The constitution of the Brotherhood of the Footboard was ratified by engineers in Detroit, Mich. Later became the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers - 1863
The Knights of St. Crispin union is formed at a secret meeting in Milwaukee. It grew to 50,000 members before being crushed by employers later that year - 1867
Works Progress Administration (WPA) established at a cost of $4.8 billion?more than $72 billion in 2011 dollars?to provide work opportunities for millions during the Great Depression - 1935
National Typographical Union founded, Cincinnati, Ohio. It was renamed the Int?l Typographical Union in 1869, in acknowledgment of Canadian members. When the ITU merged into CWA in 1986 it was the oldest existing union in the U.S. - 1852
On Chicago?s West Side, police attack Jewish workers as they try to march into the Loop to protest slum conditions - 1886
Some 14,000 building trades workers and laborers, demanding an 8-hour work day, gather at the Milwaukee Iron Co. rolling mill in Bay View, Wisc. When they approach the mill they are fired on by 250 National Guardsmen under orders from the governor to shoot to kill. Seven die, including 13-year-old boy - 1886