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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Soldiers on the Brandenburg Gate during the Spartacist uprising

The Spartacist uprising (German: Spartakusaufstand), also known as the January uprising (Januaraufstand) or, more rarely, Bloody Week, was an armed uprising that took place in Berlin from 5 to 12 January 1919. It occurred in connection with the German revolution that broke out just before the end of World War I. The uprising was primarily a power struggle between the supporters of the provisional government led by Friedrich Ebert of the Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany (MSPD), which favored a social democracy, and those who backed the position of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, which wanted to set up a council republic similar to the one established by the Bolsheviks in Russia. The government's forces were victorious in the fighting.

The uprising began with mass demonstrations and strikes called by the parties of the radical left to protest the dismissal of Berlin's chief of police. Taken by surprise at the size of the turnout and the protestors' spontaneous occupation of newspaper buildings and printing companies, the leaders of the left were unable to agree on how to proceed. As a result, the uprising remained largely without direction. The government responded with military force, including several paramilitary Freikorps units, retook the buildings that had been occupied and violently suppressed the uprising.

The death toll was roughly 150–200, mostly among the insurgents. The most prominent deaths were those of Liebknecht and Luxemburg, who were executed extrajudicially on 15 January, almost certainly with the at least tacit approval of the MSPD-led government. The party's involvement hampered its position throughout the life of the Weimar Republic, although quashing the uprising allowed elections for the National Assembly to take place as scheduled on 19 January 1919. The Assembly went on to write the Weimar Constitution that created the first national German democracy. (Full article...)

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June in Labor History

Significant dates in labour history.

June 01 - Matthew Woll died; the United Farm Workers conducted its first strike in 1966 in Texas; the Cananea strike began in 1906 in Mexico
June 02 - During the 1952 steel strike, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer; the Child Labor Amendment was adopted by the U.S. Congress; Charles Moyer died
June 03 - The U.S. Supreme Court decided Hammer v. Dagenhart, outlawing child labor laws; Victor G. Reuther died; Emmanuel Christopher Loblack died
June 04 - The Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers affiliated with the CIO; Lou Cunningham was born
June 05 - Teamsters for a Democratic Union was formed; the U.S. Supreme Court decided Hague v. CIO; the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act became law
June 06 - Don Farrell was born; CUPE 3902 was founded; N. M. Perera was born; Thomas Jackson died
June 07 - The Steel Workers Organizing Committee was founded; the Matignon Agreements ended a general strike in 1936 in France; John Willcock died
June 08 - Robert Lee Hill was born; Emil Rieve was born; Percy Wells was born
June 09 - R. J. Thomas was born
June 10 - The U.S. Supreme Court decided Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co.; Frank Hayes died
June 11 - John L. Lewis died; the Federación Sindical de Trabajadores Mineros de Bolivia was founded; José Bové was born
June 12 - The 1981 Major League Baseball strike began in the U.S. and Canada; Philip Vera Cruz died
June 13 - Israel Kugler was born; Tony Mazzocchi was born
June 14 - 1911 Liverpool general transport strike began in the U.K.; government troops triggered the 2006 Oaxaca protests in Mexico
June 15 - The Metal Trades Department, AFL–CIO was founded
June 16 - Dave Beck was born
June 18 - Battle of Ballantyne Pier occurred in Canada in 1935; the Battle of Orgreave occurred in 1984 in the U.K.
June 19 - Nelson Cruikshank died; John W. Brown died; Tanong Po-arn disappeared
June 20 - The American Railway Union was founded; Jim Bacon died; Evelyn Dubrow died; Alphonse Verville died
June 21 - Nelson Cruikshank was born; the Herrin massacre occurred in 1922 in the U.S.; the U.S. Supreme Court decided United States v. Congress of Industrial Organizations; the "Molly Maguires" were hanged in the U.S.; Frank Drozak died
June 22 - Riots occurred during the Grunwick dispute in 1976 in the U.K.; Paul Hall died; the U.S. Supreme Court decided Burlington Northern Railway v. White; the Sheffield Trades and Labour Council was founded; John Marius Trana was born
June 23 - The Taft–Hartley Act became law in the U.S.
June 24 - Terence V. Powderly died, Agnes Nestor was born
June 25 - Winnipeg general strike of 1919 ended; the Smith–Connally Act became law in the U.S.
June 26 - Timothy D. Murphy died; the Alliance of Concerned Teachers was formed; John W. Brown died; Emma Miller was born
June 27 - The 1949 Australian coal strike began; the Industrial Workers of the World was founded; the Bureau of Labor Statistics was formed in the U.S.
June 28 - President Grover Cleveland signed legislation establishing Labor Day in the U.S.; Alfred Miodowicz was born; Vere Bird died
June 29 - The National Labor Relations Board was created; a lockout triggered the Homestead Strike; the merger of the blacksmiths and boilermakers formed the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; Edward J. Carlough died; the U.S. Supreme Court decided Communications Workers of America v. Beck
June 30 - Former labor union official Tomiichi Murayama became Prime Minister of Japan

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

More Did you know (auto-generated)

... that in 1969, the first women's strike for equal pay in the Netherlands was called in a cigar factory in Nieuwe Pekela?
... that Marco van Basten's strike in the UEFA Euro 1988 Final was described as "perhaps the most iconic goal in UEFA European Championship history"?
... that the 1937 Fleischer Studios strike in New York City was the first major labor strike in the animation industry?
... that a strike by uranium miners in 1974 in Ontario led to the creation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act?
... that the 2016 Jim Beam strike was the first labor strike in the company's history?
... that the 1913 Studebaker strike is regarded as the first major labor strike in the automotive industry?

Related Portals

Selected image

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

Selected Quote

Ten thousand times has the labor movement stumbled and bruised itself. We have been enjoined by the courts, assaulted by thugs, charged by the militia, traduced by the press, frowned upon in public opinion, and deceived by politicians. But notwithstanding all this and all these, labor is today the most vital and potential power this planet has ever known, and its historic mission is as certain of ultimate realization as is the setting of the sun."

— Eugene V. Debs.

Did you know

...that at the 1974 Coalition of Labor Union Women convention, Myra Wolfgang declared "...there are 3,000 women in Chicago and they didn't come here to swap recipes!"?
...that the anarcho-syndicalist Argentine Workers' Federation was the country's first national labor confederation?
...that the Central Commission of German Trade Unions organized 75 percent of unionized German workers in Czechoslovakia in 1921?

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