Great Britain 1900-1901

Synopsis

The Taff Vale case centered on a brief but bitterly fought strike waged by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS) against the management of the Taff Vale Railway Company in South Wales in August 1900. The company took the ASRS to court and was awarded £23,000 in damages and £19,000 costs. This ruling threatened to destroy the unions' ability to wage effective strike action; the need for political redress led to a sharp increase in the rate of trade union affiliations to the Labour Representation Committee (renamed the Labour Party in 1906). The Trades Disputes Act of 1906 overturned the court decision by legalizing peaceful picketing and restoring union immunity against actions for damages caused by strikes.

Timeline

• 1880: Cattle drives up the Chisholm Trail in the western United States reach their peak.
• 1890: Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act, which in the years that follow...