Social Welfare History Project Labor Page 2

Cruikshank, Nelson Hale

Nelson Hale Cruikshank (1902-1986): Minister, Labor Leader and a Leader for Social Security and Medicare

U.S. Department of Labor History

“A Brief History, “written by Judson MacLaury

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

Written by Jonathan Grossman. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 applied to industries whose combined employment represented only about one-fifth of the labor force. In these industries, it banned oppressive child labor and set the minimum hourly wage at 25 cents, and the maximum workweek at 44 hours.

National Labor Relations Board

The National Labor Relations Board is proud of its history of enforcing the National Labor Relations Act. Starting in the Great Depression and continuing through World War II and the economic growth and challenges that followed, the NLRB has worked to guarantee the rights of employees to bargain collectively, if they choose to do so.

Randolph, A. Phillip

A. Philip Randolph: Founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Chair of the Committee that Organized the 1963 “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”

Rustin, Bayard (1912-1987)

Bayard Rustin: Trade Union and Civil Rights Organizer and Activist

Peterson, Esther (1906–1997)

Esther Peterson was a trailblazer—as a woman and an advocate for workers’ rights. She was honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame as “one of the nation’s most effective and beloved catalysts for change.” In 1981, Esther received a Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian award, to honor her more than 50 years of activism.

Hillman, Sidney – (1887-1946)

Sidney Hillman, the founder of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (now UNITE!) and its president from 1914 to 1946, invented trade unionism as we know it today.

Hill, Joe (1879-1915) – Labor Folk Hero

Joe Hill (1879-1915): Songwriter, Itinerant Laborer, Union Organizer and Labor Folk Hero

Mason, Lucy Randolph (1882-1959)

Lucy Randolph Mason devoted her life to bringing about more humane conditions for working people, ending racial injustice and ensuring that union organizers throughout the South were guaranteed the constitutional rights to free speech, assembly and due process that her ancestor, George Mason, had helped establish.