American Federation of Labor

Organized Labor’s Struggles with Human Rights and Human Dignity The history of labor organizations is vast. It involves difficult times and conquer of great achievements. Those achievements have created a path for our rights and for our dignity. American workers have an improved life today because workers got organized and fought for their rights. Organized labor were initiated in the formative years of the American nation. The colonial period had only free workers, such as family members and…

The American Industrial worker has faced various challenges throughout history. The late 1800s marked a period for the United States in which industrial supremacy was beginning to efficiently unravel and reveal itself to the country. Between the years 1865 and 1900, the American industrial worker was greatly impacted. Some effects were positive and uplifting while others were negative and hurt the workers. There are three main reasons for why there was such a large impact on the workers during…

In 1877 Rutherford Birchard Hayes is elected as president promising the end of the reconstruction era. Consequently one of the most important reforms in American history has officially failed its purpose which was to integrate the formerly slave population with equal rights, like white citizens. This event officially defines the start of the “Gilded age” and although the reconstruction era was over a different version of the reform was underway. Americas focus shifted towards the uncultivated…

industries. It was these innovations that facilitated growth into the modern day American economy. To analyze the development of industry, business, and labor after the American Civil War, this paper will discuss several industries of America’s Industrial Revolution. This paper will further examine what made the leaders of these industries successful, identify the origins and growth of labor unions, and determine what labor unions accomplished in the post-Civil War…

1865 to 1900, the American industry boomed due to abundant raw materials, large labor supply, new technological inventions, emergence of entrepreneurs, federal government assistant and expanding domestic markets. The American industrial workers during this time period, 1865 to 1900, faced a shift from the typical agrarian society to an industrial society, and were greatly impacted, although negatively, by the introduction of new technologies (technology changes), immigration and labor unions.…

In 1903 the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) formed. This was when two driver unions came together with the help of Samuel Gompers, who was the leader of the American Federation Labor. Samuel Gompers persuaded two competing unions, the Team Drivers International Union (TDIU)and the Teamsters National Union (TNU) to join together because they would be make a much stronger union together than apart. Together the TDIU and TNU formed a new union called the International Brotherhood of…

On September 7, 1885, the first nationwide observance of Labor Day occurred. Over the next four years, this holiday would be celebrated in over 400 cities. Oregon was the first state in the union to make Labor Day an official holiday, New York would follow later that same year. Furthermore, New York declared the first Monday in September as the official day to celebrate this holiday (Foner, 2005). By 1894, Labor Day became a federal holiday. How this holiday would look and take place was…

In early twentieth century America, industrial and labor relations appeared to be at a crossroads. With the outbreak of ‘The Great War’, American industry was tasked with supplying essential products to the Allies’ war effort. At the same time, manufacturing managers faced a labor shortage and tense labor relations as major unions like the American Federation of Labor grew in power and prominence. In an attempt to bolster their labor force and alleviate these tensions, the National Association…

The history labor relations in the Pacific Northwest is long and complex story. From a regional scale to the national state, the topic of labor in the northwest has consistently changed due to influences from external events and internal unrest intertwined with racial relations and social inequalities. The significance of the history of labor relations is the influence it had on the course of history for the region and played an important role in shaping the current state and quality of…

or better known as a, labor union, is an association of workers fighting to improve safety benchmarks, acquire benefits and higher pay, and gain better working conditions. During the period of 1840s and 1850s, working conditions were suboptimal. Factory owners abused their workers in a variety of ways. Factory owners employed children, severely underpaid their workers, and had no regard for the safety of their workers. Workers sought to create better conditions in the labor market because of the…