Throughout our history, unions have played a critical role in lifting up working families and helping them get ahead. This Labor Day, celebrate the history of the American Labor Movement and remember that #UnionsMatter.
1. Weekends Off
In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions issued the first demand for a forty-hour workweek. This decades-long fight culminated in 1938 with President Franklin Roosevelt’s signing of the the Fair Labor Standards Act that finally established federal limits on working hours.
2. Work Breaks, Including for Lunch
State laws guaranteeing breaks frequently have roots in the labor movement, but even today federal law is still quiet on mandated breaks for workers throughout the day.
3. 8 Hour Days, 40 Hour Weeks
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act established the 40 hour workweek as a
cornerstone of American labor policy. This legislation was the direct result of decades of political organization, including protests and strikes, by the nation’s growing labor movement.
4. Civil Rights
While federal law does not require employers offer paid vacation, union negotiations helped make two weeks of vacation a reality for millions of workers, establishing this free-time as an essential component of American life. Title VII of this landmark legislation prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex and national origin.” Thousands of union members participated in the historic March on Washington that compelled Congress to take action.
5. Paid Vacation Time
While federal law does not require employers offer paid vacation, union negotiations helped make two weeks of vacation a reality for millions of workers, establishing this free-time as an essential component of American life.
6. The Social Security Act of 1935
Labor advocates helped develop the first retirement pensions in the United States, and since the establishment of Social Security in 1935, unions have fought to ensure retirement security for millions of Americans.
7. Collective Bargaining
After decades of hard work, unions secured the right to collective bargaining when the National Labor Relations Act was signed into law. Prior to this landmark, corporations were legally allowed to harass and discriminate against union members and officials.
8. Ending Child Labor
Unions were a powerful force in the effort to outlaw child labor. As early as 1881, the American Federation of Labor called for laws excluding those under the age of 14 from the workforce. Though some states would heed this call, it wasn’t until the Fair Labor Standards Act that the federal government made the ban on child labor national in scope.
9. Family and Medical Leave
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, spearheaded by labor organizations like the AFL-CIO, set the first federal standards for family and medical leave in the United States.
10. Universal Access to Education
Labor-aligned organizations like the National Consumers’ League and the National Child Labor Committee played central roles in advocating against child labor and in favor of compulsory public education education.
11. Workers’ Comp
The labor movement has fought to ensure workers who are injured on the job receive just compensation for their medical and rehabilitation bills.
12. A Minimum Wage
The union-backed Fair Labor Standards Act set the first federal minimum wage. Almost 80 years later, the labor movement is still the driving force behind the fight for increases in both state and federal minimum wages, most notably through the Fight for 15.
13. Compensation for Overtime Work
Union contracts created some of the first rules for overtime pay, and the Fair Labor Standards Act set the standard “time and a half” payment level for hours worked over the baseline of 40.
14. Equal Pay for Women
Upon signing the Equal Pay Act of 1963, President Kennedy cited the central role of labor in fighting for this important first-step in securing equal pay for equal work. Today, the overall wage gap for unionized workers is less than half that of non-unionized workers. Still, the labor movement remains active in fighting to close the remaining gap.
15. Strong Protections Against Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment in the workplace remains a stark problem for both women and men. Unions will include sexual harassment in collective bargaining negotiations, and representatives will serve as important outlets for reporting inappropriate conduct or abuse.
16. Maternity Leave
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 also banned employers from firing an employee because she is pregnant. Today, unions continue the fight for expanded parental leave for working moms and dads.
17. A Safer Workplace
Labor unions have a long history of seeking safety standards for their employees and were a central force behind the creation of the Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA). Today, unions continue to advocate for improved working conditions through collectively bargaining agreements and by filing complaints with OSHA on behalf of employees.
18. Protections for Individuals with Disabilities
With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, requiring “reasonable accommodation” for employees with a disability, collective bargaining became an important force for ensuring employers met its rigorous standards.
19. Employer-Provided Health Insurance
Today, most Americans receive health care through employee-sponsored programs. That is largely thanks to union efforts in the 1930s and 1940s to include health care in negotiations with employers. Once the federal government set caps on wage increases during World War II, health care coverage was one of few benefits unions were legally allowed to demand, and the benefit became widespread.
20. Rewarding Hard Work with a Raise
Boosting compensation is a hallmark of union negotiations, and studies routinely show higher wages for unionized workers compared to non-unionized workers.
21. Prohibitions on Sweatshops
In 1900, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union formed to organize women and child working in sweatshops. After the 1909 garment worker’s strike brought more than 60,000 workers to the street and won critical concessions, progress continued to spread until the worst of sweatshop labor in America eventually disappeared.
22. Wrongful Termination Laws
Not only did the labor-backed Civil Rights Act of 1964 ban discrimination on the basis of race, but even today unions provide workers a powerful ally in determining whether an individual may have been wrongly fired.
23. The Right to Preserve Workers’ Rights by Going on Strike
Fundamental to the rights of working men and women is the right to strike. Every year, thousands of unionized workers take this important step, and throughout American history, strikes have proved to be an essential and defining feature of the labor movement.
24. Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Employee’s Age
Unions can help workers who believe they have suffered discrimination on the basis of their age to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which oversees enforcement of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967.
25. Critical Benefits for Unemployed Workers
Blue-collar unionized workers are 25% more likely to receive unemployment insurance than non-unionized workers, due in part to the institutional support. The labor movement is also an advocate on the state and federal level for providing financial support to workers laid off from their jobs.
26. Veterans Benefits
Unions provide important job training resources for veterans to ensure that once they return home they can succeed in the civilian workforce.
27. Protections for Whistleblowers
Unions play an important role in supporting employees who file claims against employees whether for unsafe working conditions or any other contractual violations.
28. Banning the Use of Polygraphs by Employers
Thanks to the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, employers can no longer require their employees to submit a humiliating, invasive, and unreliable lie-detector test.
29. Dental, Life, and Vision Coverage
Unions seek to get the best deal possible for their workers. While this typically means fighting for higher wages and stronger protections, the labor movement often includes dental, life and vision as key priorities in negotiations.
30. Ensuring the Right to Privacy
Unions contracts may provide employees with protections against termination if an employer disagrees with how an employees conducts him or herself in their free time.
The Fight Continues Today
Despite the progress that’s been made, unions are under attack today. Right-wing politicians across the country are trying to expand “right-to-work” laws, weaken collective bargaining rights, and make it harder for workers to form or join a union.
We can’t let them succeed. This Labor Day, it’s time to stand up and fight back on behalf of our country’s working families. Because when unions succeed, America succeeds.
