an armed confrontation between local authorities and members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union, commonly called "Wobblies", which took place in Everett, Washington on Sunday, 5 November 1916. The tragic event marked a time of rising tensions in Pacific Northwest labor history. ;1917 (United States) :In "Hitchman Coal and Coke vs. Mitchell", U.S. Supreme Court upholds the legality of yellow-dog contracts. ;1917 (United States) :Green Corn Rebellion occurred. ;1917 (United States) :Thomas Mooney sentenced to death for his participation in the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916. ;1917 (United States) :East St. Louis Riot, East St. Louis Race Riot occurred. ;15 March 1917 (United States) :The Supreme Court approved the Eight hour day, Eight-Hour Act under the threat of a national railway strike. Bisbee deportation guns

;12 July 1917 (United States) :The Bisbee Deportation: After seizing the local Western Union telegraph office in order to cut off outside communication, several thousand armed vigilantes forced 1,185 men in Bisbee, Arizona into manure-laden boxcars and "deported" them to the New Mexico desert. The action was precipitated by a strike when workers' demands (including improvements to safety and working conditions at the local copper mines, an end to discrimination against labor organizations and unequal treatment of foreign and minority workers, and the institution of a living wage, fair wage system) went unmet. The "deportation" was organized by Sheriff Harry Wheeler. The incident was investigated months later by a Federal Mediation Commission set up by President Woodrow Wilson; the Commission found that no federal law applied, and referred the case to the State of Arizona, which failed to take any action, citing patriotism and support for the war as justification for the vigilantes' action. ;1 August 1917 (United States) :Industrial Workers of the World, IWW organizer Frank Little (U.S. Trade Unionist), Frank Little was lynched in Butte, Montana, Butte, Montana. ;5 September 1917 (United States) :Federal agents raid the IWW headquarters in 48 cities. ;1918 (United States) :National War Labor Board (1918–1919), War Labor Board created. :War Labor Policies Board (1918-1919) created ;3 June 1918 (United States) :A Child labor laws in the United States, Federal child labor law, enacted two years earlier, was declared unconstitutional. A new law was enacted 24 February 1919, but this one too was declared unconstitutional (on 2 June 1924). ;27 July 1918 (Canada) :United Mine Workers organizer Ginger Goodwin was shot by a hired private policeman outside Cumberland, British Columbia. ;15 November 1918(Germany) :Stinnes-Legien Agreement between trade unions and employers. ;1919 (United States) :Fall River, Massachusetts, Textile Strike occurred. ;1919 (EUROPE) :International Federation of Trade Unions is founded. ;1919 (United States) :Communist Party of America founded. 1919-LaborParty-Convention

;1919 (United States) :Farmer-Labor Party founded. ;1919 (United States) :Red Scare began. ;1919 (United States) :Actors Strike occurred. Chicago Race Riot 1919

;1919 (United States) :Chicago Race Riot occurred. ;1919 (United States) :New England Telephone Strike occurred.

;1919 (United States) :Seattle General Strike occurred. ;1919 (International) :The International Labour Organization (ILO), now a specialized agency of the United Nations, was formed through the negotiations of the Treaty of Versailles, and was initially an agency of the League of Nations. ; 25 August 1919 Charlotte North Carolina The Battle of the Barn James B. Duke and Southern Company break strike by local streetcar motormen and conductors by calling in troops. Five dead. Youngest 17 years old. Nearly two dozen wounded. ;26 August 1919 (United States) :United Mine Worker organizer Fannie Sellins was gunned down by company guards in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania, Brackenridge,

. ;19 September 1919 (United States) :Looting, rioting and sporadic violence broke out in downtown Boston and South Boston for days after 1,117 Boston policemen declared a work stoppage due to their thwarted attempts to affiliate with the American Federation of Labor. Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge put down the strike by calling out the entire state militia. Coming out of the smoke

;22 September 1919 – 8 January 1920 (United States) :The "Steel strike of 1919, Great Steel Strike" began. Ultimately, 350,000 steel workers walked off their jobs to demand union recognition. The AFL Iron and Steel Organizing Committee called off the strike on 8 January 1920, their goals unmet. ;11 November 1919 (United States) :Centralia Massacre (Washington), Centralia Massacre -- IWW organizer Wesley Everest was lynched after a Centralia, Washington IWW hall was attacked by Legionnaires. ;22 December 1919 (United States) :Amid a strike for union recognition by 395,000 steelworkers (ultimately unsuccessful), approximately 250 "anarchists," "communists," and "labor agitators" were deported to Russia, marking the beginning of the so-called "Red Scare."

