Labor movement in the United States

The labor movement in the United States comprises workers’ organizations and campaigns to improve wages, hours, safety, and workplace rights through collective action.

Trade union: An organization of workers formed to represent members’ interests in employment. Unions give workers an enduring structure for organizing and negotiating with employers.
National Labor Union: A national American labor federation founded in 1866 that campaigned for an eight-hour workday. It was an early attempt to coordinate workers nationally across trades and industries.
Samuel Gompers: An American labor leader who headed the American Federation of Labor for most of its early history. He advanced a pragmatic craft-union strategy centered on wages, hours, and working conditions.
Fair Labor Standards Act: A 1938 United States law establishing federal minimum-wage and overtime rules and restricting child labor. It made core standards sought by labor activists enforceable across much of the economy.
Industrial unionism: A union-organizing approach that seeks to organize workers across occupations within an industry. It challenged craft unionism by organizing entire industrial workforces rather than separate trades.
Collective bargaining: Negotiation between employers and workers’ representatives over employment terms and conditions. It is the central process through which unions seek agreements on pay, hours, and working conditions.
Knights of Labor: A large American labor organization founded in 1869 that sought broad membership and social reform. Its rapid growth showed the appeal and limits of organizing beyond skilled trades.
Eugene V. Debs: An American labor leader and socialist who helped organize railway workers and later ran for president. His career connected industrial unionism, socialist politics, and opposition to wartime repression.
Occupational Safety and Health Act: A 1970 United States law authorizing federal standards and enforcement for workplace health and safety. It extended workplace reform from union contracts to a national safety framework.
Craft unionism: A union-organizing approach that groups workers by skilled trade or occupation. It was the American Federation of Labor’s preferred model and contrasted with industry-wide organizing.

Linked from 10 pages