On this day in 1866 the National Labor Union (NLA) was founded, the first effort to organize craft and unskilled workers in the U.S. The union called for the establishment of an 8-hour work day and a new political party representing the working class.
It was led by William H Sylvis an iron worker. At its height the union boasted some 600,000 members.
In 1868 Congress passed legislation enacting an 8 hour workday. The new law however proved to be ineffective due to numerous loop holes. Sylvis was active in the International Workingmen’s Association (First International) of which the NLA was a member. The NLA was dissolved in 1874. Sylvis died in 1869. He was 41 years old.
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