Changes in the Workplace During the Second Industrial Revolution, machines run by unskilled workers replaced many skilled craftspeople These low paid workers needed little training Therefore, they usually could be replaced easily Workers feared complaining about pay or working conditions would cause them to lose their jobs Some workers were working hours days – 6 days a week As machines became more widely used, factories focused on specialization Specialization = workers repeat a single step in the production process again & again Specialization caused costs to drop & production to rise

Changes in Management Philosophy In the early 1880s Fredrick W. Taylor, an efficiency engineer for a steel company, worked to find ways to raise production & lower costs In 1911 he published a study of work efficiency titled The Principles of Scientific Management Scientific Management encouraged managers to see workers as parts of the production process, not individuals In factories, managers began ignoring working conditions Managers strictly controlled workers’ activities, such as taking breaks Injuries increased as workers used more machines & were pushed to work faster Companies rarely took care of injuries

Labor Unions Form To improve working conditions, workers formed labor unions to seek better wages & working conditions in factories & industries By negotiating as a group they improved their chances for success Collective Bargaining = workers negotiating as a group for pay and conditions Most employers (companies) were against collective bargaining In 1879 Terrence V. Powderly, became the leader of the Knights of Labor He helped make the Knights of Labor the first national labor union The Knights worked for reforms such as an 8 hour workday, equal pay for equal work, & an end to child labor Reform = Change

Union Strategy Many women joined the union & took active roles in it Union organizer Mary Harris Jones was called Mother Jones because she fought for workers’ rights Although workers faced problems, Powderly (leader) didn’t support strikes Local Knights of Labor chapters, however, supported the great railroad strike of 1877 Strike = decision by union to not work in an attempt to gain demands (ex. Pay, conditions, etc.) Strikes led the Knights to their greatest strength in the mid-1880s

AFL The American Federation of Labor (AFL), led by Samuel Gompers, took a different approach Unlike the Knights, the AFL organized individual national unions, such as the mineworkers’ & steelworkers’ unions The AFL limited its membership to skilled workers This gave the union great negotiating power because skilled workers are valuable However, it left out most normal workers AFL tried to get better wages, hours, & working conditions for laborers By 1890 the AFL’s membership was larger than that of the Knights

Haymarket Riot By 1886, other unions were gaining strength as well In May 1886 thousands of union members in Chicago went on strike to support an 8 hour workday Two strikers were killed in a fight with police The next night workers met at Haymarket Square to protest killings When police came to break up the crowd, someone threw a dynamite bomb that wounded 60 officers & killed 7 Police responded by firing into the crowd Several were killed & 70 others were wounded The terrible event became known as the Haymarket Riot

Fallout from Haymarket Eight anarchists (people who oppose all forms of govt.) were arrested & convicted of conspiracy One had a Knights of Labor membership card Powderly & other Knights’ leaders never supported the strike or the Haymarket protest However, several local chapters of the Knights did Public opinion linked the Knights to the Haymarket Riot & its violence As a result, membership in the Knights fell quickly

Homestead Unions & businesses continued to have disputes & conflicts A major contribution took place at one of Carnegie’s steel plants Workers had always gotten along well with managers at the company in the mill town of Homestead, PA The situation changed in 1892 when company chairman Henry Frick tried to bring in new machinery to the plant New machines would cut union jobs When neither side could reach an agreement, Frick set out to break the union He said the company would only work out agreements with individual workers, not the union

Homestead Strike On June 29, 1892 the Homestead Strike began Frick locked workers out of the plant, refusing to let union members go back to work The workers responded by taking control of the town of Homestead Frick then hired private detectives from the Pinkerton Agency to break the power of the union by force Gunfire broke out on July 6 th, when Pinkerton detectives tried to enter the steelworks 9 workers & 7 Pinkertons were killed in the battle Outnumbered the Pinkertons gave up Pennsylvania's governor called in the state militia to bring order After four months the union was defeated Frick sent Carnegie a a message: “Our victory is now complete”

Pullman Strike Another important strike happened among workers at George Pullman’s company The Pullman Palace Car Company had founded a company town of Pullman, IL Most of the company’s workers lived there These workers had to pay higher rents & utility costs than those in nearby towns During the Panic of 1893, Pullman laid off about half of the company’s workers & cut the pay of the rest On May 11, 1894 workers began the Pullman strike Support for the strike quickly spread throughout the railroad industry

Pullman Heats Up The American Railway Union, headed by Eugene V. Debs, supported the strikers Union members refused to work on trains carrying Pullman cars Thus stopping traffic on most Midwestern rail lines Railroad officials then ordered the Pullman cars to be attached to U.S. mail cars Workers who tried to stop the cars could then be charged with a federal crime for interfering with U.S. mail

Pullman Conclusion The federal govt. backed the railroad companies Despite the protest of the Illinois governor President Grover Cleveland sent federal troops to Chicago The U.S. attorney general used the Sherman Antitrust Act to stop strikers from interfering with interstate trade Defeats like the Pullman strike set the labor movement back for several years