Massachusetts enacted the first minimum-wage law in the country. The Clayton Antitrust Act, passed in 1914, restricted employers' use ofinjunctions to end strikes. In 1916, Congress passed the Adamson Act, establishing an eight-hour workday for certain railroad workers, a n action that helped unions trying to get eight-hour work days in other industries.
World War I and the 1920s
During World War I, President Wilson established several boards composed of employers, representatives of organized labor, and "public" members to address labor problems in defense industries. A National War Labor Board appointed to bring consistency to federal labor policy strongly advocated collective bargaining. Many employers satisfied this demand by creating companysponsored unions. The increased federal recognition of organized labor helped open doors for labor organizers. Labor's new political status was symbolically recognized in 1917 when President Wilson traveled to Buffalo to address the annual AF'L convention-the first time a President had made such an appearance. In succeeding administrations most presidents, Republican and Democratic alike, spoke to the labor conventions.