The First Unions
American Railway Union
image of railroad tracks and barren tree trunks
A Union for Railway Workers
The railroad was the number one industry in the United States in the late 1800s. With the growth and expansion of railways across the country, there were enough railroad workers to form their own union.
The American Railway Union (ARU) was formed and limited to only railway workers.
The first major strike, the Great Strike of 1877, involved railway workers and the railroad industry.
The ARU represented workers from which industry?
manufacturing
agriculture
railroad