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 The Jamestown Polish craftsmen's strike of 1619 took place in the settlement of Jamestown in the Virginia colony. It was the first documented strike in North America. Skilled craftsmen were sent by the Virginia Company to Jamestown to produce pitc ...

. ;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 Hibernia is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located along County Route 513 (Green Pond Road) in Rockaway Township of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Serv ...

, 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 The Combination Act 1799 (39 Geo. III, c. 81) titled An Act to prevent Unlawful Combinations of Workmen, prohibited trade unions and collective bargaining by British workers. The Act received royal assent on 12 July 1799. An additional Act, the Co ...

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 The National Trades' Union was the first federation of labor unions in the United States. It was established in 1834, but collapsed during the Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major d ...

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 Manayunk ( ) is a neighborhood in the section of Lower Northwest Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania. Located adjacent to the neighborhoods of Roxborough and Wissahickon and also on the banks of the Schuylkill River, Manayunk contains the fi ...

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 The New England Shoemakers Strike of 1860 began on February 22, 1860 with 3,000 shoemakers walking off their jobs in Lynn, Massachusetts. It ended in April with modest gains for shoemakers, including pay increases and owner recognition of some labor ...

: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 The Journeymen Cigar Makers' International Union of America (CMIU) was a 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 in 1974. O ...

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 Peter M. Arthur (1831 – 17 July 1903) was a Scottish immigrant to the United States who was leader of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) for many years. He led his union in a major ten-month strike against the CB&Q Railroad in 1888, a ...

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 The Coal strike of 1902 (also known as the anthracite coal strike) was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coalfields of eastern Pennsylvania. Miners struck for higher wages, shorter workdays, and the recognition of t ...

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 The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, often simply the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC), was formed in 1881 by Peter J. McGuire and Gustav Luebkert. It has become one of the largest trade unions in the United State ...

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 Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

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 in

Bow Bow often refers to: * Bow and arrow, a weapon * Bowing, bending the upper body as a social gesture * An ornamental knot made of ribbon Bow may also refer to: * Bow (watercraft), the foremost part of a ship or boat * Bow (position), the rower ...

, London. The strike was prompted by the poor working conditions in the

match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

factory, including fourteen-hour work days, poor pay, excessive fines, and the severe health complications of working with yellow (or white)

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...

, such as

phossy jaw Phossy jaw, formally known as phosphorus necrosis of the jaw, was an occupational disease affecting those who worked with white phosphorus (also known as ''yellow phosphorus'') without proper safeguards. It was most commonly seen in workers in the ...

. ;1888 (United States) :United States enacted first federal labor relations law; the law applied only to railroads. ;1888 (United States) :

International Association of Machinists The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is an AFL–CIO/ CLC trade union representing approx. 646,933 workers as of 2006 in more than 200 industries with most of its membership in the United States and Canada. Or ...

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 The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous Paris meetings in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second Internatio ...

is founded. Declaration of 1 May as

International Workers Day International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every year on 1 May, ...

1890s

;1890 (United States) :

United Mine Workers of America The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American Labor history of the United States, labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing worke ...

founded. ;1890 (United States) :

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, often simply the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC), was formed in 1881 by Peter J. McGuire and Gustav Luebkert. It has become one of the largest trade unions in the United State ...

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 A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite a strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute but hired after or during the st ...

. ;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 The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) is a North American labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways. The ILA ...

founded. ;1892 (United States) :

International Seamen's Union The International Seamen's Union (ISU) was an American maritime trade union which operated from 1892 until 1937. In its last few years, the union effectively split into the National Maritime Union and Seafarer's International Union. The early yea ...

founded. ;1892 (United States) :

New Orleans General Strike The New Orleans general strike was a general strike in the U.S. city of New Orleans, Louisiana, that began on November 8, 1892. Despite appeals to racial hatred, black and white workers remained united. The general strike ended on November 12 ...

occurred. ;6 July 1892 (United States) :

Homestead Strike The Homestead strike, also known as the Homestead steel strike, Homestead massacre, or Battle of Homestead, was an industrial lockout and strike that began on July 1, 1892, culminating in a battle in which strikers defeated private security age ...

: Pinkerton Guards, trying to pave the way for the introduction of

, opened fire on striking Carnegie mill steel-workers in

Homestead, Pennsylvania Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, in the Monongahela River valley southeast of downtown Pittsburgh and directly across the river from the city limit line. The borough is known for the Homestead Strike of 1892, an i ...

. 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 The 1892 Coeur d'Alene labor strike erupted in violence when labor union miners discovered they had been infiltrated by a Pinkerton agent who had routinely provided union information to the mine owners. The response to the labor violence, disastro ...

