Cases and Examples
This strike was 83 days long and shut down docks along 2,000 miles of coastline, including major ports
What is Bloody Thursday
An employer who agrees to hire only individuals who are already members of a labor union operates under this type of shop.
What is a closed shop
This deadly fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, which claimed the lives of 146 women trapped by a locked door, is highlighted in the sources as a key event that ignited momentum for the labor movement.
What was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
Enacted in 1935, this Act legally protected workers' rights to organize for mutual aid and security and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choice.
What is the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
This 1996 Supreme Court case determined that professional football players should be classified as employees under the NLRA, allowing them to unionize.
What is Brown v. Pro Football, Inc.
This term refers to an agreement in states with Right-to-Work laws, allowing employees in a workplace with a union to choose whether or not to join it.
What is an open shop agreement
This early labor organization, established in Philadelphia in 1869, aimed to unite both skilled and unskilled workers but suffered from organizational and funding challenges.
What were the Knights of Labor
This 1890 legislation, initially intended to break up businesses that prohibited competition, was also used by federal courts to rule that unions were essentially trusts limiting competition.
What is the Sherman Act
The Supreme Court's decision in this 1905 case struck down a New York law limiting bakers' working hours, based on the concept of "freedom of contract."
What is Lochner v. New York
This type of contract, enforced by courts, legally made non-membership in unions a condition of employment by incorporating an antiunion promise into the work agreement
What is a yellow-dog contract
Focused on practical, immediate goals like wages, this labor federation contrasted with more ideologically driven organizations in the early labor movement.
What was the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
Passed in 1932, this Act barred federal courts from issuing injunctions against nonviolent labor disputes and made yellow-dog contracts unenforceable.
What is the Norris-LaGuardia Act
This Supreme Court case from 1937 upheld the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Act, significantly expanding the federal government's power to regulate labor relations under the Commerce Clause.
What is National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp.
This legal weapon, sought by employers facing potential strikes or boycotts, is a court order prohibiting a specific action or commanding that a wrong be righted
What is an injunction
Union membership in the private sector in the U.S. reached its highest point during this period.
What were the early 1950s
In addition to statutory exclusions, the U.S. Supreme Court has established these types of exemptions from NLRA coverage for individuals like managerial employees, confidential employees, and supervisors.
What are judicial exemptions
In this case, the employer threatened employees that they would lose flexible scheduling if they voted to unionize
What is NLRB v USC Medical Care Group
This is an attempt by company management to exert pressure on workers by temporarily shutting down the business, thereby stopping their wages.
What is a lockout
As early as this year, shoemakers in a Philadelphia craft union gathered to discuss fundamental work issues.
What is 1792
Section 7 of the NLRA grants employees the right to engage in these coordinated actions for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.
What are concerted activities