1800s

Despite 4,000 workers peacefully striking for two months, few of the Augusta Textile Mills workers’ demands were met.

President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Erdman Act into law prohibiting railroad companies from preventing workers from joining unions as condition of employment. 

As a result of the Great Bituminous Strike, The United Mine Workers successfully signed the first industry collective bargaining contract in the U.S.

The Great Bituminous Strike was a nationwide strike organized by the United Mine Workers, causing membership to grow from 10,000 to 100,000 members.

After two months of striking to improve working conditions and wages, 19 mine workers were killed. This event was later known as the Lattimer Massacre.

During the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill officially recognizing Labor Day as a national holiday. 

As the 1st successful strike of the Western Federation of Miners, gold miners in Cripple Creek, CO went on strike protesting for shorter work days and better working conditions.

After unsuccessfully negotiating for higher wages at the Pullman Company, over 250,000 workers went on strike. It did not end until President Grover Cleveland sent in the military.

Organizing miners from the Rocky Mountains, the Western Federation of Miners formed. They are credited as one of the most active unions in the 19th and 20th centuries.

A group of labor strikers, known as Coxey’s Army, marched on Washington, D.C., in response to the economic crisis known as the Panic of 1893.

The Amalgamated Association of Steel and Iron Workers went on strike after the Carnegie Steel Company attempted to cut wages to lower costs. The strike was unsuccessful.

The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was passed, giving the government the ability to interfere with and prevent union activities.

Consisting of the National Progressive Union of Miners and Mine Laborers and the Knights of Labor No. 135, the United Mine Workers of America was formed.

28,000 workers in the Carpenters Union went on strike to protest for short workdays. The strike was successful and was the first to establish the 8 hour workday.

After the Poole’s Theater fired all of their unionized employees for nonunionized employees, the actor’s union and United Hebrew Trades worked together to strike in protest.

An idea originating from the Jewish branch of the Socialist Labor Party, the United Hebrew Trades was founded to protect and fight for Jewish workers.

In an unsuccessful attempt to strike, 160 hand sewing benchmen were fired until the workers cut ties with the Knights of Labor.

Known as the Thibodaux Massacre, a 3 week long strike against the working conditions on sugar cane plantations led to the deaths or injuries of 50 African American workers.

Mine workers in Pennsylvania went on strike demanding increased wages due to the high risk of the profession. The strike was unsuccessful.

After their wages were cut, shirt makers in New Jersey went on strike. The strike was successful and inspired other shirt makers to organize.

The American Federation of Labor was formed as the successor to the Knights of Labor and Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions.

The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions attempted a country-wide strike on May 1st to achieve the 8 hour workday. The strike was successful to some groups.

Calling for better working conditions, hours, and wages, the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company Strike turned into the Haymarket Square Riot as activists bombed the police.

Considered the bloodiest strike in Wisconsin history, 1,500 workers went on strike against the Bay View Rolling Mills. 7 people died, later naming the event the Bay View Massacre.

After a worker was fired for calling a union meeting, 200,000 workers went on strike. The Great Southwest Railroad Strike ended with the collapse of the Knights of Labor.

Coming predominantly from sweatshops, over 2,000 cloak makes went on strike demanding higher wages. After two weeks of striking, they were successful.

For the first time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics began collecting employment data to shed light on the working conditions employees faced.

On September 5th, the Central Labor Union established the first Labor Day celebration with a parade with over 10,000 workers and a picnic In the park.

As one of the first recorded strikes involving African American women, Carrie Steele Logan led a group of Atlanta washerwomen to demand fair treatment and higher wages.

To combat common grievances of workers in various industries, such as low wages and poor working conditions, the Federation of Organized Trade and Labor Unions formed.

Fighting against long working hours and low wages, the Boston Cutters’ Union formed.

Striking for 17 weeks, Fall River textile workers argued for higher wages. This strike was unsuccessful due to a lack of a strong union presence. They did later receive a raise.

A rift in the fight for better rights formed as former members left the Knights of Labor to form the Amalgamated Labor Union.

Facing a 10% wage reduction, railroad employees in Maryland rioted. The U.S. army took 3 days to stop the rioting. 9 people were killed as a result.

On strike for almost 9 months in total, over 6,000 coal miners in Ohio and Pennsylvania protested a reduction in wages. The strike was unsuccessful. There were many future strikes.

As the first national labor force to recruit women and African Americans, The Knights of Labor were founded in an attempt to unify industrial and agrarian workers.

