Breadcrumb Home About Us Our Labor History Timeline Our Labor History Timeline Throughout our history, the labor movement has accomplished a lot. If you get weekends off or overtime pay, thank the union members who fought for those rights. None of our movement’s achievements would have happened without the effort, organization and advocacy of our brothers and sisters. But injustice still runs amok. We must look to the past not only for inspiration, but for the tools we need to continue the fight. The roots of the problems we face today can be found in our past. So can the beginnings of the solutions we need for our future. The labor history timeline highlights the key events and the people who helped bring about radical changes in the workplace and society. Power concedes nothing without demands. Frederick Douglass The Labor Movement and Gender Equality Some of the earliest organizing efforts in the United States were young women working at mills. From that point forward, the labor movement has played a central role in the advancement of women’s rights. 1834 First turnout of “mill girls” in Lowell, Massachusetts, to protest wage cuts 1843 Lowell Female Labor Reform Association begins public petitioning for 10-hour day 1871 After her dress shop is destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire, Mary Harris "Mother" Jones begins working as a labor organizer 1903 Women’s Trade Union League formed at the AFL convention 1909 “Uprising of the 20,000” female shirtwaist makers in New York strike against sweatshop conditions 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York kills nearly 150 workers 1912 Bread and Roses strike begun by immigrant women in Lawrence, Massachusetts, ended with 23,000 men, women and children on strike and with as many as 20,000 on the picket line 1933 Frances Perkins becomes the U.S. secretary of labor, the first woman to be appointed to the U.S. Cabinet 1963 Equal Pay Act bans wage discrimination based on gender 1974 Coalition of Labor Union Women founded 2009 President Barack Obama signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restored the rights of working women to sue over pay discrimination The Labor Movement and Immigrant Rights One of the driving forces in immigration to the United States is the search for good jobs. Fighting for the rights of immigrant workers has long been part of the labor movement. 1877 National uprising of railroad workers 10 Irish coal miners ("Molly Maguires") hanged in Pennsylvania; nine more subsequently were hanged 1909 Unorganized immigrant steelworkers strike in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, and win all demands 1912 Bread and Roses strike begun by immigrant women in Lawrence, Massachusetts, ended with 23,000 men, women and children on strike and with as many as 20,000 on the picket line 1973 Labor Council for Latin American Advancement founded 2000 AFL-CIO Executive Council calls for reform in the nation’s immigration laws for undocumented workers 2006 The AFL-CIO and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network form a partnership to collaborate with local worker centers on immigration reform and other issues The Labor Movement and Workplace Safety Much of the labor movement’s history is a response to dangerous work conditions. Making sure that workplaces are safe is one of the driving reasons that working people organize to express their voice. 1909 “Uprising of the 20,000” female shirtwaist makers in New York strike against sweatshop conditions 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist factory in fire in New York kills nearly 150 workers 1945 Frances Perkins ends her long tenure as secretary of labor, leaving behind a legacy that reduced workplace accidents, created laws against child labor and expanded workers' rights 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act passed The Labor Movement and Civil Rights The civil rights movement and the labor movement have been intertwined from the beginning. Civil rights leaders have always been labor leaders, too. America's union movement champions those who lack a voice in our society. Union members played a critical role in the civil rights struggles of the past and that involvement continues today. When Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed for civil disobedience, unions and union members frequently came to his aid with the legal and financial help he needed. Union members marched in Washington in 1963 and in countless cities around the country. King was killed while in Memphis to aid striking sanitation workers. Today, the union movement is in the forefront of efforts to ensure that the gains of the past are maintained and to fight for those still denied opportunity and equality. From its struggles to ensure U.S. workplaces are free of discrimination to its battles to ensure that the hard-earned right to vote is secure for all, the union movement continues to fight for the poor and the oppressed. 