List some of the early labor unions and their activities?

Answer 1

Early labor unions had nearly no rights, and were only just scratching the surface with their methods of resistance against their employers, and were very rare in the early days. This resulted in many violent strikes, because many major companies refused to see the truth in their arguments, and therefore many times a labor union was formed, it was ended in a bloody fight with the company, and at the time there were anti-strike police, specially trained to fight labor unions, and there were scabs, which were workers to cover a corporate losses, and to maintain production of materials, rendering the strikes useless.

Answer 2

The first American labor unions dated from before 1800. The first was founded in 1794 in Philadelphia, by a group of shoemakers and called the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers (shoemakers). Workmen's Associations became the backbone of Andrew Jackson's supporters. By the end of the Civil War, there were lots of "unions" but they were local and had little contact with each other. In 1866 that changed when William Sylvis organized the National Labor Union and worked to organize workers in many different states and of different occupations. Sylvis believed that labor needed to become political to gain worker's rights, better wages, and safe working conditions. In 1869, a group of tailors, led by Uriah P. Stephens, formed the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor. They spread their message in secret, organizing workers of different jobs but not getting political. They realized that labor organizers and labor members would be fired by employers, so the Knights remained a secret organization as long as it could. The Knights differed from the NLU also in that they accepted Blacks and women and unskilled workers. In 1879, Stephens was replaced by Terence V. Powderly, and the Knights became a labor powerhouse. The Knights continued to grow until the infamous Haymarket Square tragedy was unfairly blamed on the Knights, by business owners and officials. In 1866, a union organized that was composed of several associations of skilled workers. This union came to be called the American Federation of Labor and grew and held many successful strikes under the leadership of Samuel Gompers.

Answer 3

National Labor Union and Knights of Labor.