Labor History

Many Americans take for granted the labor laws which protect us from many of the exploitations used by employers in the past. We should remember that many brave men, women, and children fought and even died to secure the labor rights we enjoy today. The Labor Movement has a rich history in the Commonwealth, beginning even before the American Revolution. This history is something that all citizens of the Commonwealth should take pride in. Though the struggles of Massachusetts Labor are not over, we must pay our respects to those who fought so that we might have the freedoms that they were denied.

One such hero of the Labor Movement is Edward Cohen, a former President of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Cohen spent his life fighting for the working men and women of this Commonwealth. Cohen made the ultimate sacrifice to the Labor Movement when he was assassinated in the Governor’s office. He will be honored in the form of a plaque that will be permanently hung in the State House. To learn more about the plaque and the heroic man it is dedicated to, visit our Edward Cohen Plaque page:

EDWARD COHEN PLAQUE

To learn more about the struggles and victories of the Massachusetts Labor Movement, visit any of the pages below.

1747     Workers riot against British Royal Navy's attempts at forced labor

1765     Revolt against Stamp Act

1770     Boston Massacre

1773     Boston Tea Party

1825     Boston carpenters strike for 10-hour day

1834     Lowell mill owners impose 15-20 percent wage cut, provoke strike

1835     Boston Shipbuilders Strike for 10-hour Day

1835     "Ten Hour Circular" condemns excessive working hours

1836     Depression deal crushing blow to trade unions

1838     Frederick Douglass arives in New Bedford

1842     Bootmakers force the courts to recognize right to organize

1842     Soujouner Truth in residence at Northampton Association of Education and Industry

1842     Fall River mechanics petition legislature for 10-hour day

1843     Mass. legislature passes first child labor law

1844     New England Workingmen's Association, Lowell Female Labor Reform Association founded

1848     Trade unionist meet in Fanueil Hall, condemn slavery

1859     "Labor is greatly the superior of capital" - Abraham Lincoln

1860     Shoemakers strike in Lynn

1863     Ira Steward founds Boston Eight Hour League

1864     Boston Daily Evening Voice first labor paper to call for inclusion of freed slaves

1864     Knights of St. Crispin founded in Milford

1869     Knights of Labor founded

1870     Labor Reform Party founded

1874     Look for the Union Label

1874     Law limits women and children to 10 hours

1875     Governor orders militia to break weavers and spinners strike

1886     General strike for the 8-hour day

1886     Boston Building Trades Strike for the 8-hour day

1887     Mass. State Federation of Labor founded, Labor Leader begins publication

1888     Labor Day becomes official state holiday

1889     State employees win 9-hour day

1892     Holyoke carpenters strike, seeking $2.25 for 9-hour day

1899     Boston city employees win 8-hour day

1911     Massachusetts Passes Landmark Workers' Compensation Legislation

1911     Textile workers week reduced to 54 hours

1912     "Bread and Roses" strike in Lawrence

1912    Boston Elevated Railway Workers Strike

1912    Solidarity Forever Arises as a New Labor Song

1913    Board of Labor and Industry, Industrial Accident Board formed and Prevailing Wage Law Passed

1913    Massachusetts Passes Legislation to Regulate the Labor of Minors

1919     Telephone workers strike successfully over low pay, oppressive conditions

1919     Boston Police Strike

1921     Amalgamated Clothing Workers locked out by Boston Clothing Manufacturers Association

1925    A. Philip Randolph Fights for Jobs and Freedom

1927     Sacco and Vanzetti executed

1933     5,000 leather workers win strike on North Shore

1933     Massachusetts Workers Strike for Better Conditions After Depression

1933     Wareham cranberry pickers stage first agricultural strike in state's history

1935     Committee on Industrial Organization (CIO) created

1938     President Roosevelt signs the Fair Labor Standards Act 

1941     Women Take Over Factory Work During World War II

1942     Boston Fire Fighters Organize and Win the 8-Hour Day

1945      Labor Guild of Boston Founded

1953     AFSCME chapter organized at Fernald State School

1954     "Black and White Unite" at the Colonial Meatpackers Strike

1955     The AFL and CIO merge

1958     The Massachusetts AFL and CIO merged in December, making it the last state federation to merge in the nation

1962     Massachusetts Teachers and State Employees Win the Right to Organize

1966     First Massachusetts teachers strike in Lawrence

1970     SEIU 509 wins first contract for state welfare workers

1970     Letter Carriers Strike

1970     Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Passed

1972     Nine to Five Formed to Organize Office Workers

1974     State employees win right to organize

1976     State workers strike, win improved wages and benefits

1979     District 65 wins organizing drive at Boston University

1987     Women's Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) founded

1988     Building Trades Defeat Repeal of Prevailing Wage Law

1989     Telephone workers strike successfully over low pay, oppressive conditions

1992     Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) wins organizing battle

1997     Teamsters win big strike at United Parcel Service

2000     Telephone workers strike successfully over low pay, oppressive conditions

2005     Massachusetts Passes the First Minimum Wage Increase in Several Years

 

Text and illustrations reprinted by permission from Commonwealth of Toil by Tom Juravich, William F. Hartford and James R. Green. published by University of Massachusetts Press.