: Striking miners in

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; french: Cœur d'Alène, lit=Heart of an Awl ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the largest city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical ...

dynamited the Frisco Mill, leaving it in ruins. ;August 1892 (United States) :

Buffalo Switchmen's Strike The Buffalo switchmen's strike was a two-week strike in August 1892 by railroad workers employed by three railroads in Buffalo, New York. The strike collapsed after two weeks when 8,000 state militia entered the town and other unions refused to su ...

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 The American Railway Union (ARU) was briefly among the largest labor unions of its time and one of the first industrial unions in the United States. Launched at a meeting held in Chicago in February 1893, the ARU won an early victory in a strik ...

founded. ;1893 (United States) :

Western Federation of Miners The Western Federation of Miners (WFM) was a labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and smelter workers brought it into ...

founded. ;1893 (United States) :Federal court in Louisiana rules that the

Sherman Antitrust Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by United States Congress, Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, i ...

applies to unions and finds that

sympathy strikes Solidarity action (also known as secondary action, a secondary boycott, a solidarity strike, or a sympathy strike) is industrial action by a trade union in support of a strike initiated by workers in a separate corporation, but often the same en ...

restrain trade. ;1893 (United States) :

National Civic Federation The National Civic Federation (NCF) was an American economic organization founded in 1900 which brought together chosen representatives of big business and organized labor, as well as consumer advocates in an attempt to ameliorate labor disputes. I ...

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 Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * ...

and

Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociologist, economist, socialist, labour historian and social reformer. It was Webb who coined the term '' collective bargaining''. She ...

is first published. ;1894 (United States) :

Coxey's Army Coxey's Army was a protest march by unemployed workers from the United States, led by Ohio businessman Jacob Coxey. They marched on Washington, D.C. in 1894, the second year of a four-year economic depression that was the worst in United State ...

marched on Washington, D.C. ;7 February 1894 (United States) :In

Cripple Creek, Colorado Cripple Creek is a statutory city that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 1,155 at the 2020 United States Census. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Spri ...

, miners 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 The bituminous coal miners' strike was an unsuccessful national eight-week strike by miners of bituminous coal in the United States, which began on April 21, 1894. The panic of 1893 hit the coal mining industry particularly hard. Wage cuts in t ...

-- A two-month nationwide strike by miners of hard coal in the United States. This unsuccessful strike almost destroyed the

United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...

union.

;11 May – 10 July 1894 (United States) :

Pullman Strike The Pullman Strike was two interrelated strikes in 1894 that shaped national labor policy in the United States during a period of deep economic depression. First came a strike by the American Railway Union (ARU) against the Pullman factory in Chi ...

: 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 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

members. Leaders of the strike, including

Eugene Debs Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the si ...

, were imprisoned for violating injunctions, causing disintegration of the union. ;1895 (France) :The

Confédération Générale du Travail The General Confederation of Labour (french: Confédération Générale du Travail, CGT) is a national trade union center, founded in 1895 in the city of Limoges. It is the first of the five major French confederations of trade unions. It is t ...

(CGT), was formed. This French union is the oldest confederation still in existence. ;April 1895 (United States) :

American Industrial Union : ''For the Fourierist organization of 1844 known by this name, see American Union of Associationists.'' The American Industrial Union (AIU) was a short-lived American labor organization launched in April 1895 in Chicago by George W. Howard, for ...

established by former American Railway Union Vice President

George W. Howard George Washington Howard (born c. 1848) was an American railway worker and trade union functionary. Howard is best remembered as the head of the Brotherhood of Railway Conductors (BRC), a rival to the Order of Railway Conductors (ORC) which was es ...

. The union proves to be short-lived, disappearing in the second half of 1896. ;June 1895 (United States) :

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

rules in ''In re Debs'' to uphold an injunction against the

rs on the grounds that the federal government is empowered to regulate interstate commerce. ;1895 (United States) :

Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance The Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance of the United States and Canada - commonly abbreviated STLA or ST&LA - was a revolutionary socialist trade union, labor union in the United States closely linked to the Socialist Labor Party (SLP), which exi ...

founded. ;1895 (United States) :Haverhill, Massachusetts, Show Strike occurred. ;21 September 1896 (United States) :The state militia was sent to

Leadville The City of Leadville is a statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,602 at the 2010 census and an estimated ...

, Colorado to break a miner's strike. ;10 September 1897 (United States) :

Lattimer massacre The Lattimer massacre was the violent deaths of at least 19 unarmed striking immigrant anthracite miners at the Lattimer mine near Hazleton, Pennsylvania, United States, on September 10, 1897.Anderson, John W. ''Transitions: From Eastern Europ ...

: 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 Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,963 at the 2020 census. Hazleton is the second largest city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on Decembe ...

. 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 The Erdman Act of 1898 was a United States federal law regulating railroad labor disputes. The law provided arbitration for disputes between the interstate railroads and their workers organized into unions. Major provisions The most significant p ...

