The Moments in Labor History Wall is a series of pictures and narratives that explain 48 significant episodes in U.S. labor history. Donated by the Muskegon United Labor Participation Committee, the Labor Moments wall represents an important memorial to past achievements and to tragic events in the American workers’ struggle for justice and equality.
The Labor Moments wall is also an important teaching tool for classes in the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts. Students, teachers, instructors and members of the public may freely examine the wall and read about the struggle for the 8-hour day, the founding of the first union for women in the textile industry, the founding of the American Federation of Labor, the Ludlow Massacre of miners and their families, the passage of the Wagner Act, and the breaking of the Air Traffic Controllers strike in 1981.
As MCC History Instructor George Maniates notes, “Someone died and someone bled so that you can enjoy a lunch break.”
Administered in the Social Sciences Department, Moments in Labor History will be a permanent and evolving part of enriching and enlightening educational opportunities at Muskegon Community College.
Sociologist Nicholas Budimir would be happy to give a guided talk on the wall and answer any questions. This is part of MCC’s lasting commitment to preserving the labor legacy of the region. For more information please contact: Nicholas Budimir, (231) 777-0620 or at nicholas.budimir@muskegoncc.edu
Moments in Labor History Wall Plaques |
|
Year | Subject |
—- | Work Day |
1741 | First Work Stoppage |
1790 | First Water Powered Mill |
1794 | Unions Are Born |
1828 | First Strike by Women |
1842 | First Child Labor Law |
1852 | The Oldest Surviving Trade Union in the US |
1863 | Working Women Union |
1868 | The 8 Hour Day |
1869 | Important Early Union |
1869 | Colored National Labor Union |
1877 | America’s First Nationwide Strike |
1877 | The Great Railroad Strike |
1882 | Labor Day Parades |
1886 | Haymarket |
1886 | The Bay View Massacre |
1886 | AF of L Founded |
1892 | Frisco Mill Dynamited |
1898 | The Virden Massacre |
1900 | Ladies Garment Workers |
1903 | The Children’s Crusade |
1905 | Wooblies |
1906 | Pioneer Sit-Down Strike |
1912 | The Grey Bow Riot |
1914 | ‘Ludlow’ Massacre |
1914 | $5 a Day |
1916 | Everett Massacre |
1919 | Boston Police Strike |
1922 | The Great Railroad Strike |
1927 | Columbine Mine Massacre |
1927 | LHWCA Passed |
1932 | Ford Hunger March |
1934 | The Great Uprising of 34 |
1934 | Battle of Toledo |
1935 | Wagner Act |
1936 | Flint Sit-Down Strike |
1936 | Anti-Strike Breaker Act |
1937 | Battle of The Overpass |
1937 | Memorial Day Massacre |
1938 | $0.25 an hour Minimum Wage |
1955 | AFL and CIO Merge |
1959 | US Steel on Strike |
1963 | Equal Pay for Equal |
1967 | Age Discrimination |
1970 | First Post Office Strike |
1975 | 1,000 Mile March |
1981 | Air Traffic Controller Strike |