The Organized Labor Movement

Main Idea: In an attempt to improve their working conditions, industrial workers came together to form unions in the late 1800s.

Factory work: Work Environment Factory workers worked by the clock. They could be fired for being late, talking, or refusing to do a task. Workers were paid low wages. Workplaces were not safe. (Sweatshops) Children performed unsafe work and worked in dangerously unhealthy conditions. In the 1890s and early 1900s states began legislating child labor.

Children often left school at the age of 12 or 13 to work. Working Families In the 1880s, children made up more than 5 percent of the industrial labor force. Children often left school at the age of 12 or 13 to work. Girls sometimes took factory jobs so that their brothers could stay in school. If an adult became too ill to work, children as young as 6 or 7 had to work. Rarely did the government provide public assistance, and unemployment insurance didn’t exist. The theory of Social Darwinism held that poverty resulted from personal weakness. Many thought that offering relief to the unemployed would encourage idleness.

Company Towns Company Towns- housing communities owned by the business and rented out to employees. Employer controlled the “company store”. Segregation was also prevalent in company towns.

Workers felt the only way to improve their working environment was to organize unions

Early Labor Protests Collective Bargaining- Negotiating as a group for higher wages or better working conditions. Strikes were used early on. National Trades Union founded in 1834- first national labor union.

LABOR UNIONS Labor Union Labor Strike Boycott Strikebreaker “Scab” Workers who organize (to act together) to seek better wages and working conditions for wage earners. Labor Union The unions' effective but risky method for having their demands met. Workers stop working, halting production until the conditions are met. Labor Strike People refuse to buy a company's product until the company meets demands. Boycott Persons who would replace strikers and work for less pay. Often violence would erupt between strikers and scabs who were trying to cross picket lines to work. Strikebreaker “Scab”

Picket Line

Black List or Black Balled Collective Bargaining A working establishment where only people belonging to the union are hired. It was done by the unions to protect their workers from cheap labor. LABOR UNIONS Closed Shop List of people targeted by business owners because they were leaders in a Union. Often would lose their jobs, be frozen out by other industry employers, or even be physically attacked. Black List or Black Balled Type of negotiation between an employer and labor union where they sit down face to face and discuss working conditions, compensation, etc. Collective Bargaining A written contract between employers and employees in which the employees sign an agreement that they will not join a union while working for the company Yellow Dog Contracts

United all craft workers and common laborers in a particular industry Lock Out Owner of industry would “lock out” workers who were trying to form a union and replace them with “scabs”. LABOR UNIONS Industry or business organization owned by and operated for the benefit of those using its services—non-profit Cooperatives Unions limited to people with specific skills Trade unions Industrial Unions United all craft workers and common laborers in a particular industry

Laissez-Faire Economics Marxism LABOR UNIONS  Theories Karl Marx, including belief that the struggle between social classes is a major force in history, and that there would eventually be a classless society where workers control production. A process in which an impartial third party helps workers and management reach an agreement. Arbitration An economic policy of letting things take their own course, without government interfering with market forces. Laissez-Faire Economics An economic system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. Capitalism

American Federation of Labor or AFL LABOR UNIONS Knights of Labor Terrence Powderly, 1869 All workers except Chinese 8 hr. day, cooperatives, prohibition, end child labor They supported Arbitration Several strikes won some wage gains 1885 to 1886 Unrealistic and vague goals Loss of important strikes and failure of cooperatives Haymarket Riot—1886 American Federation of Labor or AFL Samuel Gompers, 1881 Skilled workers in separate unions (mostly iron & steel) Moderate. Worked within political system for change. Closed shop and collective bargaining Over 1 million workers joined and won several strikes Small part of work force eligible to join. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfaBc5D6fOo National Labor Union William Sylvis, 1866 Skilled, unskilled, farmers but excluded Chinese… Cooperatives, 8 hr. work day, against labor strikes Founded a political party in 1872 Involved in the Chinese Exclusion Act. Lost election, faded away Replaced by Knights of Labor.

Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) Most unions, even the AFL, excluded women. The WTUL was the first national association that represented women’s labor issues. They pushed for: 8 hour days The creation of minimum wage End evening work for women The abolition of child labor

Major Labor Strikes

Railroad Workers Organize The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Railway workers protested unfair wage cuts. The strike was violent and unorganized. President Hayes sent federal troops to put down the strikes. From then on, employers relied on federal and state troops to repress labor unrest.

Railroad Workers Organize Debs and the American Railway Union At the time of the 1877 strike, railroad workers mainly organized into various “brotherhoods,” which were basically craft unions. Eugene V. Debs proposed a new industrial union for all railway workers, skilled and unskilled, called the American Railway Union (A.R.U.).

Hay Market Riot, 1886 May 3, 1886, joining a nationwide strike for an 8 hour work day, Chicago workers protested against the McCormick Reaper plant. A riot broke out and Chicago police officers killed six protesters To protest the use of police force on strikers, another rally was planned for May 4th.

Hay Market Riot 3,000 gather at Chicago’s Haymarket Square During the protest, a bomb exploded 7 police officers were killed and 60 injured Chicago police hunt down radicals 8 anarchists ( people who opposed all government) were convicted of conspiracy to murder

Hay Market Riot 4 strikers were hung, 2 given life in prison, and 1 committed suicide in jail. This caused anti-union feeling in the public mind, especially toward the Knights of Labor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqmPE2HtkyU

Homestead Strike, 1892 1892, 5000 Carnegie Steel workers strike over pay cuts Management locks out workers and hires scab workers. Violence erupted between strikers and scab workers. Pinkerton Security called in to settle violence Strikers ambush them and forced Pinkerton’s to walk the gauntlet between striking families. Some killed and many injured 7,000 National Guard troops called in by the governor of Pennsylvania to stop violence and reopen plant

HOMESTEAD STRIKE His public image suffered Carnegie successfully broke up the attempt to organize a union. No labor unions in steel industry until the 1920’s. Carnegie would be remembered for events at Homestead. His public image suffered

Pullman Strike, 1894 Pullman Company cut worker wages – a strike begins American Railway Union (A.R.U.) stops handling Pullman cars all across the U.S. Tied up railroads and threatened economy Railroad mangers arranged for U.S. Mail to be carried on the Pullman cars, this meant strikers were interfering with U.S. Mail and in violation of federal law

Pullman Strike, 1894 Eugene Debs instructed strikers not to interfere with the nation’s mail. Railway owners turned to the government for help. The judge cited the Sherman Antitrust Act and won a court order forbidding all union activity that halted railroad traffic. President Grover Cleveland sent troops and a court injunction = Strike over and A.R.U. collapsed Court orders against unions continued, limiting union gains for the next 30 years.

Reaction of Employers Employers hated & feared unions. Why? European influences of socialism Labor strikes stopped production, hurting profits Labor strikes tended to be violent. Some took steps to stop unions, such as: forbidding union meetings firing union organizers forcing new employees to sign “yellow dog” contracts, making them promise never to join a union or participate in a strike refusing to bargain collectively when strikes did occur refusing to recognize unions as their workers’ legitimate representatives

Effects of the Labor Movement Unions were not recognized as legally protected organizations, and gains were limited for more than 30 years. Unions suffered from the public perception that they threatened American institutions Eugene V. Debs became socialist and formed the American Socialist Party and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a radical union group also known as “Wobblies”.

Economic system based on cooperation rather than competition SOCIALISM Economic system based on cooperation rather than competition Some Americans opposed capitalism and believed a socialistic economy would better suit the US because some capitalists were corrupt. Believes in government ownership (on behalf citizens) of business and capital (money, natural resources) Government controls production, sets wages, prices and distributes the goods. No profit or competition, as production was to serve the common good Opposite of laissez faire and capitalism