, 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 The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

. ;1898 (United States) :

American Labor Union The American Labor Union (ALU) was a radical labor organization launched as the Western Labor Union (WLU) in 1898. The organization was established by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) in an effort to build a federation of trade unions in th ...

founded. ;1898 (United States) :Marlboro, Massachusetts, Shoe Workers' Strike began. Miner extracting ore from Bunker Hill mine

;1899 (United States) :Miners in Idaho dynamite a mill in retaliation for the

Bunker Hill Mining Company The Bunker Hill Mining Company is a mining company with facilities in Kellogg and Wardner, Idaho. Early history Simeon Reed bought the Bunker Hill Mine and Mill, and incorporated the Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating Company on ...

firing 17 union members. ;1899 (United States) : 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 The newsboys' strike of 1899 was a U.S. youth-led campaign to facilitate change in the way that Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst's newspapers compensated their force of newsboys or newspaper hawkers. The strikers demonstrated across N ...

occurred in New York City.

1900–1999

1900s

;1900 (United States) : International Ladies' Garment Workers Union founded. ;1900 (United States) :

occurred. ;1900 (United States) :Machinists' Strike occurred. ;1901 (United States) :

United Textile Workers The United Textile Workers of America (UTW) was a North American trade union established in 1901. History The United Textile Workers of America was founded following two conferences in 1901 under the aegis of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) ...

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 The U.S. Steel recognition strike of 1901 was an attempt by the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers (the AA) to reverse its declining fortunes and organize large numbers of new members. The strike failed. The AA had formed i ...

occurred.

;15 May 1902 (United States) :

Coal Strike of 1902 The Coal strike of 1902 (also known as the anthracite coal strike) was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coalfields of eastern Pennsylvania. Miners struck for higher wages, shorter workdays, and the recognition of ...

in the

anthracite coal Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the high ...

fields of eastern

struck in seven counties, from May through October. The strike caused a nationwide coal shortage.

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

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 The Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) (1903–1950) was a U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The WTUL played an importan ...

founded. ;1903 (United States) : Oxnard, California, Sugar Beet Strike occurred. ;1903 (United States) :

Carbon County Strike The Carbon County Strikes took place in Carbon County, Utah from 1903–1904. The strikes primarily consisted of Slavic and Italian immigrant mine workers who partnered with the United Mine Workers of America strikes in Colorado to protest the da ...

began. ;23 November 1903 (United States) :

Colorado Labor Wars The Colorado Labor Wars were a series of labor strikes in 1903 and 1904 in the U.S. state of Colorado, by gold and silver miners and mill workers represented by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM). Opposing the WFM were associations of m ...

: Troops were dispatched to Cripple Creek, Colorado to defeat a strike by the

, 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 "Mother" Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

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 The United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA), later the ''United Packinghouse, Food and Allied Workers'', was a labor union that represented workers in the meatpacking industry. Origin as the PWOC Background Between the mid-1800s and mid- ...

. ;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 The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines gener ...

founded in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. ;17 April 1905 (United States) :The Supreme Court held in

Lochner v. New York ''Lochner v. New York'', 198 U.S. 45 (1905), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that a New York state law setting maximum working hours for bakers violated the bakers' right to freedom of contract under th ...

that a maximum hours law for New York bakery workers was unconstitutional under the due process clause of the 14th amendment. ;1906 (United States) :An eight-hour workday is widely adopted in the printing industry. ;1907 (United States) : Goldfield, Nevada, Miners' Strike began. 1908-WTUL-laborday

;1908 (United States) :The Federal Employers' Liability Act was passed. Also that year, the

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) :

rules in ''Danbury Hatters Case'' that a boycott launched by the United Hatters Union is a conspiracy in restraint of trade under the

. ;1908 (United States) :

rules in ''Muller vs. Oregon'' that an Oregon law that limited the working hours for women was unconstitutional. ;1908 (United States) : IWW Free Speech Fight began in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label= Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork Ri ...

. ;1909 (United States) :

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.& ...

founded. ;1909 (United States) : IWW Free Speech Fight began in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the ...

;1909 (United States) : 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 The New York shirtwaist strike of 1909, also known as the Uprising of the 20,000, was a labour strike primarily involving Jewish women working in New York shirtwaist factories. It was the largest strike by female American workers up to that date ...

(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) : 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 The ''Los Angeles Times'' bombing was the purposeful dynamiting of the ''Los Angeles Times'' Building in Los Angeles, California, United States, on October 1, 1910, by a union member belonging to the International Association of Bridge and Str ...

killed twenty people and destroyed the building. Calling it "the crime of the century," the newspaper's owner 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. ''Gompers v. Buck's Stove and Range Co.'', 221 U.S. 418 (1911), was a ruling by the United States Supreme Court involving a case of contempt for violating the terms of an injunction restraining labor union leaders from a boycott or from publishin ...

'' (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) 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 The Llanelli riots of 1911 were a series of events precipitated by the National Railway Strike of 1911. Mass picketing action at Llanelli railway station was brutally suppressed by the police, resulting in the deaths of two men, shot dead by tro ...

of August 1911, leading to rioting. Image of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire on March 25 - 1911

;25 March 1911 (United States) :

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on Saturday, March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history. The ...