1920s

;1920 (International) :The ICFTU is founded, later to become the World Confederation of Labour. ;1920 (United States) :Trade Union Educational League founded. ;1920 (United States) :1920 Alabama coal strike, Alabama Miners' Strike occurred. ;1920 (United States) :Clothing Workers' Lockout occurred. ;2 January 1920 (United States) :The U.S. Bureau of Investigation began carrying out the nationwide Palmer Raids.

;19 May 1920 (United States) :The Battle of Matewan. Despite efforts by police chief (and former miner) Sid Hatfield and Mayor Cabel Testerman to protect miners from interference in their union drive in Matewan, West Virginia, Baldwin-Felts, Baldwin-Felts detectives hired by the local mining company arrived to evict miners and their families from the Stone Mountain Mine camp. A gun battle ensued, resulting in the deaths of 7 detectives, Mayor Testerman, and 2 miners. The movie Matewan is based on the event. :Baldwin-Felts, Baldwin-Felts detectives assassinated Sid Hatfield 15 months later, sparking off an armed rebellion of 10,000 West Virginia coal miners at the "Battle of Blair Mountain," dubbed the "redneck war" and "the largest insurrection this country has had since the Civil War." Army troops later intervened against the striking mineworkers in West Virginia. ;1921 (United States) :U.S. Supreme Court rules in ''Duplex Printing Press vs. Deering'' that federal courts could enjoin unions for actions in restraint of trade despite the Clayton Act. ;1921 (United States) :Seamen's Strike occurred. ;1921 (United States) :West Virginia Coal Wars continued. Jlewis-cph3c20320

;1922 (United States) :Conference for Progressive Political Action founded. ;1922 (United States) : Anthracite Coal Strike occurred. ;1922 (United States) :Bituminous Coal Strike of 1922 began. ;22 June 1922 (United States) :Herrin massacre: Thirty-six people are killed, 21 of them non-union miners, during a coal-mine strike at Herrin, Illinois. ;July 1922 (United States) :Great Railroad Strike of 1922. ;15 November 1922 (Ecuador) :A three-day 1922 Guayaquil general strike, general strike in Guayaquil ends after police and military kill at least 300 strikers. ;1 September 1922 (United States) :Federal judge James Herbert Wilkerson issues a sweeping injunction against striking, assembling, picketing, and a variety of other union activities, known as the "Harry M. Daugherty, Daugherty Injunction." ;14 June 1923 (United States) :1923 San Pedro Maritime Strike, San Pedro Maritime strike, California Industrial Workers of the World, IWW hall was raided. Several children were scalded when the hall was demolished. Samuel Gompers Gravesite

;1924 (United States) :

died. William Green (labor leader), William Green elected to succeed him as president of the

. ;2 June 1924 (United States) :Child Labor Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was proposed. Only 28 of the necessary 36 states ever ratified it. ;9 September 1924 (United States) :16 Filipinos in Hawaii#Early to Mid 20th century, Filipino strikers killed during the Hanapepe massacre. ;1925 (United States) :Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters founded. ;1925 (United States) : Anthracite Coal Strike occurred. ;1 May 1925 (China) :The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) was officially founded. With 134 million members it is the largest trade union in the world. However many, such as the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, maintain the position that the ACFTU is not an independent trade union organization. ReserveColliery DominioncoalCompanyCa1900

