1900s

Resulting in $1 billion in losses to the national economy, President George H.W. Bush signed a bill banning the strike on the railroad companies despite ignoring union demands.

While unsuccessful, the strike led by the Industrial Association of Machinists against Eastern Airlines caused the airline company to collapse 2 years later.

After 163 days and the closure of 3 facilities, John Deere agreed to increase job security and expand pensions as a result of a strike of unionized workers.

For over a month, 700 fisherman went on strike against their lackluster share of profits. The strike was unsuccessful and many fisherman returned to work.

Workers from local unions went on strike against Hormel Foods Corporation after cut wages and a failure to improve working conditions. They eventually gained a new contract.

Workers of Pan American World Airways went on strike in protest of a labor agreement that did not satisfy their demands. They eventually settled for a similar contract.

In protest of wage cuts, the Amalgamated Transit Union went on strike against Greyhound Bus Lines, delaying busses by breaking headlights. The strike was unsuccessful.

For 3 years, copper miners went on strike demanding better wages and job security. The strike was unsuccessful.

Refusing to play until their demands were met, football players went on strike in protest of the owners’ tight control. The strike was successful and increased players’ benefits.

In protest of the outsourcing of animation work, animators went on strike. The strike was unsuccessful and led to the decline of American animation companies.

Despite a law banning strikes, 12,000 air traffic controllers went on strike demanding better pay and fewer working hours. The strike ended in the firing of 11,000 workers.

Known as the “summer without baseball,” baseball players refused to play out the season when Major League Baseball Owners failed to present a satisfying contract.

Demanding imbursements from sales, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike. The strike was successful.

Members of the United Auto Workers went on strike after International Harvester refused their contract negotiations. The strike was successful, improving work rules and policies.

Considered the first professor’s strike at a major university, faculty at Boston University went on strike in demand of better wages and roles in administrative affairs. The strike was successful.

The Airline Deregulation Act was signed by President Jimmy Carter, increasing competition as new private airlines formed and air fares lowered.

The Times, Daily News, and New York Post newspapers were not published for 88 days as workers went on strike protesting staffing cuts.

Sanitation workers in Georgia went on strike for better wages. The strike was unsuccessful and resulted in the firing of over 900 workers.

Teachers in New York City went on strike to protest low wages, and large class sizes. The strike was unsuccessful and resulted in the jailing of 22 teachers.

Workers at a General Motors plant went on strike protesting unreasonable production expectations. The company met some of the workers’ demands, ignoring others.

Due to poor wages and unreasonable expectations, 4,000 workers at the Farah Manufacturing Company went on strike for their ability to unionize. By 1973, they were allowed form a union.

Demanding better wages, 200,000 members of the Communication Workers of America went on strike against AT&T for 18 days. The strike was successful.

With the help of Attorney F. Lee Bailey, a group of New York traffic controllers formed the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization to improve the existing organizations.

Despite the firing of 3 workers, thousands of telephone installers and repairmen saw improved safety standards after going on strike protesting unsafe working conditions.

Going on to lead a boycott against Campbell’s Soup in later years, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee formed to represent migrant farm workers.

In rejection of a contract offer, the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union went on strike. They eventually saw contracts with higher wages and improved benefits.

New York City Newspaper workers went on strike demanding higher wages and job security. The strike was successful.

Health clinics established by farm workers shed light on the need for accessible healthcare for workers.

Members of the ILGWU led an unsanctioned protest, but eventually abandoned their picket line due to lack of support.

The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union went on strike in protest of low wages and poor working conditions. The strike was successful.

In demand of better wages and benefits, Westinghouse employees went on strike for 116 days. The strike was successful.

Recorded as the longest strike in American labor history, members of the United Auto Workers union protested low wages and poor working conditions for 7 years, ultimately succeeding.

Operation Dixie, organized by the Congress of Industrial Organizations, attempted to unionize Southern workers. The campaign was unsuccessful due to anti-union sentiment.

For 171 days, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union went on strike protesting their low wages. The strike was successful, gaining more equality for the dock strikers.

Packinghouse workers went on strike demanding wage increases, ending only after the National Guard was mobilized. The strikers settled on a lower increase than demanded.

The Taft-Hartley Act (aka Labor Management Relations Act) was established to restrict the power of labor unions, prohibiting strikes and establishing right-to-work laws.

Causing massive disruptions in the supply chain, railroad workers went on strike despite failed negotiations with the White House. The strike was ultimately successful.

Halting production essential to the war efforts, 93,000 packinghouse workers went on strike demanding better wages. The strike was successful.

To implement and enforce the banning of all employment discrimination based on race, the Fair Employment Practices Commission was founded.

After firing union members, workers went on strike, barricading the factory entrance. The strike was successful and Ford Motor Company recognized the unionization of its workers.

After the General Motors Sit Down Strike of 1936, the Supreme Court ruled that sit-down strikes were illegal.

Workers at Chrysler Corporation factories went on strike for better wages and working conditions. The strike was successful solidifying union positions in the auto industry.

The Wages and Hours Act (aka Fair Labor Standards Act) passed officially establishing a federal minimum wage, prohibiting child labor, and protecting workers’ rights.

During a peaceful march of steelworkers and their families, police opened violence on the peaceful protesters, killing and injuring many.

Employees of smaller steel companies went on strike against low wages and working conditions. Strikers achieved their demands five years later after seeking legal action.

The United Automobile Workers became officially recognized after workers at General Motors factories conducted a sit-down strike and halted the company’s production.

The National Labor Relations Act (aka the Wagner Act) was established to protect workers’ rights to unionize and petition for better working rights and conditions.

As part of the General Textile Strike of 1934, 8,000 textile workers went on strike demanding better wages and working conditions. Federal troops forcibly ended the strike.

