1. 13.3 - THE ORGANIZED LABOR MOVEMENT

2. THE ORGANIZED LABOR MOVEMENT
VOCABULARY
Knights of Labor
Company Towns
AFL
Eugene Debs
Socialism
Homestead Strike
Samuel Gompers
8. Sweatshops
9. Haymarket Riot
10. Terence Powderly
11. Pullman Strike
12. Collective Bargaining

3. WORKERS ENDURE HARDSHIPS
Factories
Long hours- 12 hours a day, 6 days a week
Low wages
Sweatshops- small, hot, dark and dirty workshops
Dangerous conditions
Strict owners, quick to fine workers for breaking rules or fire those that missed work
Despite these terrible conditions, there were always more workers than jobs

4. FAMILIES IN THE WORKFORCE
As industrialization advanced, more jobs opened up for women
Low wages meant that both parents had to work
Children also needed to earn a wage to help the family survive
By the end of the 1800’s, nearly 20% of children between the ages of worked full time.
Conditions were very hard for children

5. LIVING IN COMPANY TOWNS
Many laborers were forced to live in isolated communities near their workplaces
The housing in these communities were often owned by the company
Company Towns- Owned by businesses and rented to employees
Businesses often owned a “company store”
Goods were expensive and sold on credit with
high interest
Workers could be arrested if they left their
jobs before debts were repaid
Workers called this “wage slavery”

7. LABOR UNIONS FORM
Workers tried to gain power against employers by using collective bargaining
Collective bargaining- negotiating as a group for better wages or working conditions
One form of collective bargaining is the strike, or agreement to cease working until demands are met
Strikes could be local or involve all workers in certain industries
The first national labor union was formed in National Trades Union

8. In the 1830’s, Socialism began to spread
Socialism- An economic and political philosophy that favors public control of property and income
Distribution of wealth
1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote The Communist Manifesto
This pamphlet denounced capitalism and predicted that workers would overturn it
Many labor activists borrowed ideas from Marx and Engels

9. FOUNDING THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR
Founded in 1869 by Uriah Stephens
It included workers from all trades and races/ethnic groups
Functioned as a secret society devoted to broad social reform
Terence V. Powderly took control in 1881
Former mayor of Scranton, PA (Home of The Office)
Encouraged boycotts and negotiations with employers
By 1885, the KOL had 700,00 members.
After a series of failed strikes, the KOL had largely disappeared by the 1890’s

10. Forming the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
Founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886
AFL was a craft union
Loose organization of skilled workers from 100 local unions devoted to specific crafts and trades
High dues created a strike and pension fund
Focused on wages, hours and conditions
Pressed for closed shops- union members only

11. STRIKES ROCK THE NATION
Major strikes of the late 1800's
STRIKE
YEAR
CAUSE
EFFECT
Railroad Strikes
1877
Response to cuts in workers' wages
Set the scene for violent strikes to come
Haymarket Square
1886
Part of a campaign to achieve an 8 hour workday
Americans became wary of labor unions, KOL blamed for the riot
Homestead Strike
1892
Economic depression led to cuts in steelworkers' wages
After losing the standoff, steelworkers unions lost power throughout the country
Pullman Strike
1893
Wages cut without a decrease in the cost of living in the company town
Employers used the courts to limit the influence of unions

12. RAILROAD STRIKES
Workers in West Virginia went on strike to protest wage cuts.
President Rutherford B. Hayes sent federal troops to protect the rail roads.
This angered strikers and spread to 14 other states.
The troops were able to put down the strikers, which became known as the Great Upheaval.

14. HAYMARKET SQUARE
MAY, 1886
Thousands of workers mounted a national demonstration for an 8-hour workday
Fights broke out between strikers and strikebreakers
Conflict escalated between strikers and police
Haymarket Square in Chicago 40,000 workers join in strike
Anarchists became involved in the leadership
A protestor threw a bomb, killing dozens of police and protestors.
Eight anarchists were tried for murder and four were convicted.
Many people began to associate unions with violence

16. HOMESTEAD STRIKE
Carnegie Steel Workers in Homestead, PA protested wage cuts.
Henry Frick, Carnegie’s partner, instituted a lock out and hired 300 guards to protect the plant.
The strikers and guards got in a fight resulting in 16 deaths.
Anarchists in the union tried to assassinate Frick
As public opinion began to turn against the workers, the strike was called off

18. PULLMAN STRIKE
George Pullman cuts wages, but refuses to lower price of rent and goods in his company town
The American Railway Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, supported the strikers and brought a halt to rail traffic.
RR owners claimed the strike violated the Sherman Antitrust Act because it disrupted free trade
U.S. government stepped in, claiming strikers were committing a federal offense by preventing delivery of U.S. mail
Troops were then sent in by President Grover Cleveland and broke the strike up

19. PULLMAN COMPANY TOWN

20. PULLMAN WORKERS WALKING OUT

21. EFFECTS ON THE LABOR MOVEMENT
The outcome of the Pullman strike set an important trend
Employers now appealed for court orders to halt strikes
The government usually backed employers
The labor movement split into many factions and lost much of its influence