ReserveColliery DominioncoalCompanyCa1900

;11 June 1925 (Canada) :1 coal miner was killed and many injured during a protest as a result of a major strike at the British Empire Steel and Coal Company (BESCO) in New Waterford, Nova Scotia. Davis Day was established in the memory of William Davis (miner), Bill Davis, the miner who was murdered by company police. The labor dispute resulted in the deployment of 2,000 soldiers during the largest peacetime deployment of the Canadian Army for an internal conflict since the North-West Rebellion of 1885. ;1926 (United States) : The Railway Labor Act passed. It required employers, for the first time and under penalty of law, to bargain collectively and not to discriminate against their employees for joining a union. It provided also for mediation, voluntary arbitration, fact-finding boards, cooling off periods and adjustment boards. :Textile workers fought with police in Passaic, New Jersey. A 1926 Passaic Textile Strike, year-long strike ensued. ;1926 (United States) :1926 Passaic Textile Strike, Passaic, New Jersey, Textile Strike occurred. Save Sacco and Vanzetti

;1927 (United States) :Sacco and Vanzetti, Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed. ;21 November 1927 (United States) :Picketing coal miners marching under the banner of the Industrial Workers of the World were massacred in the Columbine Mine massacre in the company town of Serene, Colorado. ;1928 (United States) :New Bedford, Massachusetts, Textile Strike occurred. ;1 April 1929 Loray Mill Strike in Gastonia, North Carolina (United States) :Violent and relatively unsuccessful Loray Mill Strike during which the National Guard was called, and 100+ masked men destroyed the National Textile Workers Union (NTWU) building. Crushing Southern textile worker's collective bargaining efforts made a furor in US national news, giving momentum and urgency to the more successful labor movement of the 1930s ;1929 (United States) :Trade Union Unity League founded. Labor-Age-cartoon-Jan1930

;1929 (United States) :Conference for Progressive Labor Action founded. ;1929 (United States) :Gastonia, North Carolina, Textile Strike occurred. ;1929 (Australia) :The 1929 Timber Workers strike was the first large strike after the onset of the Great Depression in Australia arising from a new timber industry award that increased the working week from 44 to 48 hours and reduced wages. A fifteen month lockout during 1929-1930 of miners on the Northern New South Wales Coalfields was particularly bitter with police shooting at miners, killing Norman Brown and seriously injuring many more at the Rothbury Riot.

1930s

;1930 (United States) :National Unemployed Council founded. ;3 February 1930 (United States) :"Chicagorillas" -- labor racketeers -- shot and killed contractor William Healy, with whom the Chicago Marble Setters Union had been having difficulties. ;14 April 1930 (United States) :Imperial Valley Farmworkers' Strike occurred. Over 100 farm workers were arrested for their unionizing activities in Imperial Valley, Imperial Valley, California. Eight were subsequently convicted of "California Criminal Syndicalism Act, criminal syndicalism." ;1931 (United States) :

passes the Davis–Bacon Act. ;1931 (United States) :Scottsboro Boys arrested in Alabama. ;4 May 1931 (United States) :Harlan County War, Harlan County Miners' Strike began in Harlan County, Kentucky when gun-toting vigilantes attacked striking miners. ;14 May 1931 (Sweden) :Five persons were killed by bullets fired by Swedish military troops called in as reinforcements by the police during a protest later known as Ådalen shootings. NorrisLaGuardia

;1932 (United States) :

passed the Norris–La Guardia Act outlawing yellow-dog contracts and prohibiting federal injunctions in labor disputes. ;1932 (United States) :World War I veterans march on Washington, D.C. in the Bonus March. ;1932 (United States) :American Federation of Government Employees founded. ;1932 (United States) :California Pea Pickers' Strike occurred. ;1932 (United States) :Century Airlines Pilots' Strike occurred. ;1932 (United States) :Davidson-Wilder, Tennessee Coal Strike occurred. ;1932 (United States) :Ford Hunger March occurred in Detroit, Michigan. ;1932 (United States) :Vacaville, California, Tree Pruners' Strike occurred. ;7 March 1932 (United States) :Police kill striking workers at Ford's Dearborn, Michigan plant. US Natl Industrial Recovery Act

