The Lawrence textile strike (1912), with soldiers surrounding peaceful demonstrators

Labor unions in the United States function as legally recognized representatives of workers in numerous industries. The most prominent unions are found amongpublic sector employees such as teachers and police. Activity by labor unions in the United States today centers on collective bargaining over wages, benefits, and working conditions for their membership and on representing their members if management attempts to violate contract provisions. Although much smaller compared to their peak membership in the 1950s, unions also remain an important political factor (especially within the Democratic Party), both through mobilization of their own memberships and through coalitions with like-minded activist organizations. Today most unions are aligned with one of two larger umbrella organizations: the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win Federation, which split from the AFL-CIO in 2005. Both organizations advocate policies and legislation favorable to workers in the United States and Canada, and take an active role in politics. The AFL-CIO is especially concerned with global trade issues. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Massachusetts militiamen with fixed bayonets surround a parade of peaceful strikers Flyer distributed in Lawrence, September 1912 The Lawrence textile strike was a strike of immigrant workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912 led by the Industrial Workers of the World. ... < [[[[math>Insert formula here</math>The public sector is that part of economic and administrative life that deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for the [[government </math></math></math></math> Direct administration funded through taxation; the delivering organisation generally has no specific requirement to meet commercial... The Lawrence textile strike (1912), with soldiers surrounding peaceful demonstrators A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas of wages, hours, and working conditions. ... A Collective agreement is a labor contract between an employer and one or more unions. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      Further information: Politics of the United States#Organization of American political parties The Democratic... The Change to Win Federation is a coalition of American labor unions originally formed in 2005 as an alternative to the AFL-CIO. The coalition is associated with strong advocacy of the organising model. ...

American union membership are in the private sector has in recent years fallen under 9%--levels not seen since 1932. Workers seem uninterested in joining, and strike activity has almost faded away. The labor force in unionized automobile and steel plants, for example, has fallen dramatically. Construction trades in cities have suddenly shifted from over 75% unionized to under 25%. Only the commercial sector of construction has retained 50% or greater union representation. The inability to prevent non-union companies from taking significant market share has undercut union membership.^{[citation needed]}

American unions remain an important political factor, both through mobilization of their own memberships and through coalitions with like-minded activist organizations around issues such as immigrant rights, trade policy, health care, and living wage campaigns. Unions allege that employer opposition (including running anti-union campaigns using union avoidance consultants) contributed to this decline in membership. Unions have responded by using their political power to amend United States labor law to restrict or eliminate the requirement for a vote on the issue of union representation, instead relying on card check recognition. Living wage refers to the minimum hourly wage necessary for a person to achieve a basic standard of living. ... Card check is a method of employee organizing in which employers enter into an agreement to recognize the unionization of its employees if a majority of employees sign authorization forms, or cards. ...

History

Main article: Labor history of the United States

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008)

The first local unions in the United States formed in the late 18th century, but the movement came into its own after the Civil War, when the short-lived National Labor Union (NLU) became the first federation of U.S. unions, followed by the slightly longer-lived Knights of Labor (a broadly-based federation that collapsed in the wake of the Haymarket Riot), then by the American Federation of Labor (AFL), founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers as a national federation of skilled workers' unions. // The labor history of the United States involves the history of organized labor, as well as the more general history of working people. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the northern states, popularly referred to as the U.S., the Union, the North, or the Yankees; and the seceding southern states, commonly referred to as the Confederate States of America, the CSA, the Confederacy... The National Labor Union was the first national labor federation in the United States. ... Knights of Labor seal The Knights of Labor, also known as Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was founded by seven Philadelp tailors in 1869, led by Uriah S. Stephens. ... The Haymarket Riot on May 4, 1886 in Chicago is generally considered to have been an important influence on the origin of international May Day observances for workers. ... The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. ... Samuel Gompers (January 27, 1850[1] - December 13, 1924) was an American labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. ...

