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
Congress passes the Communist Control Act of 1954, preventing members of the Communist Party from holding office in labor unions and other labor organizations. The legislation represents the culmination of systematic efforts to weaponize anti-communism against labor organizing, following the …
U.S. CongressDwight EisenhowerHouse Un-American Activities CommitteeAmerican Federation of LaborCongress of Industrial Organizationslabor-suppressionmccarthyismanti-communismred-scareunion-busting+1 more
On September 22, 1919, the American Federation of Labor launched a massive strike against the U.S. steel industry after 98 percent of workers voted to walk out, shutting down half the industry including mills in Pueblo, Chicago, Wheeling, Johnstown, Cleveland, Lackawanna, and Youngstown. The AFL had …
American Federation of LaborUnited States Steel CorporationElbert H. GaryAttorney General A. Mitchell PalmerJ. Edgar Hooverlabor-suppressionstate-surveillancepropaganda
President Woodrow Wilson signed the Clayton Antitrust Act, enhancing previous antitrust legislation and explicitly exempting labor unions from antitrust laws. Alabama Democrat Henry De Lamar Clayton Jr. introduced the legislation in anticipation of the Commission on Industrial Relations report. The …
President Woodrow WilsonHenry De Lamar Clayton Jr.Samuel GompersAmerican Federation of LaborE. Y. Webbprogressive-eraantitrustlabor-organizingregulatory-reform
A federal court sentenced AFL President Samuel Gompers to one year in prison, Vice President John Mitchell to nine months, and Secretary Frank Morrison to six months for contempt of court in the Buck’s Stove and Range Company boycott case. The case exemplified how federal courts had become …
Samuel GompersJohn MitchellFrank MorrisonAmerican Federation of LaborBuck's Stove and Range Company+1 morelabor-suppressionjudicial-captureprogressive-eraantitrustinjunctions
The U.S. Supreme Court rules unanimously 9-0 in Loewe v. Lawlor (the “Danbury Hatters’ Case”) that the Sherman Antitrust Act applies to labor unions and that individual union members can be held personally liable for damages caused by union boycotts. Chief Justice Melville W. …
U.S. Supreme CourtChief Justice Melville W. FullerUnited Hatters of North AmericaD.E. Loewe & CompanyMartin Lawlor+1 morelabor-suppressiongilded-agesupreme-courtantitrust-misusejudicial-capture+1 more
Around 30,000 union members—half of New Orleans’ workforce and virtually all its unionized workers—strike on November 8, 1892, after the Board of Trade refuses to negotiate with the predominantly Black Teamsters union while offering contracts to white-dominated Scalesmen and Packers unions. …
Workingmen's Amalgamated CouncilTriple AllianceNew Orleans Board of TradeAmerican Federation of Laborlabor-organizinginterracial-solidaritycorporate-resistancegilded-age