;2 May 1933 (Germany) :The ADGB Trade Union School (Bundesschule des Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, Allgemeiner Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund (ADGB)), was confiscated by the Nazism, Nazis. Until the end of World War II the site was used by the Reich Leadership School. ;1933 (United States) :National Industrial Recovery Act passed by the U.S. Congress. The Act guaranteed the rights of employees to organize and enter into collective bargaining. ;1933 (United States) :Newspaper Guild founded. ;1933 (United States) :Briggs Manufacturing Company, Briggs Manufacturing Strike occurred. ;1933 (United States) :Detroit, Michigan, Tool and Die Strike occurred. ;1933 (United States) :Hormel, Iowa, Meat-Packing Strike occurred. ;1933 (United States) :New Mexico Miners' Strike occurred. ;10 October 1933 (United States) :18,000 cotton workers went on strike in Pixley, California. Four were killed before a pay-hike was finally won. ;1934 (United States) :Southern Tenant Farmers Union founded. ;1934 (United States) :Harlem, New York, Jobs-for-Negroes Boycott occurred. ;1934 (United States) :Imperial Valley Farmworkers' Strike occurred. ;1934 (United States) :The Electric Auto-Lite Strike. In Toledo, Ohio, two strikers were killed and over two hundred wounded by National Guardsmen. Some 1,300 National Guard troops, including included eight rifle companies and three machine gun companies, were called in to disperse as many as 10,000 strikers and protestors. ;1934 (United States) :''Newark Star-Ledger'' Strike occurred. ;1934 (United States) :Rubber Workers' Strike occurred. ;1934 (United States) :Honea Path massacre occurred with 6 striking textile worker shot in the back running from a picket line. This event is featured in the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) documentary on the ''POV'' series called "The Uprising of '34". An historical photo essay entitled "Mill Town Murder" is online a
''Beacham Journal''
. ;1934 (United States) :Textile workers strike (1934), Textile Workers' Strike occurred. Battle strike 1934

;May 1934 (United States) :Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934 occurred. Police attacked and fired upon striking Teamster truck drivers in Minneapolis who were demanding recognition of their union, wage increases, and shorter working hours. As violence escalated, Governor Olson went so far as to declare martial law in Minneapolis, deploying 4,000 National Guardsmen. The strike ended on 21 August when company owners finally accepted union demands. ;5 July 1934 (United States) :1934 San Francisco General Strike Bloody Thursday - West Coast & San Francisco General Strike. ;1–22 September 1934 (United States) :A strike in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, part of a national movement to obtain a minimum wage for textile workers, resulted in the deaths of three workers. Over 420,000 workers ultimately went on strike. ;1935 (United States) :U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the National Industrial Recovery Act was unconstitutional.

;1935 (United States) :The National Labor Relations Act, also known as the Wagner Act, was passed. It clearly established the right of all workers to organize and to elect their representative for collective bargaining purposes. ;1935 (United States) :Negro Labor Committee founded. ;1935 (United States) :United Auto Workers founded. ;1935 (United States) :Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri Metal Workers' Strike occurred. ;1935 (United States) :Pacific Northwest Lumber Strike occurred. ;1935 (United States) :Southern Sharecroppers' and Farm Laborers' Strike occurred. ;9 November 1935 (United States) :The Committee for Industrial Organizations (CIO) was formed to expand industrial unionism. ;1936 (United States) :Steel Workers Organizing Committee, one of two labor organizations that eventually merged to form the United Steelworkers, founded. ;1936 (United States) :Atlanta Auto Workers' Sit-down Strike occurred. ;1936 (United States) :Berkshire Knitting Mills Strike occurred. ;1936 (United States) :General Motors Sit-Down Strike occurred. ;1936 (United States) :RCA Strike occurred. ;1936 (United States) :Rubber Workers' Sit-down Strike occurred. ;1936 (United States) :Seamen's Strike occurred. ;1936 (United States) :''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' Newspaper Strike occurred. ;1937 (United States) :U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the National Labor Relations Act is constitutional. ;1937 (United States) :

ejected the unions that would later form the Congress of Industrial Organizations, Committee of Industrial Organizations. ;1937 (United States) :American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Union founded. ;1937 (United States) :Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chocolate Workers' Strike founded. ;1937 (United States) :Little Steel Strike occurred. Flint Sit-Down Strike window

