The Basics 

 Brief Overview
The labor history of the slate valley's slate industry is a small and unique chapter of a much larger story. Key events of the larger history include the formation of trade unions in the late 19th century, the Pullman Strike of 1894, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, and the Flint sit-down strike of 1936-37. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 established workers' right to organize and bargain collectively. In the post-World War II era, the labor movement faced challenges, including anti-union sentiment, automation, and globalization, leading to declining union membership. However, recent years have seen a resurgence of labor activism, including the Fight for $15 campaign for a higher minimum wage, teacher strikes in 2018, and New York City nurse strikes in late 2022 and early 2023.

What is a Union?
A labor union is a group of two or more employees who join together to advance common interests such as wages, benefits, schedules and other employment terms and conditions. Because individual quarry workers did not have the power to negotiate better terms with their employers, many workers would together form a union to engage in “collective bargaining.”

 

What is collective bargaining?

Collective bargaining is the mechanism or process for an organized group of workers ("labor") and their employer ("management") to pursue mutual agreement over workplace issues.


What is a strike?

A strike occurs when employees refuse to continue working until demands are met, often after negotiations have broken down. In the US today many forms of striking are legally protected by the Federal government.


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The Basics

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national slate association meeting

Slate Industry Organizations

THE NATURAL HISTORY

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Men and boys stand in front of a shanty on a small pile of slag

Organized Labor

TAKE A TOUR

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Major Strikes of the Late Nineteenth Century

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Color illustration of the Johnson & Eureka Slate Quarries in Poultney, VT
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