Read about the strength of labor unions just after World War I and see how the gains were eroded throughout the 1920s.

History of the United Farm Workers union, with information about 1960 conditions and the efforts to improve them.

The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards historical documents, literary texts, and works of art thematically organized with notes and discussion questions....

A short history of the Industrial Revolution, the reasons that it began in England, some of the significant inventions that had a major impact, changes in transportation, the rise of labor unions, its spread to the United States, and the...

[Free Registration/Login Required] An excerpt from an interview with a textile factory worker named Marianna Costa. In the interview, Costa talks about working conditions at the Arrow Piece Dye Works in Paterson, New Jersey, prior to the...

The fascinating history of the WCTU and the many causes it advocated.

Read about the growth of labor unions during the 1930s as the Great Depression continued, due to the passage of the Wagner Act. Find out about the strikes and the conflict between labor and management, as well as conflict within the...

Scroll down through this American Memory's Today in History to the Rock Springs Massacre. Find a brief description of what happened to the Chinese mine workers on that day in Wyoming, and the aftermath. Included are links to photographs...

This site discusses how for much of the latter half of the 1800s, the life of the common laborer was horrendous. Working in a unsanitary factory, for at least 10 hours a day, making far less than needed to survive, the struggles of the...

A brief history of the Ludlow Massacre in Colorado in 1914. Read about the thwarted attempts of coal miners to unionize.

The story of Mexican workers and their attempt to unionize due to poor working conditions at a Hyundai plant in Tijuana. Fom a story by David Bacon in the San Francisco Bay Guardian on 06/11/1997.

The National Women's Hall of Fame recognizes the important and influential life work of the famous labor organizer and worker's rights activist "Mother" Jones.

A description of the Haymarket Square riot and its cause. Find quotes from the Chicago Tribune which called the protesters insurrectionists, and two Illinois governors who doubted the guilt of those rounded up, charged, and convicted of...

This article discusses women's roles in the Knights of Labor.

This several page chapter from the site From Revolution to Reconstruction outlines the growth of the union in the railroad industry in the late 19th century. Read about the strikes, working conditions, the beginning of the American...

Looks at the garment factory industry in the 1800s and the early part of the 20th century, where workers toiled in sweatshop conditions. After a terrible fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in 1911, labor unions gained support in...

Once called "the most dangerous woman in America", Mary Harris "Mother" Jones was one of the great organizers of the labor and union movements.

[Free Registration/Login Required] A brief look at the growth of unions in the early 20th century. Read about the strikes in 1919 and their consequences.

A short history of the Norris-LaGuardia Act with respect to labor history.

Read an article from the Rock Springs Independent railng against the return of the Chinese coal miners the day after the Rock Springs Massacre that resulted in the death of several Chinese laborers.

A good look at three of the titans of the steel industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Read about Andrew Carnegie and his business relationship with Henry Clay Frick, and the development of Bethlehen Steel by Charles Schwab....

Read about how the Railroad Strike of 1877 was a first in many ways in labor history. This article sets up the reasons for the strike and the mixed results.

Here's a brief history of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the brainchild of John L. Lewis. Read about why he thought it was important for several unions to join together to press their ideas.

This resource gives an account of the Pullman Strike of 1894. It discusses what the strike was about, how it was resolved, and the effect its outcome had.