Moments in Labor History Wall

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