;11 February 1937 (United States) :General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers union following a Flint Sit-Down Strike, sit-down strike in Flint, Michigan, that began in December 1936. :Two months later, company guards beat up United Auto Workers leaders at the River Rouge Plant, in River Rouge, Michigan. ;30 May 1937 (United States) :Police kill 10 and wounded 30 during the Memorial Day massacre of 1937, Memorial Day Massacre at the Republic Steel plant in Chicago. ;1938 (United States) :Congress of Industrial Organizations founded. ;1938 (United States) :Chicago Newspaper Strike occurred. ;1938 (United States) :Hilo, Hawaii, Massacre occurred. ;1938 (United States) :Maytag Strike occurred. ;25 June 1938 (United States) :The Fair Labor Standards Act, Wages and Hours (later Fair Labor Standards) Act is passed, banning child labor and setting the 40-hour work week. The Act went into effect in October 1940, and was upheld in the Supreme Court on 3 February 1941. ;1939 (United States) :Chrysler Auto Strike occurred. Flint Sit-Down Strike window

;1939 (United States) :General Motors Tool and Die Makers' Strike occurred. ;27 February 1939 (United States) :The Supreme Court rules that sit-down strikes are illegal.

1940s

;1940 (United States) :Philip Murray elected president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations replacing John L. Lewis. ;1940 (United States) :Ford Motor Strike occurred. ;1941 (United States) :Allis-Chalmers Strike occurred. ;1941 (United States) :Captive Coal Mines Strike occurred. ;1941 (United States) :Detroit, Michigan Hate Strike against African Americans occurred. ;1941 (United States) :International Harvester Strike occurred. ;1941 (United States) :New York City Bus Strike occurred. ;1941 (United States) :North American Aviation Strike occurred. ;20 June 1941 (United States) :Henry Ford recognizes the UAW. ;15 December 1941 (United States) :The AFL pledges that there will be no strikes in defense-related industry plants for the duration of the war. ;1942 (United States) :National War Labor Board (1942–1945), National War Labor Board was established; the NWLB established formula for wartime wage adjustments. Western Union A Labor Day Telegram To All Goodyearites - NARA - 533875

Western Union A Labor Day Telegram To All Goodyearites - NARA - 533875

;1942 (United States) :United Steel Workers of America founded. Kennedy tetlow lewis

;1943 (United States) :Fair Employment Practices Commission founded. ;1943 (United States) :Smith-Connolly Act passed by

. Act restricts the extent of political activities and strikes by unions during the duration of the war. ;1943 (United States) :Bituminous Coal Strike occurred. ;1943 (United States) :Detroit, Michigan Hate Strike against African Americans occurred. ;1943 (United States) :Detroit Race Riot (1943), Detroit Race Riots against African Americans occurred. ;1944 (United States) :Philadelphia transit strike of 1944, Philadelphia Transit Strike occurred. ;28 December 1944 (United States) :President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the Army to seize the executive offices of Montgomery Ward, Montgomery Ward and Company after the corporation failed to comply with a National War Labor Board (1942–1945), National War Labor Board directive regarding union shops. ;1945 (International) :International Federation of Trade Unions becomes the World Federation of Trade Unions ;1945 (United States) :Kelsey-Hayes Strike occurred. ;1945 (United States) :New York City Longshoremen's Strike occurred. ;1945 (United States) :Montgomery Ward Strike occurred. ;1945 (United States) :Oil Workers' Strike occurred. ;1946 (United States) :Workers in packinghouses nation-wide went on strike. ;1946 (United States) :Bituminous Coal Strike of 1946 occurred. ;1946 (United States) :Electrical Manufacturing Strike occurred. ;1946 (United States) :General Motors Strike occurred. ;1946 (United States) :Pittsburgh Power Strike occurred. ;1946 (United States) :Railroad Strike occurred. ;1946 (United States) :Steel Strike of 1946 occurred. ;1 April 1946 (United States) :A strike by 400,000 mine workers in the U.S. began. U.S. troops seized railroads and coal mines the following month. ;4 October 1946 (United States) :The U.S. Navy seized oil refineries in order to break a 20-state post-war strike. ;1947 (United States) :Taft–Hartley Act passed by U.S. Congress. The Act restricted union practices and permitted states to ban union security agreements. ;1947 (United States) :R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Strike occurred. ;1947 (United States) :Telephone Strike occurred. ;20 June 1947 (United States) :The Taft–Hartley Act, curbing strikes, was vetoed by President Truman. Congress overrode the veto. ;1948 (United States) :Progressive Party (United States, 1948), Progressive Party founded. ;20 April 1948 (United States) :Labor leader Walter Reuther was shot and seriously wounded by would-be assassins. ;1949 (International) :International Confederation of Free Trade Unions splits from the World Federation of Trade Unions ;1949 (United States) :Congress of Industrial Organizations expelled two unions for alleged communist influence. ;1949 (United States) :Hawaii Dock Strike occurred.

