December 8
Twenty-five unions found the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in Columbus, Ohio; Cigarmaker’s union leader Samuel Gompers is elected president. The AFL’s founding document’s preamble reads: “A struggle is going on in all of the civilized world between oppressors and oppressed of all countries, between capitalist and laborer...” – 1886
114-day newspaper strike begins, New York City - 1962
President Bill Clinton signs The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - 1993
Nearly 230 jailed teachers—about one-fourth of the 1,000-member Middletown Township, 
N.J., staff—are ordered freed after they and their colleagues agree to end a 9-day strike and go into mediation with the local school board - 2001
Faced with a national unemployment rate of 10 percent, President Barack Obama outlines new multibillion-dollar stimulus and jobs proposals, saying the country must continue to "spend our way out of this recession" until more Americans are back at work. Joblessness had soared 6 percent in the final two years of George W. Bush’s presidency - 2009
More info & ammo for unionists is available
online from Union Communication Services.
2024 Workers Memorial Day: Good Jobs Safe Jobs. Protect Our Rights.
After 18 Months on Strike, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Strikers Find Hope for Injunctive Relief