Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869, was the first major organized labor institution in the United States. It combined workers of all skill levels into highly effective forces that had the power to enable eight hour workdays to later become an industrial reality, and had a philosophy which envisioned society as a coöperative where the worker might eventually even own a company like the one he worked for. Among other things, they also fought to end child labor and convict labor, with considerable success.