1950s

;1950 (United States) :Congress of Industrial Organizations expelled nine unions for alleged communist influence. ;1950 (United States) :United Auto Workers and General Motors reached agreement on a contract that provided pensions and wage increases over the duration of the signed contract. ;1950 (United States) :Western Federation of Miners#Salt of the Earth, ''Salt of the Earth'' Strike of New Mexico began. ;1950 (International) :The Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948, one of the two primary labor conventions of the International Labour Organization, ILO, came into force on 4 July. ;27 August 1950 (United States) :President Truman ordered the U.S. Army to seize all the nation's railroads to prevent a general strike. The railroads were not returned to their owners until two years later. ;1951 (International) :The Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949, one of the two primary labor conventions of the International Labour Organization, ILO, came into force on 18 July. ;1952 (United States) :George Meany is elected president of the

. ;1952 (United States) :Walter Reuther is elected president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. ;1952 (United States) :Steel Strike occurred. ;8 April 1952 (United States) :President Truman ordered the U.S. Army to seize the nation's steel mills to avert a strike. The act was ruled to be illegal by the Supreme Court on 2 June. ;1953 (United States) :

and the Congress of Industrial Organizations reached an agreement to not raid from each other's membership. ;1953 (United States) :

expelled the International Longshoremen's Union on grounds of corruption. ;1953 (United States) :Louisiana Sugar Cane Workers' Strike occurred. ;1954 (United States) :Kohler Strike occurred. ;1955 (United States) :United Auto Workers successfully negotiate with Ford Motor Company for supplementary unemployment benefits. ;1955 (United States) :Southern Telephone Strike occurred. ;April 1955 (United States) :Textile workers strike of 1955, in both New Bedford, Massachusetts, New Bedford and Fall River, Massachusetts, Fall River,

. Strike over a nickel raise was led and negotiated by Union President Manuel "Manny" Fernandes Jr., who resolved the strike and got the workers a nickel raise. ;5 December 1955 (United States) :The two largest labor organizations in the U.S. merged to form the AFL–CIO, with a membership estimated at 15 million. George Meany served as the first president of the combined organization. ;1956 (United States) :East Coast Longshoremen's Strike occurred. ;1956 (United States) :Steel Strike of 1956 occurred. ;April 1956 (Canada) :The largest Canadian trade union center, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), was formed. ;5 April 1956 (United States) :Columnist Victor Riesel, a crusader against labor racketeers, was blinded in New York City when a hired assailant threw sulfuric acid in his face. ;1957 (United States) :AFL–CIO, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations expelled International Brotherhood of Teamsters#The influence of organized crime, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Bakery Workers, and Laundry Workers on the grounds of corruption. ;1959 (United States) :

passed the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. ;1959 (United States) :Steel strike of 1959 occurred. ;14 September 1959 (United States) :The Landrum–Griffin Act passes, restricting union activity. ;7 November 1959 (United States) :The Taft–Hartley Act is invoked by the Supreme Court to break a steel strike.