1619 Slaves from Africa first imported to colonies 1664 First slavery codes begin trend of making African servants slaves for life 1676 Bacon’s Rebellion of servants and slaves in Virginia 1800 Gabriel Prosser’s slave insurrection in Virginia 1865 Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution abolishes slavery 1869 Colored National Labor Union formed 1870 Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution adopted; states the right to vote may not be abrogated by color 1925 A. Philip Randolph helps create the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters 1941 A. Philip Randolph threatens march on Washington to protest racial discrimination in defense jobs 1963 March on Washington for jobs and justice 1964 Civil Rights Act bans institutional forms of racial discrimination 1965 AFL-CIO forms A. Philip Randolph Institute 1965 César Chávez forms AFL-CIO United Farm Workers Organizing Committee 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, during sanitation workers' strike 1972 Coalition of Black Trade Unionists formed 1973 Labor Council for Latin American Advancement founded 1992 Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance created within AFL-CIO 1997 Pride At Work, a national coalition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers and their supporters, becomes an AFL-CIO constituency group; AFL-CIO membership renewed growth The Labor Movement and Workplace Rights Another key force behind working people organizing is so that they can earn enough to support their families. Good wages are part of that calculation, but so are health care, paid sick leave and other rights that make sure that working people can do their jobs and take care of their families. 1619 The first labor strike on American soil was organized and staged by Polish workers and artisans in Jamestown 1677 First recorded prosecution against strikers in New York City 1791 First strike in building trades by Philadelphia carpenters for a 10-hour day Bill of Rights adopted 1835 General strike for 10-hour day in Philadelphia 1843 Lowell Female Labor Reform Association begins public petitioning for 10-hour day 1847 New Hampshire enacts first state 10-hour-day law 1860 Great shoemaker’s strike in New England 1885 Successful strike by Knights of Labor on the Southwest (or Gould) System; the Missouri Pacific; the Missouri, Kansas and Texas; and the Wabash 1886 General strike in Chicago turns bloody in Haymarket Square; seven “anarchists” charged and sentenced to death 1890 Carpenters President Peter J. McGuire and the union strike and win the eight-hour day for some 28,000 members 1892 Iron and steelworkers union defeated in lockout at Homestead, Pennsylvania 1892 Integrated general strike in New Orleans succeeds 1894 Boycott of Pullman sleeping cars leads to general strike on railroads 1903 To improve enforcement of child labor laws, Mother Jones organizes a children's march from Philadelphia to New York 1912 Bread and Roses strike begun by immigrant women in Lawrence, Massachusetts, ended with 23,000 men, women and children on strike and with as many as 20,000 on the picket line 1914 Ludlow Massacre of 13 women and children and seven men in Colorado coal miners’ strike 1919 One of every five workers walked out in wave of nationwide strikes, including national clothing, coal and steel strikes, a general strike in Seattle, and a police strike in Boston 1937 Auto Workers win sit-down strike against General Motors in Flint, Michigan 1937 Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters win contract with Pullman Co. 1946 Largest strike wave in U.S. history 1981 President Ronald Reagan breaks air traffic controllers’ strike 1981 AFL-CIO rallies 400,000 in Washington on Solidarity Day 1990 United Mine Workers of America win strike against Pittston Coal 1997 The AFL-CIO defeats legislation giving the president the ability to “Fast Track” trade legislation without assured protection of workers’ rights and the environment 1998 The longest successful strike in the history of the United States, the Frontier Strike, ends after 6 years, 4 months and 10 days. 2001 Labor unions join with community allies to enact “living wage” ordinances in 76 communities across the nation 2003 The AFL-CIO establishes Working America to reach out to nonunion members and mobilize workers through door-to-door canvassing in neighborhoods The Labor Movement and Retirement Working people don't work forever. A healthy and secure retirement should be an attainable goal for any worker who wants it. The labor movement has fought and still fights to make this dream true for as many as possible. 1935 Frances Perkins drafts the Social Security Act, greatly increasing retirement security for Americans 1944 Nelson Cruikshank begins working for the AFL and works hard to expand or establish Social Security, Medicare and national health care 2001 AFL-CIO launches Alliance for Retired Americans to recruit activists and mobilize older Americans The Labor Movement and Shared Prosperity The labor movement works to ensure working people receive a fair return on their work. Unions focus on raising wages and working standards and help moderate the excessive compensation of executives. 