1 dez 1869 ano - Knights of Labor founded

Descrição:

Founded a s a secret society, it reached a membership of 700,000 by 1886, having only had 20,000 in 1881. The KoL accepted workers regardless of their trade, skill level and sex. It was America's first trade union (organised labour).

Carried out successful strike action which was crucial in its growth (e.g. the Great Railroad Strike of 1887) and had a strong leader from 1879 (Terence V. Powderly) who committed the organisation to seeking the 8-hour day, abolition of child labour, equal pay for equal work and political reforms including the graduated income tax. However, they didn't achieve their aims in the short term and so ultimately failed. Their reputation collapsed after the Haymarket Affair and membership fell.