A Fair Day's Wage

Since the founding of America, men and women have worked under difficult conditions to put food on their tables, raise their families, and make a living. The labor movement stemmed from the need to protect the interests of these workers. Trade and craft unions fought for fair wages, better working conditions, safety on the job, and health benefits. They put an end to child labor. They stood up for racial and gender equality. The National Park Service tells the stories of workers and the labor movement that strived to improve their lives. From the laborers who built the Cheseapeake & Ohio Canal and laid the tracks of the first transcontinental railroad, to the “mill girls” who made cloth in Lowell’s textile factories, to the striking employees of Chicago’s Pullman Company, to the founder of the country's first permanent agricultural union, you’ll find their stories here. Get to work digging into the labor movement’s past.