1765 Artisans and laborers in Sons of Liberty protest oppressive British taxes 1770 British troops kill five dock workers in Boston Massacre 1773 Laborers protest royal taxation in the Boston Tea Party 1786 Philadelphia printers conduct first successful strike for increased wages 1900 The AFL and National Civic Federation promote trade agreements with employers; U.S. Industrial Commission declares trade unions good for democracy 2001 Labor unions and community allies enact “living wage” ordinances in 76 communities across the nation The Labor Movement and Labor Law The labor movement has long advanced the rights of working people by advocating for progressive labor and employment laws. 1842 Commonwealth v. Hunt decision frees unions from some prosecutions 1847 New Hampshire enacts first state 10-hour-day law 1898 Erdman Act prohibits discrimination against railroad workers because of union membership and provides for mediation of railway labor disputes 1902 Anthracite strike arbitrated after President Theodore Roosevelt intervenes 1912 Bill creating Department of Labor passes at the end of congressional session 1913 Woodrow Wilson takes office as president and appoints the first secretary of labor, William B. Wilson of the Mine Workers 1926 Railway Labor Act sets up procedures to settle railway labor disputes and forbids discrimination against union members 1931 Davis-Bacon Act provides for prevailing wages on publicly funded construction projects 1932 Norris-LaGuardia Act prohibits federal injunctions in most labor disputes 1935 National Labor Relations Act passed 1935 Social Security Act passed 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act establishes first minimum wage and 40-hour week 1947 Taft-Hartley Act restricts union members’ activities 1959 Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (Landrum-Griffin) passed 1962 President John F. Kennedy’s order gives federal workers the right to bargain 1963 Equal Pay Act bans wage discrimination based on gender 1964 Civil Rights Act bans institutional forms of racial discrimination 2002 President George W. Bush pledges to strip collective bargaining rights from 170,000 civil servants in the new Transportation Security Administration and denies bargaining rights to airport-security screening personnel 2009 President Obama signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restored the rights of working women to sue over pay discrimination Trade Unions and the AFL-CIO History Timeline 1866 National Labor Union founded 1869 Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor founded 1869 Colored National Labor Union founded 1881 Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions formed 1882 First Labor Day parade held in New York City 1886 American Federation of Labor founded 1903 Women’s Trade Union League formed at the AFL convention 1905 Industrial Workers of the World founded 1908 The AFL endorses Democrat William Jennings Bryan for U.S. president 1918 Leadership of IWW sentenced to federal prison charges of disloyalty to the United States 1919 International Labor Organization founded in France 1924 Samuel Gompers dies; William Green becomes AFL president 1925 A. Philip Randolph helps create the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters 1935 Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) formed within the AFL 1936 The AFL and the CIO create Non-Partisan League and help President Roosevelt win re-election to a second term 1938 The Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) forms as an independent federation; John L. Lewis president 1940 John L. Lewis resigns; Phillip Murray becomes CIO president 1943 The CIO forms first political action committee to get out the union vote for President Roosevelt 1949 The first two of 11 unions with Communist leaders are purged from the CIO 1952 William Green and Phillip Murray die; George Meany and Walter Reuther become presidents of the AFL and the CIO, respectively 1955 The AFL and the CIO merge; George Meany president 1957 The AFL-CIO expels two affiliates for corruption 1965 The AFL-CIO forms A. Philip Randolph Institute 1965 César Chávez forms AFL-CIO United Farm Workers Organizing Committee 1972 Coalition of Black Trade Unionists formed 1973 Labor Council for Latin American Advancement founded 1974 Coalition for Labor Union Women founded 1979 Lane Kirkland elected president of the AFL-CIO 1989 Organizing Institute created 1990 United Steelworkers of America Labor Alliance created within the AFL-CIO 1992 Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance created within the AFL-CIO 1995 Thomas Donahue becomes interim president of the AFL-CIO 1995 John Sweeney elected AFL-CIO president 1997 Pride At Work, a national coalition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers becomes an AFL-CIO constituency group 2002 The AFL-CIO forms the Industrial Union Council 2003 The AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department launches the Helmets to Hardhats program 2003 The AFL-CIO establishes Working America to reach out to nonunion members and mobilize workers through door-to-door canvassing in neighborhoods 2005 Change to Win holds its founding convention in St. Louis, created among seven unions previously members of the AFL-CIO 2006 The AFL-CIO and the National Day Laborer