-- 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) : IWW Free Speech Fight occurred in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. ;1912 (United States) :New York City Hotel Strike occurred. 1912 Lawrence Textile Strike 3

;January–March 1912 (United States) :

Lawrence Textile Strike The Lawrence Textile Strike, also known as the Bread and Roses Strike, was a strike of immigrant workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1912 led by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Prompted by a two-hour pay cut corresponding to a new ...

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachuset ...

, often known as the "

Bread and Roses "Bread and Roses" is a political slogan as well as the name of an associated poem and song. It originated from a speech given by American women's suffrage activist Helen M. Todd, Helen Todd; a line in that speech about "bread for all, and roses ...

" Strike. Dozens of different immigrant communities united under the leadership of the

(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 West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

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 The Brotherhood of Timber Workers (BTW) (1910-1916) was a union of sawmill workers, farmers, and small business people primarily located in East Texas and West Louisiana, but also had locals in Arkansas (7) and Mississippi (1). The BTW was organiz ...

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 The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploy ...

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, California, Hop Riot ;11 June 1913 (United States) : Police shot into a crowd of maritime workers (two of whom was killed) who were striking against the

United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was formed in 1899 fr ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

;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 The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 (, codified at , ), is a part of United States antitrust law with the goal of adding further substance to the U.S. antitrust law regime; the Clayton Act seeks to prevent anticompetitive practices in their incipie ...

limiting the use of injunctions in labor disputes. ;1914 (United States) :

Amalgamated Clothing Workers Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Ind ...

founded. ;1914 (United States) : 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 was arrested in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

. He was convicted on murder charges, and was executed 21 months later despite worldwide protests and two attempts to intervene by President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of P ...

. In a letter to

Bill Haywood William Dudley "Big Bill" Haywood (February 4, 1869 – May 18, 1928) was an American labor organizer and founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and a member of the executive committee of the Socialist Party of A ...

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. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in Mi ...

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 The 1914–1915 Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills strike was a labor strike involving several hundred textile workers from the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The strike, which involved about 500 millworkers, began ...

begins in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. ;13 November 1914 (United States) :A

strike is crushed by the militia in

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a F ...

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

. ;1915 (United States) :

passed the

La Follette Seamen's Act The Seamen's Act, formally known as Act to Promote the Welfare of American Seamen in the Merchant Marine of the United States or Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (Act of March 4, 1915, ch. 153, 38 Stat1164, was designed to improve th ...

regulating working conditions for seamen. ;1915 (United States) :

Bayonne refinery strikes of 1915–1916 The Bayonne refinery strikes of 1915–1916 were labor actions of refinery workers in Bayonne, New Jersey, mostly Polish-Americans who struck Standard Oil of New Jersey and Tidewater Petroleum plants on Constable Hook beginning in mid-July 191 ...

against

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...

began. ;1915 (United States) :Youngstown, Ohio, Steel Strike occurred. ;19 January 1915 (United States) :Twenty rioting strikers were shot by factory guards at

Roosevelt Roosevelt may refer to: *Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president *Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president Businesses and organisations * Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation) * Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank * Rooseve ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

. ;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 Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General * Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies * Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states ...

, which was later ruled unconstitutional. ;1916 (United States) :

passed the

Adamson Act The Adamson Act was a United States federal law passed in 1916 that established an eight-hour workday, with additional pay for overtime work, for interstate railroad workers. History The terms that were embodied in the act were negotiated by ...

, which established an eight-hour workday for railroad workers. ;1916 (United States) :

American Federation of Teachers The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher's labor union in America (the largest being the National Education Association). The union was founded in Chicago. John Dewey and Margaret Haley were founders. About 60 p ...

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) :

against

continued. WP Thomas Mooney

;22 July 1916 (United States) :A bomb was set off during a "

Preparedness Day The Preparedness Movement was a campaign led by former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, Leonard Wood, and former President Theodore Roosevelt to strengthen the U.S. military after the outbreak of World War I. Wood advocated a summer training scho ...

" parade in San Francisco, killing 10 and injuring 40 more. Thomas J. Mooney, a labor organizer and

Warren K. Billings Warren Knox Billings (July 4, 1893 – September 4, 1972) was a labor leader and political activist, who was convicted with Thomas Mooney of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916. It is believed that the two were wrongly convicted of ...

