Portal:Organized Labour

Introduction

Image created by Walter Crane to celebrate International Workers' Day (May Day, 1 May), 1889. The image depicts workers from the five populated continents (Africa, Asia, Americas, Australia and Europe) in unity underneath an angel representing freedom, fraternity and equality.

The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considered an instance of class conflict.

In trade unions, workers campaign for higher wages, better working conditions and fair treatment from their employers, and through the implementation of labour laws, from their governments. They do this through collective bargaining, sectoral bargaining, and when needed, strike action. In some countries, co-determination gives representatives of workers seats on the board of directors of their employers.

Political parties representing the interests of workers campaign for labour rights, social security and the welfare state. They are usually called a labour party (in English-speaking countries), a social democratic party (in Germanic and Slavic countries), a socialist party (in Romance countries), or sometimes a workers' party.
Though historically less prominent, the cooperative movement campaigns to replace capitalist ownership of the economy with worker cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, and other types of cooperative ownership. This is related to the concept of economic democracy.

The labour movement developed as a response to capitalism and the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, at about the same time as socialism. The early goals of the movement were the right to unionise, the right to vote, democracy and the 40-hour week. As these were achieved in many of the advanced economies of western Europe and north America in the early decades of the 20th century, the labour movement expanded to issues of welfare and social insurance, wealth distribution and income distribution, public services like health care and education, social housing and common ownership. (Full article...)

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Union Record Monday, February 3, 1919

The Seattle General Strike was a five-day general work stoppage by 65,000 workers in the city of Seattle, Washington from February 6 to 11, 1919. The goal was to support shipyard workers in several unions who were locked out of their jobs when they tried to strike for higher wages. Most other local unions joined the walk-out, including members of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The national offices of the AFL unions were opposed to the shutdown. Local, state and federal government officials, the press, and much of the public viewed the strike as a radical attempt to subvert American institutions.

The strike's demand for higher wages came within months of the end of World War I, the original justification for the wage controls. From 1915 to 1918, Seattle had seen a big increase in union membership, and some union leaders were inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1917. Some commentators blamed the strike on Bolsheviks and other radicals inspired by "un-American" ideologies, making it the first expression of the anti-left sentiment that characterized the Red Scare of 1919 and 1920. (Full article...)

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November in Labor History

Significant dates in labour history.

November 01 - Malbone Street Wreck occurs on the first day of the BLE strike in 1918 in the U.S.; the first congress of the International Trade Union Confederation is held; the International Harvester strike of 1979–80 began
November 02 - Brian Behan died
November 03 - Nathan Feinsinger died; the U.S. Supreme Court decided Marquez v. Screen Actors Guild Inc.; Dennis McDermott was born
November 04 - Tomasz Arciszewski was born; James Green was born
November 05 - Eugene V. Debs was born; Nimrod Workman was born; Agustín Tosco died; the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike began
November 06 - Lloyd McBride died
November 08 - Ed Boyce was born; the 1892 New Orleans general strike began
November 09 - Congress of Industrial Organizations founded in the U.S.; Philip Murray died; Danny Greene was born; the Chicago Federation of Labor is founded
November 11 - Centralia massacre occurs in the U.S.
November 12 - Bituminous coal strike of 1974 begins in the U.S.; the Democratic Confederation of San Marino Workers is formed
November 13 - The UK firefighter dispute 2002–03 begins; Karen Silkwood died; the International Typographical Union begins publishing the Green Bay News-Chronicle during a strike
November 14 - The High Court of Australia issues its ruling in New South Wales v Commonwealth, upholding the validity of WorkChoices; Daniel J. Tobin died; the 2007 German national rail strike began
November 15 - Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions founded in the U.S.; Raymond McKay was born
November 16 - Jean Maitron died; the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers is founded; Georges Marchais died
November 17 - Harold J. Gibbons died
November 18 - Chris Watson died
November 19 - William J. McCarthy died; Joe Hill is executed; the National Writers Union is formed
November 20 - Giles Hart was born; Richard Cordtz died
November 21 - William Green died; the Columbine Mine massacre occurred in 1927 in the U.S.
November 22 - David McDonald was born; Philip Murray is elected president of the CIO
November 23 - Harry Van Arsdale, Jr. died
November 24 - Charles Millard died
November 25 - George Mock died; the 2006 Progressive Enterprises dispute begins in New Zealand; Ted Saskin becomes executive director of the NHLPA in 2005
November 26 - The National Confederation of the Trade-Union Organizations of Ukraine is formed; Nimrod Workman died; Eliot V. Elliott died
November 27 - Donald Richberg died
November 28 - The U.S. Supreme Court decides Eastern Associated Coal Corp. v. United Mine Workers of America; André Morell died; William McFetridge was born
November 29 - John P. Frey died
November 30 - Mary Harris "Mother" Jones died; the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea is formed

Jan•Feb•Mar•Apr•May•Jun•Jul•Aug•Sep•Oct•Nov•Dec

More Did you know (auto-generated)

... that the Russian airstrike on Kyiv TV Tower (video featured) killed Yevhenii Sakun, one of at least 14 civilian journalists killed in the line of duty during the Russo-Ukrainian War?
... that a 23-day CBC strike thrust Don Goodwin into the Canadian national spotlight and into "folk-hero status"?
... that labor lawyer Dick Moss argued the 1975 case which resulted in the establishment of free agency in Major League Baseball?
... that up to 129,000 Canadian federal workers went on strike?
... that during the 1913 El Paso smelters' strike the Industrial Workers of the World and the Western Federation of Miners competed to organize the strikers with their respective labor unions?
... that after being arrested for organizing a general strike in 1920, S. Girinis was sent to the Soviet Union following a Soviet-Lithuanian exchange of political prisoners?