1960s

;1960 (United States) :Negro American Labor Council founded. ;1960 (United States) :General Electric Strike occurred. ;1960 (United States) :Seamen's Strike occurred. ;1962 (United States) :President John F Kennedy issues Executive Order 10988 establishing limited collective bargaining rights for federal employees and widely regarded as the impetus for the expansion of public sector bargaining rights at state and local levels in the years to come. ;1962 (United States) :1962 New York City newspaper strike began. ;1962 (United States) :East Coast Longshoremen's Strike began. ;1 April 1963 (United States) :The 1962 New York City newspaper strike, longest newspaper strike in U.S. history ended. The 9 major newspapers in New York City had ceased publication over 114 days before. ;10 June 1963 (United States) :Congress passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Equal Pay Act mandating equal pay to women. ;1965 (United States) :United Farm Workers Organizing Committee founded. ;1965 (United States) :Delano grape strike, California Grape Workers' Strike occurred. ;1966 (United States) :New York Transportation Strike occurred. ;27 August–2 September 1966 (Canada) :Nationwide rail transportation strike occurred. ;1967 (United States) :Copper Strike started. ;1968 (United States) :Members of four railroad unions voted overwhelmingly for the largest union merger ever in the railroad industry. The merger created a powerful new union called the United Transportation Union (UTU). ;1968 (United States) :New York City teachers' strike of 1968, New York City Teachers' Strike occurred. ;May 1968 in France, May 1968 (France) :What began as a student protest developed into a nationwide general strike. ;1968 (International) :The ICFTU becomes the World Confederation of Labour ;1969 (United States) :1969 Charleston hospital strike#Charleston hospital strike, Charleston, South Carolina, Hospital Workers' Strike occurred.

1970s

;1970 (United States) :

enacted Occupational Safety and Health Act. ;1970 (United States) :General Motors Strike occurred. ;1970 (United States) :Postal Workers Strike occurred. ;5 January 1970 (United States) :Joseph Yablonski, unsuccessful reform candidate to unseat W. A. Boyle as President of the United Mine Workers, was murdered, along with his wife and daughter, in their Clarksville, Pennsylvania home by assassins acting on Boyle's orders. Boyle was later convicted of the killing. :West Virginia miners went on strike the following day in protest. ;18 March 1970 (United States) :The first mass work stoppage in the 195-year history of the United States Post Office Department began with a walkout of letter carriers in Brooklyn and Manhattan, soon involving 210,000 of the nation's 750,000 postal employees. With mail service virtually paralyzed in New York, Detroit, and Philadelphia, President Nixon declared a state of national emergency and assigned military units to New York City post offices. The stand-off culminated two weeks later. Cesar chavez crop2

;29 July 1970 (United States) :United Farm Workers forced California grape growers to sign an agreement after a five-year strike. ; 1971 (United Kingdom) :1971 United Kingdom postal workers strike, United Kingdom postal workers strike from 20 January to 7 March 1971. ;1971 (United States) :New York City Police Strike occurred. :ILWU ILWU 1971 strike, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Strike From July 1, 1971 to February 20, 1972 ;1972 (United States) :Farah Clothing Workers' Strike and Boycott occurred. ;1972 (United States) :Lordstown, Ohio, Auto Workers' Strike occurred. ;1972 (United States) :Philadelphia Teachers Strike started. ;1974 (United States) :Coalition of Labor Union Women formed. ;1974 (United States) :Employment Retirement Income Security Act passed by

. ;1974 (United States) :Baltimore Police Strike occurred. ;1975 (United States) :

voted down union-sponsored bill to reform the basic United States labor laws. The Washington Star Building (2893479361)

;1 October 1975 (United States) :Washington Post Pressmen's Strike occurred. ;1976 (United States) :

voted down union-sponsored bill to make it easier for construction unions to organize. ;1977 (United States) :Bituminous Coal Strike of 1977–1978 started. ;1977 (United States) :Coors Brewing Company#Labor issues, Coors Beer Strike and Boycott started. ;1977 (United States) :J.P. Stevens Boycott began. ;1977 (United States) :Willmar, Minnesota, Bank Workers' Strike began. ;1978 (United States) :Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Newspaper Strike began. ;1978 (United States) :1978 New York City newspaper strike, New York City newspaper strike, lasted 88 days. Lkirkland

;1979 (United States) :Lane Kirkland elected president of the AFL–CIO. ;1979 (United States) :Independent Trucker Strike occurred. ;1979 (United States) :The fil
''Norma Rae''
based on a real life character trying to unionize a textile mill, is released. It wins an Academy Award for best actress.