, 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 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

Worker's Compensation insurance Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

;5 November 1916 (United States) : 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",

upholds the legality of yellow-dog contracts. ;1917 (United States) :

Green Corn Rebellion The Green Corn Rebellion was an armed uprising that took place in rural Oklahoma on August 2 and 3, 1917. The uprising was a reaction by European-Americans, tenant farmers, Seminoles, Muscogee Creeks, and African-Americans to an attempt to enforc ...

occurred. ;1917 (United States) :

Thomas Mooney Thomas Joseph Mooney (December 8, 1882 – March 6, 1942) was an American political activist and Trade union, labor leader, who was convicted with Warren K. Billings of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916. It quickly became appa ...

sentenced to death for his participation in the San Francisco

Preparedness Day Bombing The Preparedness Day Bombing was a bombing in San Francisco, California, United States, on July 22, 1916, of a parade organised by local supporters of the Preparedness Movement which advocated American entry into World War I. During the parade a ...

of 1916. ;1917 (United States) : East St. Louis Race Riot occurred. ;15 March 1917 (United States) :The Supreme Court approved the Eight-Hour Act under the threat of a national railway strike. Bisbee deportation guns

;12 July 1917 (United States) :The

Bisbee Deportation The Bisbee Deportation was the illegal kidnapping and deportation of about 1,300 striking mine workers, their supporters, and citizen bystanders by 2,000 members of a deputized posse, who arrested them beginning on July 12, 1917, in Bisbee, Ar ...

: 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 Bisbee is a city in and the county seat of Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, United States. It is southeast of Tucson and north of the Mexican border. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town was 4,923, down from 5,575 i ...

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

fair wage A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labor ...

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

; 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) : IWW organizer Frank Little was lynched in

. ;5 September 1917 (United States) :Federal agents raid the IWW headquarters in 48 cities. ;1918 (United States) : War Labor Board created. :

War Labor Policies Board The War Labor Policies Board (WLPB) (1918-1919) was a temporary agency of the United States Government to support American military actions during the end of World War I; future president Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a member. History Fo ...

(1918-1919) created ;3 June 1918 (United States) :A

Federal child labor law Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General * Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies * Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states ...

, 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) :

organizer

Ginger Goodwin Albert "Ginger" Goodwin (May 10, 1887–July 27, 1918), nicknamed Ginger for his bright red hair, was a migrant coal miner who advocated for workers' rights and promoted the cause of trade union, unions in British Columbia, Canada. Angered by ...

was shot by a hired private policeman outside

Cumberland, British Columbia Cumberland is an incorporated village municipality east of Perseverance Creek, near the east coast of central Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Comox Valley community is west of BC Highway 19 and is by road about northwest of Nanaimo and ...

. ;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 The International Federation of Trade Unions (also known as the Amsterdam International) was an international organization of trade unions, existing between 1919 and 1945. IFTU had its roots in the pre-war IFTU. IFTU had close links to the Labou ...

is founded. ;1919 (United States) :

Communist Party of America The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

founded.

;1919 (United States) : Farmer-Labor Party founded. ;1919 (United States) :

Red Scare A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies by a society or state. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which a ...

began. ;1919 (United States) :Actors Strike occurred. Chicago Race Riot 1919

;1919 (United States) :

Chicago Race Riot The Chicago race riot of 1919 was a violent racial conflict between white Americans and black Americans that began on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, on July 27 and ended on August 3, 1919. During the riot, 38 people died (23 black and ...

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

;1919 (United States) :

Seattle General Strike The Seattle General Strike of 1919 was a five-day general work stoppage by more than 65,000 workers in the city of Seattle, Washington from February 6 to 11. Dissatisfied workers in several unions began the strike to gain higher wages, after ...

occurred. ;1919 (International) :The

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

(ILO), now a specialized agency of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

, was formed through the negotiations of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...

, and was initially an agency of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by ...

. ; 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 The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American Labor history of the United States, labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing worke ...

organizer

Fannie Sellins Fannie Sellins (1872 – August 26, 1919) was an American union organizer. Born Fanny Mooney in New Orleans, Louisiana, she married Charles Sellins in St. Louis, Missouri. After his death she worked in a garment factory to support her four chi ...

was gunned down by company guards in 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 Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...

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 " 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 -- IWW organizer

Wesley Everest Nathan Wesley Everest (December 29, 1890, in Newberg, Oregon — November 11, 1919, in Centralia, Washington) was an American member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and a World War I era Veteran#Veterans' experiences around the ...

was lynched after a

Centralia, Washington Centralia () is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. It is located along Interstate 5 near the midpoint between Seattle and Portland, Oregon. The city had a population of 18,183 at the 2020 census. Centralia is twinned with Che ...

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 The World Confederation of Labour (WCL) was an international labour organization founded in 1920 and based in Europe. Totalitarian governments of the 1930s repressed the federation and imprisoned many of its leaders, limiting operations until the ...

. ;1920 (United States) :

Trade Union Educational League The Trade Union Educational League (TUEL) was established by William Z. Foster in 1920 (through 1928) as a means of uniting radicals within various trade unions for a common plan of action. The group was subsidized by the Communist International ...

founded. ;1920 (United States) : 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 The Palmer Raids were a series of raids conducted in November 1919 and January 1920 by the United States Department of Justice under the administration of President Woodrow Wilson to capture and arrest suspected socialists, especially anarchists ...