Related Portals

Selected image

Image 1Richard Trumka.
Image 2Knights of Labor Grand Master Workman Terence V. Powderly.
Image 3The front page of the Union Record on the Seattle General Strike of 1919.
Image 4Lewis Hine's 1920 image "Power house mechanic working on steam pump," which shows a working class young American man with wrench in hand, hunched over, surrounded by the machinery that defines his work.
Image 5Public and Commercial Services Union members on strike in Manchester 2006.
Image 6Registered nurses on strike in 2006 outside Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Image 7Protesters barricade the street on June 22 during the 2006 Oaxaca protests.
Image 8John L. Lewis (right, President of the United Mine Workers, confers with Thomas Kennedy (left), UMW Secretary-Treasurer of the UMW, and a UMW official at the War Labor Board in 1943 about a coal miners' strike.
Image 9Union members march in Argentina on Human Rights Day in December 2005. The signs read "Worker rights are human rights..
Image 10William Green, president of the AFL–CIO from 1924 to 1952.
Image 11Memorial marker for the Bay View Tragedy.
Image 12George Meany, former leader of the AFL–CIO.
Image 13A. Philip Randolph.
Image 14Members of the United Steelworkers in Ohio phone bank other union members to educate them about critical issues in the 2008 election in the U.S.
Image 15Rally in Dhaka, organized by Jatiyo Nari Shramik Trade Union Kendra (National Women Workers Trade Union Centre), an organization affiliated with the Bangladesh Trade Union Kendra.
Image 16Samuel Gompers, President of the American Federation of Labor, and his wife, circa 1908.
Image 17Illustration from the Brisbane Worker newspaper condemning the brutality of the Queensland Police on Black Friday during the 1912 Brisbane General Strike.
Image 18Striking American Railway Union members confront Illinois National Guard troops in Chicago, Illinois, during the Pullman Strike in 1894.
Image 19Exaggerated 19th century engraving showing flames and smoke following the Haymarket riot.
Image 20Big Bill Haywood, a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World.
Image 21Mary Harris "Mother" Jones.
Image 22During World War II, a female aircraft worker checks electrical assemblies at the Vega Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California.
Image 23Union elections with an illegal firing, 1951 to 2007.
Image 24Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
Image 25Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York) notice of subway closure during the 2005 New York City transit strike.
Image 26Wilma B. Liebman, chair, NLRB.
Image 27J. Warren Madden, the first Chair of the National Labor Relations Board.
Image 28Cripple Creek, Colo., under martial law, during the 1894 strike.
Image 29Former headquarters of the United Mine Workers of America and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, 900 15th Street NW, Washington, D.C., in 200.
Image 30Picket signs at the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike.
Image 31Camp put up by striking Pepsi-Cola workers, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, 2008.
Image 32The Ludlow massacre monument located in Ludlow, Colorado, United States.
Image 33Joe Hill.
Image 34Barges set ablaze by steelworkers during the Homestead strike in 1892.
Image 35Shields used by striking workers at the Carnegie Steel Works during the Homestead Strike in 1892.
Image 36National Federation of Federal Employees officials sign a collective bargaining agreement with the U.S. 8th Army in October 2002.
Image 37American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Albert Shanker.
Image 38The Place de la Sorbonne in Paris is closed by police during the 2006 labour protests in France.
Image 39The Western Federation of Miners' famous flyer entitled "Is Colorado in America?".
Image 40Striking I.W.W. members confront Massachusetts National Guard troops in Boston, during the Lawrence textile strike in 1912.
Image 41May Day Rally in Mumbai, India, 2004.
Image 42Australian industrial relations legislation national day of protest, 2005.
Image 43Crowd gathered outside old City Hall during the Winnipeg general strike, June 21, 1919.
Image 44Union members picketing recent NLRB rulings outside the agency's Washington, D.C., headquarters in November 2007.
Image 45Mounted police chase demonstrators through Vancouver's East End during the Battle of Ballantyne Pier in 1935.
Image 46Samuel Gompers.
Image 47Strike sign used by the German Train Drivers' Union in the German national rail strike of 2007.
Image 48Breaker boys, child laborers, working in a U.S. coal mine in 1911.
Image 49Striking teamsters armed with pipes battle police in the streets during the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934.
Image 50Empty Gare du Nord train station during the November 2007 strikes in France.
Image 51Strike leaders at the Paterson silk strike of 1913. From left, Patrick Quinlan, Carlo Tresca, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Adolph Lessig, and Bill Haywood.
Image 52An AFL–CIO protest of Rite Aid, with Rev. Mark Reisinger (Pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania), Bill George, and Richard Bloomingdale.
Image 53Striking workers march moments before the Swedish military opened fire, killing five workers during the Ådalen shootings.
Image 54Detail of monument to the Reesor Siding Strike of 1963.
Image 55United Mine Workers of America poster circa 1902.
Image 56Armed vigilantes deport striking copper miners during the Bisbee Deportation in Bisbee, Arizona, July 12, 1917.
Image 57AFL–CIO unions protest outside Verizon headquarters in Philadelphia using a giant inflatable rat.
Image 58Political cartoon about the Coal Strike of 1902 from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Selected Quote

"The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people."

— César Chavez.

Did you know

...that the Auto-Lite Strike culminated in the "Battle of Toledo," a five-day melee between 6,000 striking workers and 1,300 members of the Ohio National Guard that left two dead and more than 200 injured?
...that the Brazilian labour movement was predominantly anarchist until the 1920s?
...that American trade union leader William McFetridge switched from Democrat to Republican in 1948 and supported Thomas E. Dewey for president even though Dewey had successfully prosecuted his predecessor for labor racketeering?

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