On this day in labor history, the year was 1917
That was the day the United States Supreme Court upheld the Adamson Act.
The Act had initially been passed and signed into law the previous September to avoid a nationwide railway strike.
It established the eight-hour day and overtime pay for interstate railroad workers.
The four railroad brotherhoods--the Engineers, Fireman, Brakemen and Conductors had been pushing for these terms since at least 1915.
When the railroads refused to budge, the unions prepared to strike.
It was the first federal law that sought to determine minimum wages and maximum hours for private industry.
The railroads were furious with President Woodrow Wilson for demanding quick passage of the law.
They filed the case, Wilson v. New, which challenged the constitutionality of the Act.
The railroads refused to abide by the new law while they waited for their case to be heard, ultimately by the Supreme Court.
The four railroad brotherhoods grew tired of waiting and organized for another strike.
The Court rejected the railroad’s claims and upheld the Act.
President Wilson had hoped to ensure labor peace, as the United States was on the cusp of entering World War I.
Seen as a powerful victory for the unions, other railway employees pressed for similar demands.
When the industry looked as though it was headed for yet another strike, President Wilson exercised the Army Appropriations Act and issued an executive order at the end of 1917 that placed the railroads under federal control.
This nationalized the railroad industry into three divisions under the newly established United States Railroad Administration between the years 1917 and 1920.
February 27 - The 1937 Woolworth Sit-Down
February 26 - The Battle at Bethlehem
February 25 - The Paterson Silk Strike Begins
February 24 - Muller v Oregon Decided
February 23 - Black Workers Lead Historic Strike at UNC
February 22 - Labelling Teachers as Terrorists
February 21 - The First Female Telephone Operator
February 20 - Angelina Grimke is Born
February 19 - Philly Street Car Workers Spark General Strike
February 18 - Anti-Slavery Begins in America
February 17 - Standing Up By Sitting Down
February 16 - The Wisconsin Uprising Begins
February 15 - The Uprising of the 20,000 Comes to a Close
February 14 - Kansas City Laundresses Walk Off the Job
February 13 - Martial Law Declared to Crush the UAW
February 12 - The NAACP is Founded
February 11 - Cutting Corners on Safety at Sequoyah I
February 10 - Forty-Three Workers Buried Alive
February 9 - Organizing Bloody Harlan
February 8 - Butte Copper Miners Join the 1919 Strike Wave
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