;19 May 1920 (United States) :The

Battle of Matewan The Battle of Matewan (also known as the Matewan massacre) was a shootout in the town of Matewan in Mingo County and the Pocahontas Coalfield mining district, in southern West Virginia. It occurred on May 19, 1920 between local coal miners and ...

. 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 Matewan () is a town in Mingo County, West Virginia, United States at the confluence of the Tug Fork River and Mate Creek. The population was 499 at the 2010 census. The Norfolk Southern Railway's Pocahontas District passes through the town. It w ...

, 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 ''Matewan'' () is a 1987 American drama film written and directed by John Sayles, and starring Chris Cooper (in his film debut), James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell and Will Oldham, with David Strathairn, Kevin Tighe and Gordon Clapp in supporting ...

is based on the event. : 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 The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in United States history and the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War. The conflict occurred in Logan County, West Virginia, as part of the Coal Wars, a series of early-20 ...

," 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) :

rules in ''Duplex Printing Press vs. Deering'' that federal courts could enjoin unions for actions in restraint of trade despite the

Clayton Act The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 (, codified at , ), is a part of United States antitrust law with the goal of adding further substance to the U.S. antitrust law regime; the Clayton Act seeks to prevent anticompetitive practices in their incipie ...

. ;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 The Conference for Progressive Political Action was officially established by the convention call of the 16 major railway labor unions in the United States, represented by a committee of six: William H. Johnston of the Machinists' Union, Martin F. ...

founded. ;1922 (United States) :

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 Herrin is a city in Williamson County, Illinois. The population was 12,352 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Marion-Herrin Micropolitan Area and is a part of the Carbondale- Marion-Herrin, Illinois Combined Statistical Area with 123,272 ...

. ;July 1922 (United States) :

Great Railroad Strike of 1922 The Great Railroad Strike of 1922, commonly known as the Railway Shopmen's Strike, was a nationwide strike of railroad workers in the United States. Launched on July 1, 1922, by seven of the sixteen railroad labor organizations in existence ...

. ;15 November 1922 (Ecuador) :A three-day general strike in Guayaquil ends after police and military kill at least 300 strikers. ;1 September 1922 (United States) :Federal judge

James Herbert Wilkerson James Herbert Wilkerson (December 11, 1869 – September 30, 1948) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Education and career Born in Savannah, Missouri, Wilkerson receive ...

issues a sweeping injunction against striking, assembling, picketing, and a variety of other union activities, known as the " Daugherty Injunction." ;14 June 1923 (United States) : San Pedro Maritime strike, California IWW hall was raided. Several children were scalded when the hall was demolished. Samuel Gompers Gravesite

;1924 (United States) :

died. William Green elected to succeed him as president of the

. ;2 June 1924 (United States) :

Child Labor Amendment The Child Labor Amendment is a proposed and still-pending amendment to the United States Constitution that would specifically authorize Congress to regulate "labor of persons under eighteen years of age". The amendment was proposed on June 2, 1 ...

to the U.S. Constitution was proposed. Only 28 of the necessary 36 states ever ratified it. ;9 September 1924 (United States) :16

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

strikers killed during the

Hanapepe massacre The Hanapēpē Massacre (also called the Battle of Hanapēpē) occurred on September 9, 1924, when an interethnic dispute amongst Filipinos, Filipino strike organizers in Hanapepe, Hawaii, Hanapēpē, Kauai, Kaua'i resulted in a violent exchange ...

. ;1925 (United States) :

Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Founded in 1925, The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) was the first labor organization led by African Americans to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The BSCP gathered a membership of 18,000 passenger railway ...

founded. ;1925 (United States) :

occurred. ;1 May 1925 (China) :The

All-China Federation of Trade Unions The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is the national trade union center of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest trade union in the world with 302 million members in 1,713,000 primary trade union organizations. The ACFTU ...

(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 The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when ...

, maintain the position that the ACFTU is not an independent trade union organization. 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 The Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation (also DOSCO) was a Canadian coal mining and steel manufacturing company. Incorporated in 1928 and operational by 1930, DOSCO was predated by the British Empire Steel Corporation (BESCO), which was a merger o ...

(BESCO) in

New Waterford, Nova Scotia New Waterford (Irish language: ''Port Lairge Ùr'') is an urban community in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada. Geography Formerly known as Barrachois (from barachois, meaning small port, lagoon or pond), its present n ...

Davis Day Davis Day, also known as Miners' Memorial Day (and since November 25, 2008, officially as William Davis Miners' Memorial Day) is an annual day of remembrance observed on June 11 in coal mining communities in Nova Scotia, Canada to recognize all min ...

was established in the memory of

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincial ...

, 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 The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases acr ...

for an internal conflict since the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (french: Rébellion du Nord-Ouest), also known as the North-West Resistance, was a resistance by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of ...