Striking truck drivers demanding shorter working hours and higher wages were met with violence as martial law was declared to quell the strike. The strike was mostly successful.

During the Great Depression, Congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act to enforce industrial self-regulation. The NIRA was later ruled unconstitutional.

As the first strike among commercial airline pilots in the U.S., members of the Air Line Pilots Association went on strike against 40% wage cuts. The strike was unsuccessful.

To federally regulate minimum wage for public laborers and enforce labor standards, the Davis-Bacon Act was established.

1,800 mill workers went on strike for better working conditions and a 40-hour work week. The strike was unsuccessful and the strikers and their families were evicted.

After striking for three weeks, 200-600 mine workers were shot at by police. The strike was unsuccessful and resulted in 6 deaths and many injuries.

Due to the potential of strikes to impact the supply chain and public transportation, the Railway Labor Act was established to establish negotiation procedures.

12,000 members of the Fur and Leather Workers Union were the first workers to win the 40-hour work week despite police violence to end the strike.

15,000 wool and silk mill workers faced tear gas and freezing fire hoses from police forces while striking against a wage cut. The strike was successful in the short term.

The Brotherhood of Sleeping Var Porters formed as a result of the American Railway Union denying membership to Black individuals.

Protesting poor working conditions and the firing of union workers, strikers were arrested and terrorized by the LAPD after banning public meetings. The strike was unsuccessful.

Due to a cut wages, 400,000 railroad workers went on strike. After many riots and millions of dollars lost, Congress passed the Daughtery Injunction, prohibiting striking.

Miners on strike left the mines and opened fire on the nearby town, killing and injuring many, after fights broke out against strikebreakers.

Cut wages and increased working hours led to a strike involving 60,000-80,000 textile workers. Militias were called and violence ensued, but the strike was mostly successful.

Coal miners striking against poor working conditions were unlawfully evicted. Violence ensued between the townspeople and the agency responsible for evicting the miners.

350,000 workers across 6 states went on strike against US Steel, the largest employer in the steel industry. The strike was unsuccessful and broken up with violence by police.

The Boston police force went on strike demanding the right to unionize. Governor Calvin Coolidge refused to negotiate and deployed the National Guard.

As the first named general strike of the 20th century, over 50,000 workers peacefully went on strike in Seattle. The strike was unsuccessful and union offices were raided.

To prevent striking during World War I, the United States created the War Labor Board to facilitate union negotiations.

On a march to Washington to protest the loss of their farms, hundreds of farmers were arrested for burning bridges and cutting telephone lines.

As a result of the Industrial Workers of the World call to strike against Arizonan copper mines, over 1,200 strikers were gathered and forcefully deported to New Mexico.

On the way to a weaver’s strike, the Industrial Workers of the World were met by an armed police force, causing multiple deaths and many injuries.

Over 1,500 overworked and underpaid refinery workers went on strike demanding increased wages. The strike was unsuccessful after a riot broke out killing some of the strikers.

To regulate the living conditions, reduce working hours, and establish better pay for sailors, Senator Robert La Follete proposed the Seaman’s Act.

At least 16 workers died during the Alabama Miners’ strike as strikers were met with violence from a private army hired by the coal companies.

Striking over labor conditions, mine workers were attacked by the Colorado National Guard. 19 people died, naming this event the Ludlow Massacre.

Ford Motor Company announced a groundbreaking policy that increased workers wages in hope to decrease turnover rats and increase productivity.

300 Fulton Mills loom workers went on strike protesting against long workdays and the firing of coworkers. This strike was successful; however, future strikes were not.

Mine workers went on strike after Michigan Copper refused to acknowledge the Western Federation of Miners. Some demands were met, but the union remained unrecognized.

24,000 workers at silk mills in New Jersey went on strike demanding a decrease in the recently increased workload and an 8 hour workday. The strike was unsuccessful.

As over 300 hotel staff went on strike, the International Hotel Workers Union issued 10 demands. All demands were met except the recognition of the union, ending the strike.

Massachusetts became the first state to require companies pay their women and children laborers a standard minimum wage.

25,000 immigrant textile workers went on strike after factory owners attempted to bypass a law shortening the workweek from 56 to 54 hours. The strike was successful.

After unsuccessfully negotiating better working conditions, 146 workers in the Triangle Waistcoat Factory died as only 1 door was left unlocked for employees to escape the fire.

600 workers went on what would be called the first strike of the Butcher’s Union. With the help of other unions feeding and sheltering the workers, the strike was successful.

After suffering daily injuries and inconsistent wages, the workers of the Pressed Steel Car Co. went on strike. The strike was successful.

Lasting 11 weeks, 30,000 female garment workers went on strike against poor working conditions, wages, and long hours. The strike was mostly successful.

Thousands of nonunionized immigrant workers went on strike protesting for better working conditions. The strike was successful.

3,000 workers at the General Electric Plant in NY held the first recorded “sit down” strike in protest of the discrimination faced by many workers.

Looking to revolutionize industrial unionism, the Industrial Workers of the World formed as the first union allowing anyone to join, regardless of skill, race, or gender.

After textile workers went on strike for 6 months, Governor William Douglas signed a contract ensuring the workers were rehired and the proposed wage cuts were investigated.

At a convention to address the injustices working women face, the National Women’s Trade Union League formed to protect women’s rights in the workplace.

The Department of Labor and Commerce was created.

Demanding that publishers only hire union writers, Jewish newspaper writers went on strike for better wages. The strike was unsuccessful.

After the United Coal Workers of America threatened to cut off the fuel supply to several major cities, President Theodore Roosevelt arranged a “square deal” to end the strike.

The United Textile Workers of America was formed advocating for better working conditions.