The US Labor Movement and Its Achievements

[OneGrassRoot]

A good primer for the many who don't know, or have conveniently forgotten, the role of The Labor Movement, and the meaning of Labor Day, for cryin' out loud.

:hi:

The U.S. Labor Movement and Its Achievements (Sep. 04, 2001)

http://www.workinglife.org/wiki/The+U.S.+Labor+Movement+and+Its+Achievements+%28Sep.+04,++2001%29

Labor Day is the time of year when the nation honors the working people who have built this country and made it prosperous. It is also a time to remember the achievements of the organized labor movement in United States history. As is often noted every September, many of the basic rights and benefits that are sometimes taken for granted were not kindly handed to workers by employers. It took the hard work and dedication of thousands of union men and women who struggled bravely to win these rights.

The labor movement in the United States led the struggles to:

* End child labor
* Establish the legal right of workers to form unions and collectively bargain for wages,
benefits and working conditions
* Establish the 8 hour work day and paid overtime
* Win workers' comp benefits for workers injured on the job
* Secure unemployment insurance for workers who lose their jobs
* Secure a guaranteed minimum wage
* Improve workplace safety and reduce on the job fatalities
* Win pensions for workers
* Win health care insurance for workers
* Win paid sick leave, vacations, and holidays as standard benefits for most workers
* Win the right for public sector workers to collectively bargain
* Win passage of the Civil Right Acts and Title VII which outlaws job discrimination based on
race, color, religion, sex or national origin
* Win passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act
* Win passage of the Family Medical Leave Act


more at link above