During the post world war one period some unions were used as a vehicle for organized crime]], such as the Mafia. Organized crime had been active in some Teamsters locals, particularly in the garment industry in New York City, as early as the 1920s. Labor racketeers made inroads in other cities, such as Chicago, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Detroit, in the 1930s. Jimmy Hoffa and other Teamster leaders made strategic alliances with organized crime, in deals that benefited both the Mafia and its associates, who obtained sweetheart contracts, and the union leaders, who received kickbacks and other forms of assistance. Jimmy Hoffa would later mysteriously disappear. Hoffa's son, James P. Hoffa, is the current president of the Teamsters. For more information, refer to Teamsters: Organized crime's influence. This article is about the criminal society. ... The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), formerly known by the name International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, is one of the largest labor unions in the United States. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... Cleveland redirects here. ... Nickname: Location in Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in the state of Missouri. ... Detroit redirects here. ... For other uses, see Hoffa (disambiguation). ... This article is about the criminal society. ... The term sweetheart deal or sweetheart contract is used to describe an abnormally favorable contractual arrangement. ... For other uses, see Hoffa (disambiguation). ... James Phillip Hoffa (born May 19, 1941), is the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. ... The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), formerly known by the name International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, is one of the largest labor unions in the United States. ...

In contrast to the craft unionism of the AFL, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, or "the Wobblies"), founded in 1905, represented mainly unskilled workers. The Wobblies, a force in American labor only for about 15 years, were largely routed by the Palmer Raids after World War I, but the strategy of industrial unionism was soon revived by John L. Lewis' Committee for Industrial Organizations within the AFL. Founded in 1933, the committee split from the AFL in 1938 as the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The Second Red Scare after World War II pushed the AFL and CIO into a 1955 merger as the AFL-CIO under Lewis' leadership. by Leon CunninghamCraft unionism refers to an approach to union organizing in the United States and elsewhere that seeks to unify workers in a particular industry along the lines of the particular craft or trade that they work in. ... The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union currently headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. At its peak in 1923 the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. ... Alexander Mitchell Palmer The Palmer Raids were a series of controversial raids by the U.S. Justice and Immigration Departments from 1919 to 1921 on suspected radical leftists in the United States. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Industrial unionism is a labor union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union — regardless of skill or trade — thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in bargaining and in strike situations. ... DAVE ACKERMAN HAS WOOLY SOCKSJohn Llewellyn Lewis (February 12, 1880 – June 11, 1969) was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960. ... The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by Senator Huey Long in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. ... Some factual claims in this article need to be verified. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL-CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 54 national and international unions (including Canadian), together representing more than 10 million workers. ...

Labor unions today

See also: US labor law

Today most labor unions in the United States are members of one of two larger umbrella organizations: the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) or the Change to Win Federation, which split from the AFL-CIO in 2005. Both organizations advocate policies and legislation favorable to workers in the United States and Canada, and take an active role in politics favoring the Democratic party but not exclusively so. The AFL-CIO is especially concerned with global trade issues. Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 is an International Labour Organization Convention. ... Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 is an International Labour Organization Convention. ... American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL-CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 54 national and international unions (including Canadian), together representing more than 10 million workers. ... The Change to Win Federation is a coalition of American labor unions originally formed in 2005 as an alternative to the AFL-CIO. The coalition is associated with strong advocacy of the organising model. ...

The Change to Win Federation concerns itself more with domestic Craft labor issues, contributes to many candidates supportive of labor's issues regardless of party affiliation and chooses to avoid social policy controversies ("Guns, God, and Gays") that do not directly concern the economics and well-being of its members.

Private sector union members are tightly regulated by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), passed in 1935. The law is overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), part of the United States Department of Labor. Public sector unions are regulated partly by federal and partly by state laws. In general they have shown robust growth rates, for wages and working conditions are set through negotiations with elected local and state officials. The unions' political power thus comes into play, and of course the local government cannot threaten to move elsewhere, nor is there any threat from foreign competition. In California the public sector unions have been especially successful. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the United States Government charged with conducting elections for union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. ... The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. ...

To join a traditional labor union, workers must either:

• be given voluntary recognition from their employer or
• have a majority of workers in a "bargaining unit" vote for union representation.

In either case, the government must then certify the newly formed union. Other forms of unionism include minority unionism, Solidarity unionism, and the practices of organizations such as the Industrial Workers of the World, which do not always follow traditional organizational models. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union currently headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. At its peak in 1923 the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. ...

Public sector worker unions are governed by labor laws and labor boards in each of the 50 states. Northern states typically model their laws and boards after the NLRA and the NLRB. In other states, public workers have no right to establish a union as a legal entity. (About 40% of public employees in the USA do not have the right to organize a legally established union.)

Once the union has won the support of a majority of the bargaining unit and is certified in a workplace, it has the sole authority to negotiate the conditions of employment. However, under the NLRA, if a minority of employees voted for a union, those employees can then form a union which represents the rights of only those members who voted for the union. This minority model was once widely used, but was discarded when unions began to consistently win majority support. Unions are beginning to revisit the "members only" model of unionism because of new changes to labor law which unions view as curbing workers' ability to organize.

