The Labor Movements of America

To begin my research on the history of labor in American, I came across an article that gives a general overview of all of the major labor movements in the U.S. This article defines a labor movement as the organization of a mass of workers who wish to forward their interests. The first labor movements specifically mentioned in the article happened in the early 1800's, yet the articles extends all the way to 21st century. This shows that labor has been progressing along side with our country. With each new movement, the overall conditions of labor become better. Whether pay was increased or work was just made safer for all the employs, labor movements helped create the work conditions we have today. The labor movements specifically began in 1886, when Samuel Gompers formed the American Federation of Labor, or AFL for short. This led into the Haymarket Square riot of 1886 and the Pullman strike of 1894. These were two of the first major incidents of workers lashing out at their employers. This led into the early 20th century. This was a time that major improvements to working conditions were made. Thousands of workers joined unions, and participated in strikes in order to give themselves a fair pay for their hard work. All of these major improvements in the American labor system would not continue though. When the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, many Americans lost their jobs or suffered a wage cut of some sort. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt's election that led American into a new labor era. By creating enough new jobs for everyone, our economy recovered enough so labor in the U.S. would remain stable. Labor unions continue to be present today, keeping everything fair for both the employer and the employee. It will be interesting to see how the most recent economic crisis will evvect labor in the long run.

"labor movement." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. .