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Delaware River Basin Compact

(Encyclopedia)Delaware River Basin Compact dĕlˈəwâr, –wər [key], providing for the utilization and development of the water resources of the Delaware River basin. In 1961 the federal government and the state...

Jamaica Bay

(Encyclopedia)Jamaica Bay, c.20 sq mi (50 sq km), SW Long Island, SE N.Y., separated from the Atlantic Ocean by Rockaway Peninsula; the Rockaway Inlet links it to the sea. The shallow bay has many islands, and its ...

degree-day

(Encyclopedia)degree-day, a unit of measure used to estimate the fuel and power requirements in heating and cooling a building; it is equal to a difference of 1 degree between the outdoor daily average temperature ...

child labor

(Encyclopedia)child labor, use of the young as workers in factories, farms, mines, and other facilities, especially in work that is physically hazardous or morally, socially, or mentally harmful, involves a form of...

Homestead strike

(Encyclopedia)Homestead strike, in U.S. history, a bitterly fought labor dispute. On June 29, 1892, workers belonging to the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers struck the Carnegie Steel Company at Ho...

Fraser, Douglas Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Fraser, Douglas Andrew, 1916–2008, American labor leader, b. Glasgow, Scotland. His family emigrated to the United States when he was a child and settled in Detroit, where he began his working life ...

Wirtz, William Willard

(Encyclopedia)Wirtz, William Willard, 1912–2010, U.S. secretary of labor (1962–69), b. DeKalb, Ill. A professor of law at Northwestern Univ. (1939–42), he served (1943–45) with the War Labor Board and was (...

Consumers' League, National

(Encyclopedia)Consumers' League, National, organization designed to promote better conditions among workers by encouraging the purchase of articles made and sold under improved working conditions. The movement star...

polyester

(Encyclopedia)polyester, synthetic fiber, produced by the polymerization of the product formed when an alcohol and organic acid react. The outstanding characteristic of polyesters is their ability to resist wrinkli...

capital levy

(Encyclopedia)capital levy, form of taxation by which the government takes part of the capital of any person or business, as distinguished from a tax on personal or business income. It is usually applied to all cap...