The employer and the union write the terms and conditions of employment in a legally binding contract. When disputes arise over the contract, most contracts call for the parties to resolve their differences through a grievance process to see if the dispute can be mutually resolved. If the union and the employer still cannot settle the matter, either party can choose to send the dispute to arbitration, where the case is argued before a neutral third party. Arbitration is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons (the arbitrators or arbitral tribunal), by whose decision (the award) they agree to be bound. ...

In the 1940s and 1950s links to organized crime were discovered in U.S. unions, hurting their image.

Since the 1970s, union membership has been steadily declining in the private-sector while growing in the public sector.

Right-to-work statutes forbid unions from negotiating agency shops. Thus, while unions do exist in "right-to-work" states, they are typically weaker. Right-to-work laws are statutes enforced in twenty-two U.S. States, allowed under provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act, which prohibit trade unions from making membership or payment of dues or fees a condition of employment, either before or after hire. ... An agency shop is a place of employment where workers must pay union dues whether they are a member of a labor union or not. ... ...

Members of labor unions enjoy "Weingarten Rights." If management questions the union member on a matter that may lead to discipline or other changes in working conditions, union members can request representation by a union representative. Weingarten Rights are named for the first Supreme Court decision to recognize those rights.^[2] The United States Supreme Court ruled in 1975, in the case of NLRB v. ... The United States Supreme Court ruled in 1975, in the case of NLRB v. ...

The NLRA goes farther in protecting the right of workers to organize unions. It protects the right of workers to engage in any "concerted activity" for mutual aid or protection. Thus, no union connection is needed. Concerted activity "in its inception involves only a speaker and a listener, for such activity is an indispensable preliminary step to employee self-organization."^[3]

Recent Trends in Union Membership in the United States

Union Membership had been steadily declining in the US since 1983. In 2007, the labor department reported the first increase in Union memberships in 25 years and the largest increase since 1979. Most of the recent gains in union membership have been in the service sector while the number of unionized employees in the manufacturing sector has declined. Most of the gains in the service sector have come in West Coast states like California where union membership is now at 16.7% compared with a national average of about 12.1% (Union Membership Up Slightly in 2007.) [1]

Labor Education Programs in the United States

In the US, labor education programs such as the Harvard Trade Union Program created in 1942 by Harvard University professor John T. Dunlop sought to educate union members to deal with important contemporary workplace and labor law issues of the day. The Harvard Trade Union Program is now currently part of a broader initiative at Harvard Law School called the Labor and Worklife Program that deals with a wide variety of labor and employment issues from union pension investment funds to the effects of nanotechnology on labor markets and the workplace. John Thomas Dunlop (born July 5,1914, died October 2nd 2003) was a U.S. administrator. ... Harvard Law School (colloquially, Harvard Law or HLS) is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. ... Buckminsterfullerene C60, also known as the buckyball, is the simplest of the carbon structures known as fullerenes. ...

Jurisdiction of labor unions

Labor unions use the term jurisdiction to refer to their claims to represent workers who perform a certain type of work and the right of their members to perform such work. For example, the work of unloading containerized cargo at United States ports, which both the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have claimed rightfully should be assigned to workers they represent. A jurisdictional strike is a concerted refusal to work undertaken by a union to assert its members' right to such job assignments and to protest the assignment of disputed work to members of another union or to unorganized workers. Jurisdictional strikes occur most frequently in the United States in the construction industry. The Lawrence textile strike (1912), with soldiers surrounding peaceful demonstrators A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas of wages, hours, and working conditions. ... The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers won the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii and Alaska; it also represents hotel workers in Hawaii, cannery workers in Alaska and warehouse workers throughout the West. ... The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, commonly known as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) or simply the Teamsters, is one of the largest labor unions in the United States. ... Jurisdictional strike is a concept in United States labor law that refers to a concerted refusal to work undertaken by a union to assert its members’ right to particular job assignments and to protest the assignment of disputed work to members of another union or to unorganized workers. ...

Unions also use jurisdiction to refer to the geographical boundaries of their operations, as in those cases in which a national or international union allocates the right to represent workers among different local unions based on the place of those workers' employment, either along geographical lines or by adopting the boundaries between political jurisdictions.

See also

Organized Labour Portal

• Labor Unions: International comparisons
• Commission on Industrial Relations
• Industrial Workers of the World
• List of strikes
• Timeline of labor unions in the United States
• Union affiliation by U.S. state
• Labor federation competition in the U.S.