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 Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69, ...

. A year-long strike ensued. ;1926 (United States) : Passaic, New Jersey, Textile Strike occurred. Save Sacco and Vanzetti

;1927 (United States) : Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed. ;21 November 1927 (United States) :Picketing coal miners marching under the banner of the

were massacred in the

Columbine Mine massacre The Columbine Mine massacre, sometimes called the first Columbine massacre, occurred in 1927, in the town of Serene, Colorado. A fight broke out between Colorado state militia and a group of striking coal miners, during which the unarmed mine ...

in the company town of

Serene, Colorado Serene, Colorado was a company town owned by the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company. Serene had company housing, a post office, a tipple, and was the site of the Columbine Mine. The town was located by what is today the Erie landfill at History In 1 ...

. ;1928 (United States) :New Bedford, Massachusetts, Textile Strike occurred. ;1 April 1929

Loray Mill Strike The Loray Mill strike of 1929 in Gastonia, North Carolina, was a notable strike action in the labor history of the United States. Though largely unsuccessful in attaining its goals of better working conditions and wages, the strike was considered ...

Gastonia, North Carolina Gastonia is the largest city in and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte area, behind Concord. The population was 80,411 at the 2020 census, up from 71,741 in 2 ...

(United States) :Violent and relatively unsuccessful

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 Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The ...

efforts made a furor in US national news, giving momentum and urgency to the more successful

labor movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

of the 1930s ;1929 (United States) :

Trade Union Unity League The Trade Union Unity League (TUUL) was an industrial union umbrella organization under the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) between 1929 and 1935. The group was an American affiliate of the Red International of Labor Unions. The for ...

founded.

;1929 (United States) :

Conference for Progressive Labor Action The Conference for Progressive Labor Action (CPLA) was a left-wing American political organization established in May 1929 by A. J. Muste, the director of Brookwood Labor College. The organization was established to promote industrial unionism a ...

founded. ;1929 (United States) :Gastonia, North Carolina, Textile Strike occurred. ;1929 (Australia) :The

1929 Timber Workers strike The 1929 Timber Workers strike was a labour dispute in Australia caused by Justice Lukin of the Arbitration Court handing down an industrial award decision on 23 December 1928 to reduce the wages and increase the hours for 20,000 timber workers ...

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, California , photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg , photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image. , map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg , map_caption = Map of Imperial ...

. Eight were subsequently convicted of "

criminal syndicalism Criminal syndicalism has been defined as a doctrine of criminal acts for political, industrial, and social change. These criminal acts include advocation of crime, sabotage, violence, and other unlawful methods of terrorism. Criminal syndicalism la ...

." ;1931 (United States) :

passes the Davis–Bacon Act. ;1931 (United States) : Scottsboro Boys arrested in Alabama. ;4 May 1931 (United States) : Harlan County Miners' Strike began in

Harlan County, Kentucky Harlan County is a county located in southeastern Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,831. Its county seat is Harlan. It is classified as a moist countya county in which alcohol sales are prohibited (a dry county), but cont ...

when gun-toting vigilantes attacked striking miners. ;14 May 1931 (Sweden) :Five persons were killed by bullets fired by

Swedish military The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

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 The Norris–La Guardia Act (also known as the Anti-Injunction Bill) is a 1932 United States federal law relating to United States labor law. It banned yellow-dog contracts, barred the federal courts from issuing injunctions against nonviolent ...

outlawing

yellow-dog contract A yellow-dog contract (a yellow-dog clause of a contract, also known as an ironclad oath) is an agreement between an employer and an employee in which the employee agrees, as a condition of employment, not to be a member of a labor union. In th ...

s and prohibiting federal injunctions in labor disputes. ;1932 (United States) :World War I veterans march on Washington, D.C. in the

Bonus March The Bonus Army was a group of 43,000 demonstrators – 17,000 veterans of U.S. involvement in World War I, their families, and affiliated groups – who gathered in Washington, D.C., in mid-1932 to demand early cash redemption of their servic ...

. ;1932 (United States) :

American Federation of Government Employees The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is an American labor union representing over 670,000 employees of the federal government, about 5,000 employees of the District of Columbia, and a few hundred private sector employees, mostl ...

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 The Ford Hunger March, sometimes called the Ford Massacre, was a demonstration on March 7, 1932 in the United States by unemployed auto workers in Detroit, Michigan, which took place during the height of the Great Depression. The march started in ...

occurred in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, 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 The ADGB Trade Union School (''Bundesschule des Allgemeinen Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbundes'' (ADGB)), is a training centre complex in Bernau bei Berlin, Germany. It was built for the former General German Trade Union Federation, from 1928 to 1930 ...

(Bundesschule des Allgemeiner Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund (ADGB)), was confiscated by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

. Until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the site was used by the Reich Leadership School. ;1933 (United States) :

National Industrial Recovery Act The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was a US labor law and consumer law passed by the 73rd US Congress to authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery. It also ...

