United States 1898

Synopsis

The Erdman Act, an early step toward the passage of the more comprehensive Railway Labor Act of 1926, was a federal law that attempted to alleviate labor unrest in the railroad industry by requiring mediation of any labor dispute "seriously interrupting or threatening to interrupt" interstate commerce. In the event that mediation failed, the act provided for an arbitration board whose decision would be binding. Additionally, Section 10 of the act prohibited the railroads from requiring as a condition of employment any discriminatory agreements pertaining to union membership.

Timeline

• 1878: Thomas Edison develops a means of cheaply producing and transmitting electric current, which he succeeds in subdividing so as to make it adaptable to household use. The value of shares in gas companies plummets as news of his breakthrough reaches Wall Street.
• 1883: Foundation of the League of Struggle for the Emancipation of Labor by Marxist political...