Image File history File links Syndicalism. ... The Commission on Industrial Relations (Also known as the Walsh Report)[1] was a commission created by the US Congress on August 23, 1912. ... The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union currently headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. At its peak in 1923 the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. ... The following is a list of deliberate absence from work related to specific working conditions (strikes) or due to general unhappiness with the political order (general strikes). ... Labor History Timeline for 1806-1986 1800s - 1810s - 1820s - 1830s - 1840s - 1850s - 1860s - 1870s - 1880s - 1890s 1900s - 1910s - 1920s - 1930s - 1940s - 1950s - 1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s - 2000s 1800s 1806 The 1806 Commonwealth vs. ... Labor unions in the United States Labor Unions: International comparisons Table 5. ... A labor federation is a group of unions or labor organizations that are in some sense coordinated. ...

Notes

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the United States Government charged with conducting elections for union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. ...

References

Part of a series on Organized Labour
The Labour Movement
New Unionism · Proletariat
Social Movement Unionism
Syndicalism · Socialism
Labour timeline
Labour Rights
Child labor · Eight-hour day
Occupational safety and health
Collective bargaining
Trade Unions
Trade unions by country
Trade union federations
International comparisons
ITUC · WFTU · IWA
Strike Actions
Chronological list of strikes
General strike · Sympathy strike
Sitdown strike · Work-to-rule
Trade Unionists
Sidney Hillman · I. C. Frimu
I. T. A. Wallace-Johnson
Tanong Po-arn
Sarah Bagley more names Image File history File links Syndicalism. ... The labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and political governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labor relations. ... New Unionism is a term which has been used twice in the history of the labour movement, both times involving moves to broaden the union agenda. ... The proletariat (from Latin proles, offspring) is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is proletarian. ... Social Movement Unionism is a trend of theory and practice in contemporary trade unionism. ... Syndicalism refers to a set of ideas, movements, and tendencies which share the avowed aim of transforming capitalist society through action by the working class on the industrial front. ... Religious socialism Key Issues People and organizations Related subjects Socialism refers to a broad array of ideologies and political movements with the goal of a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. ... Timeline of organized labor history 1790s - 1800s - 1810s - 1820s - 1830s - 1840s - 1850s - 1860s - 1870s - 1880s - 1890s - 1900s - 1910s - 1920s - 1930s - 1940s - 1950s - 1960s - 1970s - 1980s 1797 (United States) Profit sharing originated at Albert Gallatins glass works in New Geneva, Pennsylvania. ... Labor rights or workers rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. ... Child labour is the employment of children under an age determined by law or custom. ... The 8-hour day movement or 40-hour week movement (a. ... Occupational safety and health (OSH) is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. ... A Collective agreement is a labor contract between an employer and one or more unions. ... The Lawrence textile strike (1912), with soldiers surrounding peaceful demonstrators A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas of wages, hours, and working conditions. ... This is a list of trade unions and union federations by country. ... This is a list of federations of trade unions. ... The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is the worlds largest trade union federation. ... The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) was established in the wake of the Second World War to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations. ... The International Workers Association (IWA) (Spanish: AIT - Asociación Internacional de los Trabajadores, and in German: IAA-Internationale ArbeiterInnen Assoziation) is an international anarcho-syndicalist federation of various labour unions from different countries. ... Strike action, often simply called a strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal by employees to perform work. ... The following is a list of deliberate absence from work related to specific working conditions (strikes) or due to general unhappiness with the political order (general strikes). ... A general strike is a strike action by an entire labour force in a city, region or country. ... A sympathy strike is a labour strike that is initiated by workers in one industry and supported by workers in a separate but related industry. ... A sitdown strike is a form of civil disobedience in which an organized group of workers, usually employed at a factory or other centralized location, take possession of the workplace by sitting down at their stations, effectively preventing their employers from replacing them with scab labor or, in some cases... Work-to-rule is a job action in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of a workplace, and follow safety or other regulations to the letter in order to cause a slowdown. ... The Lawrence textile strike (1912), with soldiers surrounding peaceful demonstrators A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas of wages, hours, and working conditions. ... Sidney Hillman (March 23, 1887 - July 10, 1946) was an American labor leader. ... Ion Costache Frimu (October 16 [O.S. October 4] 1871 — February 19 [O.S. February 6] 1919) was a Romanian socialist militant and politician, a leading member of the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSDR) and labor activist. ... Isaac Theophilus Akunna Wallace-Johnson (1895–May 10, 1965) was a British West African workers leader, journalist, and politician. ... Tanong Po-arn was a Thai labor union leader who disappeared following the National Peace Keeping Councils 1991 military coup against the elected government. ... Sarah George Bagley (April 19, 1806-188?). Historian Tom Dublin says of Sarah Bagley she was one of the most important labor leaders in New England during the 1840s. ...
Academic Disciplines
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Surveys

