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closed shop and open shop

(Encyclopedia)closed shop and open shop. The term “closed shop” is used to signify an establishment employing only members of a labor union. The union shop, a closely allied term, indicates a company where empl...

Holst, Hermann Eduard von

(Encyclopedia)Holst, Hermann Eduard von fən hôlst [key], 1841–1904, American historian, b. Livonia (then part of Russia), of German parents. He was barred from Russia because of a pamphlet attacking the czarist...

Quill, Michael Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Quill, Michael Joseph, 1905–66, American labor leader, b. Co. Kerry, Ireland. Quill was active (1919–23) in the movement for Irish independence before emigrating (1926) to the United States. He wo...

Hill, Joe

(Encyclopedia)Hill, Joe, 1879–1915, Swedish-American union organizer; b. Sweden, as Joel Hägglund, also called Joseph Hillström. He came to the United States in 1902 and worked as a miner and a longshoreman, wh...

Curtin, John

(Encyclopedia)Curtin, John, 1885–1945, Australian political leader. A labor union secretary, he edited (1917–28) a labor weekly and was later a member of the lower house—from 1928 to 1941, except for three ye...

United Mine Workers of America

(Encyclopedia)United Mine Workers of America (UMW), international labor union formed (1890) by the amalgamation of the National Progressive Union (organized 1888) and the mine locals under the Knights of Labor. It ...

strike

(Encyclopedia)strike, concentrated work stoppage by a group of employees, the chief weapon of organized labor. A suspension of work on the employer's part is called a lockout. Strikes usually result from conflicts ...

Union

(Encyclopedia)Union, industrial township (1990 pop. 50,024), Union co., NE N.J.; settled 1749 by colonists from Connecticut, set off from Elizabethtown 1808. Steel and metal products and paint are among its various...

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

(Encyclopedia)American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), a federation of autonomous labor unions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, and U.S. dependencies, formed in ...

Change to Win Federation

(Encyclopedia)Change to Win Federation, coalition of seven labor unions representing primarily American workers. It was founded in 2005 as the Change to Win Coalition by five American Federation of Labor and Congre...