A comprehensive nationwide legal defense network was established to provide coordinated legal support across multiple jurisdictions. The Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network, formed by labor unions and civil rights organizations, mobilized over 1,000 lawyers in 42 states to offer pro bono …
National Legal Defense ConsortiumState-Level Legal Aid OrganizationsCivil Rights AttorneysAFL-CIODemocracy Forward+3 morelegal-infrastructurecivil-rights-defensemulti-jurisdictional-supportlabor-rightsfederal-workers-protection
Senator Arlen Specter announces on March 24, 2009, that he will not support the Employee Free Choice Act, effectively killing labor’s top legislative priority despite Democratic control of the presidency and both houses of Congress. EFCA would have allowed workers to form unions through …
Barack ObamaU.S. Chamber of CommerceBusiness RoundtableAFL-CIOU.S. Senate+1 morelaborlabor-law-reformcorporate-lobbyingcard-checkfilibuster+1 more
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters ends a 15-day strike against United Parcel Service on August 19, 1997, winning a contract that creates 10,000 new full-time jobs from part-time positions, increases wages for part-time workers by 36 percent over five years, and maintains the union pension …
United Parcel ServiceInternational Brotherhood of TeamstersRon CareyAFL-CIOlaborstriketeamsterspart-time-workerslabor-victory+1 more
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act becomes law on August 4, 1988, requiring employers with 100 or more workers to provide 60 days advance notice before plant closings or mass layoffs. Congress passes the bill over President Reagan’s veto threats, responding to the …
U.S. CongressRonald ReaganU.S. Chamber of CommerceAFL-CIOlaborplant-closingsdeindustrializationcorporate-loopholesworker-protection
After six cloture attempts fail to break a Senate filibuster, the Labor Law Reform Act of 1978 dies on June 22, marking the most significant corporate lobbying victory since Taft-Hartley and demonstrating that even with Democratic supermajorities and a Democratic president, business interests can …
Business RoundtableU.S. Chamber of CommerceNational Association of ManufacturersAFL-CIOU.S. Senate+1 morelaborlabor-lawfilibustercorporate-lobbyingbusiness-roundtable+1 more
On December 29, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and establishing for the first time comprehensive federal authority to set and enforce workplace safety standards. The legislation responded …
President Richard NixonU.S. CongressAFL-CIONational Association of ManufacturersChamber of Commerceworker-rightsregulatory-reformcorporate-lobbyinglabor-movementpublic-health
The AFL-CIO achieves a major victory in its confrontation with the National Right-to-Work Committee’s coordinated efforts to extend right-to-work laws to six additional states through ballot initiatives. Union organizing and voter mobilization efforts result in the defeat of right-to-work …
AFL-CIONational Right to Work CommitteeCalifornia votersOhio votersWashington state voters+3 moreright-to-worklabor-organizingdemocratic-resistancestate-legislationballot-initiatives
The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge on December 5, 1955, creating the AFL-CIO with 16 million members representing one-third of American workers. George Meany, the conservative plumber who led the AFL, becomes president, while the more progressive …
George MeanyWalter ReutherAmerican Federation of LaborCongress of Industrial OrganizationsAFL-CIOlaborunionslabor-consolidationlabor-politicscold-war