As would prove significant to African American laborers, the National Colored Labor Union was formed in Washington, D.C. It had 540,000 members at its height.

The National Labor Union achieved the 8 hour workday for federal employees.

Demanding higher wages and shorter working hours, many Chinese railroad workers went on strike, stopping work on the Central Pacific Railroad. The strike was unsuccessful.

The unions of coachmakers, mechanics, ironworkers, and blacksmiths met and formed the National Labor Union lobbying for a nationally recognized 8 hour workday.

Organizing a strike of about 300 women, the Collar Laundry Union protested long working hours and low wages. After 5.5 days, the employers agreed to their demands.

Known as the Shoemaker’s Strike, about 20,000 shoemakers in New England went on strike to protest low wages and long working hours.

The Iron Molders’ Union of North America was formed to represent craftsmen who cast wrought iron products.

10 state educational associations united to form the National Teachers Association, now known as the National Education Association—one of the largest labor unions in the U.S.

Facing another financial crisis, the Panic of 1857 became the first worldwide economic crisis. The United States did not recover until after the Civil War.

Fired for expressing disdain over wage cuts, over 200 employees of the Erie Railroad company went on strike, preventing the company for hiring new employees.

Fourteen printers’ associations formed the National Typographical Union, advocating to protect wages and working conditions, while defending the freedom of the press.

As the first recorded strike fatalities, 2 New York tailors were killed as police attempted to break up a strike against the potential for employers to replace workers with machines.

Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention, where about 300 people gathered to discuss women’s rights.

New Hampshire became the first state to mandate the 10 hour workday; however, workers could volunteer to work longer.

The Lowell Female Labor Reform Association used the Voice of Industry newspaper to gather 2,000 signatures to petition  for better working and living conditions.

Seeking better wages and living conditions, the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association formed to help women working in Lowell’s mills.

Commonwealth v. Hunt decided that labor unions were considered legal as long as they used legal means to achieve their goals.

Massachusetts and Connecticut passed laws mandating children under the ages of 12—14 only work 10 hours a day.

President Martin Van Buren passed an executive order mandating a 10 hour workday for manual laboring federal employees.

A financial crisis, known as the Panic of 1837, led to a major depression causing over 250 businesses to fail and unemployment rates to increase.

The first national trade union, the National Cooperative Association of Cordwainers, was formed.

Threatened by wage cuts and rent increases, 1,500 Lowell Mill workers went on strike, forming the Factory Girls’ Association. The proposed rent increase was revoked as a result.

Workers in the coal docks, house painters, masons, blacksmiths, and more banded together in a general strike for higher wages and a 10-hour workday.

In their second strike, over 2,000 textile workers in Paterson, NJ went on strike to reduce their working hours. The strike was successful and their hours were slightly reduced.

800 female textile workers went on strike to protest a 15% wage reduction. The strike was unsuccessful, but the women were rehired at the mills.

Inspired by the New York General Trades Union, multiple trade unions in Boston formed their own General Trades Union.

Nine smaller trade unions banded together and formed the first General Trades Union to advocate for workers’ rights.

Protesting for better wages, shoe binders in Massachusetts formed the Female Society of Lynn and vicinity for the protection and promotion of Female industry.

Representatives from various states created the New England Association of Farmers, Mechanics, and other Workingmen, advocating for shorter working hours.

Approximately 150 Boston ship carpenter’s went on strike advocating for a 10 hour workday. After 10 days, many returned to work and the proposal was rejected.

1,600 members of the United Tailoresses in New York went on strike to protest the gender wage gap. They were unsuccessful and returned to work without a wage increase.

Textile workers in New Jersey went on strike, one of the first for factory workers, to protest their lunch hour being changed. This became known as the first Paterson Strike.

The Committee of Fifty, workers advocating for a redistribution of property between the poor and rich, formed the Workingmen’s Party of New York to protest long working hours.

Carpenters’ unions  in Philadelphia, striking for a 10 hour work day, banded together to establish the Mechanics’ Union of Trades’ Association.

Philadelphia tailors went on strike to protest the firing of workers who demanded better pay. They were found guilty in court, causing a major setback for trade unions.

The first women’s only union, United Tailoresses of New York, was formed to raise awareness of poor conditions faced by textile workers.

Pawtucket Textile Strike: 101 women weavers walked out from their jobs in protest to a 25% wage cut made by mill owners in Rhode Island.