Organizing Networkform a partnership to collaborate with local worker centers on immigration reform and other issues 2008 The AFL-CIO establishes the Union Veterans Council 2009 Richard Trumka elected AFL-CIO president 2009 The first of three unions leave Change to Win to reaffiliate with the AFL-CIO Resources Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs Labor History Societies California Labor History Greater Cleveland Labor History Society Greater New Haven (Connecticut) Labor History Association Hawaii Labor History Society Illinois Labor History Society Kansas Historical Society Massachusetts AFL-CIO Labor History Michigan Labor History Society Minnesota Historical Society Labor Interpretive Center Monroe (Michigan) County Labor History Museum Nevada Labor History New Hampshire Historical Society New York Labor History Association Pennsylvania Labor History Society Rhode Island Labor History Society Mexican Immigrant Labor History Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project Wisconsin Labor History Society The Youngstown Historical Center of Industry & Labor Visit these sites for an education in the proud history of the U.S. union movement. Labor History Online A comprehensive bibliography of information, documents and links of U.S. labor history sites A collection of labor history articles published in The American Postal Worker magazine AFSCME and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. AFSCMEroots Digital History The Harry Bridges Project Institute for Labor Studies & Research Labor and Working-Class History Association Library of Congress Labor History Resources New York University Libraries Labor History Resources Guides (Tamiment Library and beyond) Pacific Northwest Labor History Association Southern Labor Studies Association Major Labor History Sites A. Philip Randolph An online exhibit, based on the 1992–2001 traveling exhibit, featuring photos from his early life and from his work in the civil rights and trade union movements. American Labor Museum: Botto House National Landmark The American Labor Museum is housed in the Botto House National Landmark, a 1908 Victorian home and meeting place for more than 20,000 silk mill workers during the 1913 Paterson Silk Strike. The museum includes a labor and immigrant library and changing exhibits. American Labor Studies Center The American Labor Studies Center promotes the teaching and learning about the American labor movement and its history in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools. The George Meany Memorial Archives Online exhibits, reference assistance and more at the archives established by the AFL-CIO to preserve its historical records and make them available for research. Mining Disasters Information about mining tragedies and the legislation they resulted in, from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. Mother Jones Museum A virtual museum and curricula about the labor agitator, Mother Jones. The Samuel Gompers Papers A documentary history of the American working class, sponsored by the University of Maryland-College Park, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the George Meany Memorial Archives. U.S. Department of Labor Selected U.S. labor history links. Labor Education Sites Alabama University of Alabama—Center for Labor Education and Research Arkansas University of Arkansas at Little Rock—Institute for Economic Advancement California Laney College—Labor Studies Program University of California at Berkeley—Labor Center University of California, Los Angeles—Center for Labor Research and Education Florida Florida International University Center for Labor Research & Studies United Association for Labor Education Hawaii University of Hawaii Center for Labor Education & Research Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations DePaul University Labor Education Center Indiana Indiana University—Labor Studies Program Iowa University of Iowa Labor Center Maine University of Maine—Bureau of Labor Education Maryland University of Maryland Labor History and Workplace Studies Massachusetts University of Massachusetts (Amherst) Labor Relations Research Center Michigan Michigan State University School of Human Resources and Labor Relations Wayne State University Labor Studies Center Minnesota University of Minnesota Labor Education Service New Jersey Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations New York Cornell University Industrial Labor Relations Oregon University of Oregon Labor Education Research Center United Association for Labor Education—Union Women's Summer Schools Pennsylvania Penn State University Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations Rhode Island Institute for Labor Studies & Research West Virginia West Virginia University Institute for Labor Studies and Research Wisconsin University of Wisconsin-Madison School for Workers International Programs Centre for Labour Studies, Adelaide, Australia Simon Fraser University Centre for Labour Studies (Burnaby, British Columbia) Get Email Updates Sign Up Text WORK to 235246 to opt in to mobile messages from the AFL-CIO. 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