• Arneson, Eric. ed. Enyclopedia of US Labor and Working-Class History (2006), 650 entries in 1800 pages
• Melvyn Dubofsky and Foster Rhea Dulles. Labor in America: A History (2004)
• Nelson Lichtenstein. State of the Union: A Century of American Labor (2003)
• Paul LeBlanc. A Short History of the U.S. Working Class: From Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century (1999)
• Millie Beik, ed. Labor Relations: Major Issues in American History (2005) over 100 annotated primary documents

To 1900

• Commons, John R. History of Labour in the United States - Vol. 2 1860-1896 (1918)
• John R. Commons, "American Shoemakers, 1648-1895: A Sketch of Industrial Evolution," Quarterly Journal of Economics 24 (November, 1909), 39-83. in JSTOR
• Grob, Gerald N. Workers and Utopia: A Study of Ideological Conflict in the American Labor Movement, 1865-1900 (1961)
• John P. Hall, "The Knights of St. Crispin in Massachusetts, 1869-1878," Journal of Economic History 18 (June, 1958), p 161-175
• Laslett, John H. M. Labor and the Left: A Study of Socialist and Radical Influences in the American Labor Movement, 1881-1924 (1970)
• Mandel, Bernard. Samuel Gompers: A Biography (1963)
• Orth, Samuel P. The Armies of Labor: A Chronicle of the Organized Wage-Earners (1919) short overview
• Voss, Kim. The Making of American Exceptionalism: The Knights of Labor and Class Formation in the Nineteenth Century (1993)]
• Weir, Robert E. Beyond Labor's Veil: The Culture of the Knights of Labor (1996)
• Bibliography of online resources on railway labor in late 19th century

1900-1932

• Bernstein, Irving. The Lean Years: A History of the American Worker, 1920-33 (1966)
• Brody, David. Labor in Crisis: The Steel Strike of 1919 (1965)
• Dubofsky, Melvyn and Warren Van Tine. John L. Lewis: A Biography (1986)
• Brody, David. Labor in Crisis: The Steel Strike of 1919 (1965)
• Faue, Elizabeth. Community of Suffering & Struggle: Women, Men, and the Labor Movement in Minneapolis, 1915-1945 (1991)
• Fraser, Steve. Labor Will Rule: Sidney Hillman and the Rise of American Labor (1993)
• Gordon, Colin. New Deals: Business, Labor, and Politics, 1920-1935 (1994)
• Greene, Julie . Pure and Simple Politics: The American Federation of Labor and Political Activism, 1881-1917 (1998)
• Hooker, Clarence. Life in the Shadows of the Crystal Palace, 1910-1927: Ford Workers in the Model T Era (1997)
• Laslett, John H. M. Labor and the Left: A Study of Socialist and Radical Influences in the American Labor Movement, 1881-1924 (1970)
• Karson, Marc. American Labor Unions and Politics, 1900-1918 (1958)
• McCartin, Joseph A. ’Labor's Great War: The Struggle for Industrial Democracy and the Origins of Modern American Labor Relations, 1912-1921 (1997)
• Mandel, Bernard. Samuel Gompers: A Biography (1963)
• Meyer, Stephen. The Five Dollar Day: Labor Management and Social Control in the Ford Motor Company, 1908-1921 (1981)
• Mink, Gwendolyn. Old Labor and New Immigrants in American Political Development: Union, Party, and State, 1875-1920 (1986)
• Orth, Samuel P. The Armies of Labor: A Chronicle of the Organized Wage-Earners (1919) short overview
• Quint, Howard H. The Forging of American Socialism: Origins of the Modern Movement (1964)
• Warne, Colston E. ed. The Steel Strike of 1919 (1963), primary and secondary documents
• Zieger, Robert. Republicans and Labor, 1919-1929. (1969)

Primary sources

• Gompers, Samuel. Seventy Years of Life and Labor: An Autobiography (1925)