1980s

;September 1980 (Poland) :The trade union Solidarity (Polish trade union), Solidarity (''Solidarność'') is established at the Gdańsk Shipyard, and originally led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Wałęsa. Within the year the government implements Martial law in Poland, martial law in an attempt to quell nationwide civil unrest and protest. ;1980 (United States) :Joyce Miller joined the AFL–CIO executive board as the first female board member. Reagan speaks on air traffic controllers strike 1981

Reagan speaks on air traffic controllers strike 1981

;3 August 1981 (United States) :Federal air traffic controllers began a Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)#August 1981 strike, nationwide strike after their union rejected the government's final offer for a new contract. Most of the 13,000 striking controllers defied the back-to-work order, and were dismissed by President Reagan on 5 August. Reagan ordered them to leave. :Largest labor rally in United States history broke out in protest of Reagan's order. ;1982 (United States) :Baseball Players' Strike occurred. ;October 1982 (United States) :A boycott was initiated by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Association of Machinists (IAM) against Brown & Sharpe. The National Labor Relations Board later charged Brown & Sharpe with regressive bargaining, and of entering into negotiations with the express purpose of not reaching an agreement with the union. ''(See International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, IAM for more details.)''. ;1983 (United States) :Phelps-Dodge Copper Strike commenced. ;1984 (United States) :Yale University Clerical Workers' Strike began. ;1985 (United States) :Hormel Meatpackers' Strike occurred but ultimately failed. ;1985 (United States) :Los Angeles County Sanitation Strike occurred. ;1985 (United States) :Yale University Clerical Workers' Strike ended. ;1985 (Vatican City) :The Association of Vatican Lay Workers was formed, but was not recognized by the Vatican authorities until 1993. It is the sole trade union in Vatican City and represents the majority of the 3000 employees who work in the city state. ;1986 (United States) :Trans World Airlines Flight Attendants' Strike occurred. ;1986 (United States) :Steel strike of 1986, USX (United States Steel) Lockout occurred. ;6 October 1986 (United States) :Female flight attendants won an 18-year lawsuit against United Airlines, which had fired them for getting married. The lawsuit was resolved when a U.S. district court approved the reinstatement of 475 attendants and $37 million back-pay settlement for 1,725 flight attendants. (United Airlines, Inc. v. McDonald, 432 U.S. 385 (1977)) ;1987 (United States) :Paperworkers' Strike and Lockout began. ;1987 (United States) :Professional Football Players' Strike occurred. ;1988 (United Kingdom) :1988 United Kingdom postal workers strike, United Kingdom postal workers strike from 31 August to 13 September 1988. ;1989 (United States) :Eastern Airlines Workers' Strike occurred. ;1989 (United States) :Pittston Coal strike, Pittston Coal Company Mine Workers' Strike occurred. ;4 April 1989 (Poland) :Round table negotiations between Solidarity (Polish trade union), Solidarity and the then-Communist government result in semi-free parliamentary elections in Poland, a pivotal moment in revolutions of 1989, fall of the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe. Solidarity (Polish trade union), Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa is elected President in August of that year.

2000–present

2000s

;14 January 2003 (United States) :20,000 employees at 48 plants in 33 states struck against General Electric, the first strike against GE in 33 years, over a plan to shift more health care costs to employees and retirees. ;2006 (International) :The World Confederation of Labour merges with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and eight other trade union affiliations to found the International Trade Union Confederation.

2010s

2012 (United States) : Coke workers of the Fossil Creek Facility (in Fort Worth) vote 215 to 191 to not be represented by The International Brotherhood of Teamsters. 2019 (United States) :2019 General Motors strike, 2019 General Motors Strike occurred. 48,000 United Auto Workers representing Detroit GM factory employees went on strike from 15 September to 25 October to demand healthcare coverage, higher wages, increased job security, and gateway for temporary workers to become permanent.

2020s

2021 (United States) : Starbucks workers voted to unionize three stores in Buffalo, New York, two of which are now recognized by the NLRB as Starbucks Workers United. : Chris Smalls founded the Amazon Labor Union in New York City. 2022 (United States) : Graduate student workers at MIT vote to organize with United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, UE.

References

Adrian Paradis, ''The Labor Reference Book'' (Philadelphia: Chilton Book Co., 1972), 133–134.