What started as a localized railway strike by workers upset by a pay cut spread across the country in the summer of 1877. Read about the striking workers and the force used against them, how the strike affected rail service, and what the...

A good explanation of the Ludlow Massacre in the coalfields of Colorado and what led up to it. In addition, there is an interesting description of how this violent reaction to a strike by miners affected John D. Rockefeller, Jr., one of...

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

A look at the history of the United Mine Workers from its inception to present day. Find out what causes the UMW supported.

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...

The Gilded Age was a period of terrible labor violence, as industrialists and workers fought for control of the workplace. Workers organized the first large American labor unions during the Gilded Age, while employers tried to stop the...

A listing of all work stoppages in 2012 which have involved at least 1,000 workers. Plant name, city, unions, and start and end dates of strike are given.

Theodore Roosevelt had many talents. See how he acted as arbitrator in the coal strike of 1902, and supported the demands of the United Mine Workers to improve the working conditions of the miners.

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 very detailed lesson plan that stretches over nine lessons that develop the students' understanding of why the Ludlow Massacre occurred and the ramifications of it. [pdf]

You can listen to or read an interview with a woman who was a strike supporter during the Colorado Coal strike. In this interview she recalls how she helped save women and children during the Ludlow Massacre in April, 1914.

"Attention Workingmen! Mass Meeting Tonight, at 7:30." This pamphlet was distributed on May 4, 1886. Chicago had been simmering with labor disputes which culminated in a riot at Haymarket Square where eight officers were killed. Use this...

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.

[Free Registration/Login Required] A lengthy essay discussing the differing opinions about immigration and the role of immigrants in the United States in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. Find out about the...

Read about the formation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, a union that represented steel workers, among many other factoy workers. Find out about their tactics used in strikes during the Great Depression.

Read about how President Roosevelt used his presidential powers to prohibit labor strikes during World War II. Scroll to page 4 of this PDF to read this background information which is part of a discussion about President Truman's...

An eyewitness account provided by an electrical engineer about the brutal Ludlow Massacre in which three women and eleven children were killed in a tent city in Ludlow, Colorado, during the height of the Colorado Coal Strike.

Read an excerpt from a letter written by Chicago radical and Haymarket defendant, Albert Parsons, to the "Chicago Times" concerning Terence V. Powderly and the Haymarket riot. Also links to other related sites.

This American Experience film about the Rockefellers includes this accounting of the Ludlow Massacre in Colorado and John D. Rockefeller, Jr.'s role in the business decisions that had a role in fomenting it.

Many songs, born of the American labor and civil rights movements, called people to action and were used to spread the messages of workers' rights and civil rights. Here you will find a nice collection of such songs. All songs in the...

Aimed at middle school teachers and students, this resource contains lists of labor links. It includes a brief history of strikes, the Knights of Labor and the AFL.

This article relates the history of African Americans in the union movement during the Great Depression. Read about the importance of black membership in the CIO, the ILA, and the steel industry.

Explore this animated historical map showcasing the strike at the Loray Mill in 1929, the trial of the strikers, the murder of Ella May Wiggins, a mill worker who was a labor organizer, and the investigation of her murder.

Article from the San Francisco News, July 3, 1934, reports on a union strike which occured in the San Fransico area. May be a bit violent for young students to read.