1932 - 1955

• Bernstein, Irving. Turbulent Years: A History of the American Worker, 1933-1941 (1970)
• Campbell, D'Ann. "Sisterhood versus the Brotherhoods: Women in Unions" Women at War With America: Private Lives in a Patriotic Era (1984).
• Dubofsky, Melvyn and Warren Van Time John L. Lewis (1986).
• Faue, Elizabeth. Community of Suffering & Struggle: Women, Men, and the Labor Movement in Minneapolis, 1915-1945 (1991), social history
• Fraser, Steve. Labor Will Rule: Sidney Hillman and the Rise of American Labor (1993).
• Galenson, Walter. The CIO Challenge to the AFL: A History of the American Labor Movement, 1935-1941 (1960)
• Gordon, Colin. New Deals: Business, Labor, and Politics, 1920-1935 (1994)
• Jensen, Richard J. "The Causes and Cures of Unemployment in the Great Depression," Journal of Interdisciplinary History 19 (1989) p. 553-83
• Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945. (1999) recent narrative.
• Lichtenstein, Nelson. Labor's War at Home: The CIO in World War II (2003)
• Miller, Sally M., and Daniel A. Cornford eds. American Labor in the Era of World War II (1995), essays by historians, mostly on California
• Preis, Art. Labor's Giant Step (1964)
• Seidman; Joel. Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen: The Internal Political Life of a National Union (1962)
• Vittoz, Stanley. New Deal Labor Policy and the American Industrial Economy (1987)
• Zieger, Robert H. The CIO, 1935-1955 (1995)

Fair Employment FEPC

• William J. Collins, "Race, Roosevelt, and Wartime Production: Fair Employment in World War II Labor Markets," American Economic Review 91:1 (March 2001), pp. 272-286
• Andrew Edmund Kersten, Race, Jobs, and the War: The FEPC in the Midwest, 1941-46 (2000) online review
• Merl E. Reed. Seedtime for the Modern Civil Rights Movement: The President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice, 1941-1946 (1991)

Taft-Hartley and the NLRA

• Abraham, Steven E. "The Impact of the Taft-Hartley Act on the Balance of Power in Industrial Relations" American Business Law Journal Vol. 33, 1996
• Ballam, Deborah A. "The Impact of the National Labor Relations Act on the U.S. Labor Movement" American Business Law Journal, Vol. 32, 1995
• Brooks, George W., Milton Derber, David A. McCabe, Philip Taft. Interpreting the Labor Movement (1952)
• Gilbert J. Gall, The Politics of Right to Work: The Labor Federations as Special Interests, 1943-1979 (1988)
• Fred A. Hartley Jr. and Robert A. Taft. Our New National Labor Policy: The Taft-Hartley Act and the Next Steps (1948)
• Lee, R. Alton. Truman and Taft-Hartley: A Question of Mandate (1966)
• Harry A. Millis and Emily Clark Brown. From the Wagner Act to Taft-Hartley: A Study of National Labor Policy and Labor Relations (1950)

Walter Reuther and UAW

Secondary sources

• Boyle, Kevin. The UAW and the Heyday of American Liberalism, 1945-1968 (1995)
• Kornhauser, Arthur et al. When Labor Votes: A Study of Auto Workers (1956)
• Lichtenstein, Nelson. The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit: Walter Reuther and the Fate of American Labor (1995)
• Lichtenstein, Nelson and Stephen Meyer, eds. On the Line: Essays in the History of Auto Work (1989)

Primary sources

• Christman, Henry M. ed. Walter P. Reuther: Selected Papers (1961)

1955 - 2006

• Taylor E. Dark; The Unions and the Democrats: An Enduring Alliance Cornell University Press. 1999
• Rick Fantasia & Kim Voss. Hard Work: Remaking the American Labor Movement (2004)
• Galenson, Walter; The American Labor Movement, 1955-1995 (1996)
• Arthur J. Goldberg; AFL-CIO, Labor United (1956)
• Leiter, Robert D. The Teamsters Union: A Study of Its Economic Impact (1957)
• Jo-Ann Mort (Ed), Not Your Father's Union Movement: Inside the AFL-CIO" (2002)

In classical economics and all micro-economics labour is a measure of the work done by human beings and is one of three factors of production, the others being land and capital. ... Labor history (or labour history) is a broad field of study concerned with the development of the labor movement and the working class. ... A Boeing employee speaks at a trade union rally The field of industrial relations looks at the relationship between management and workers, particularly groups of workers represented by a union. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

External links

• National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) rights www.workplacefairness.org

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