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 The NewsGuild-CWA is a labor union founded by newspaper journalists in 1933. In addition to improving wages and working conditions, its constitution says its purpose is to fight for honesty in journalism and the news industry's business practice ...

founded. ;1933 (United States) : 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 Pixley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Tulare County, California, United States. The population was 3,310 at the 2010 census, up from 2,586 at the 2000 census. Geography Pixley is located at (35.970405, -119.290729). According to the Unit ...

. Four were killed before a pay-hike was finally won. ;1934 (United States) :

Southern Tenant Farmers Union The Southern Tenant Farmers Union (STFU) (1934–1970) was founded as a civil farmer's union to organize tenant farmers in the Southern United States. Originally set up in July 1934 during the Great Depression, the STFU was founded to help sh ...

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 The Toledo Auto-Lite strike was a strike by a federal labor union of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) against the Electric Auto-Lite company of Toledo, Ohio, from April 12 to June 3, 1934. The strike is notable for a five-day running b ...

. In

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and accordin ...

, 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 occurred. Battle strike 1934

;May 1934 (United States) :

Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934 The Minneapolis general strike of 1934 grew out of a strike by Teamsters against most of the trucking companies operating in Minneapolis, the major distribution center for the Upper Midwest. The strike began on May 16, 1934 in the Market Distri ...

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 The 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike (also known as the 1934 West Coast Longshoremen's Strike, as well as a number of variations on these names) lasted 83 days, and began on May 9, 1934 when longshoremen in every US West Coast port walked out. ...

Bloody Thursday - West Coast & San Francisco General Strike. ;1–22 September 1934 (United States) :A strike in

Woonsocket, Rhode Island Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsocket lies directly south of ...

, 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) :

ruled that the

was unconstitutional.

;1935 (United States) :The

National Labor Relations Act The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and ...

, 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 The Negro Labor Committee (NLC) was an organization founded by Frank Crosswaith and others in 1935 to advance African American interests within the American labor movement. It lasted until 1969. Founding The Negro Labor Committee was founded in ...

founded. ;1935 (United States) :

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...

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 The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...

(CIO) was formed to expand

industrial unionism Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...

. ;1936 (United States) :

Steel Workers Organizing Committee The Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) was one of two precursor labor organizations to the United Steelworkers. It was formed by the CIO (Committee for Industrial Organization) on June 7, 1936. It disbanded in 1942 to become the United Steel ...

, one of two labor organizations that eventually merged to form the

United Steelworkers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquar ...

, 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) :

ruled that the

is constitutional. ;1937 (United States) :

ejected the unions that would later form the 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 The Little Steel strike was a 1937 labor strike by the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and its branch the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC), against a number of smaller steel producing companies, principally Republic Steel, In ...

occurred.

;11 February 1937 (United States) :General Motors recognizes the

union following a

sit-down strike A sit-down strike is a labour strike and a form of civil disobedience in which an organized group of workers, usually employed at factories or other centralized locations, take unauthorized or illegal possession of the workplace by "sitting ...

in Flint, Michigan, that began in December 1936. :Two months later, company guards beat up

leaders at the River Rouge Plant, in

River Rouge, Michigan River Rouge (, french: link=no, Rivière Rouge, translation=red river) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,224 at the 2020 census. The city is named after the River Rouge, which flows along the city's ...

. ;30 May 1937 (United States) :Police kill 10 and wounded 30 during the

Memorial Day Massacre In the Memorial Day massacre of 1937, the Chicago Police Department shot and killed ten unarmed demonstrators in Chicago, on May 30, 1937. The incident took place during the Little Steel strike in the United States. Background The incident ar ...

at the Republic Steel plant in Chicago. ;1938 (United States) :

Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...

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 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 The Chrysler Auto Strike began in October 1939 at the Dodge Main Plant in Detroit, Michigan, as a struggle between the Chrysler Auto manufacturer and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of ...

occurred.

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

s are illegal.

1940s

;1940 (United States) :

Philip Murray Philip Murray (May 25, 1886 – November 9, 1952) was a Scottish-born steelworker and an American labor leader. He was the first president of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC), the first president of the United Steelworkers of ...

elected president of the

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) :

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) :

splits from the World Federation of Trade Unions ;1949 (United States) :

expelled two unions for alleged communist influence. ;1949 (United States) :Hawaii Dock Strike occurred.

1950s

;1950 (United States) :

expelled nine unions for alleged communist influence. ;1950 (United States) :

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

. ;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

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) :

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

;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

, 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. :

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.

1600–1699

1700–1799

1740s

1760s

1770s

1780s

1790s

1800–1899

1800s

1810s

1820s

1830s

1840s

1850s

1860s

1870s

1880s

1890s

1900–1999

1900s

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

2000–present

2000s

2010s

2020s

See also

References

Further reading

Archival sources