Aim: Why did Labor Unions fail to gain public acceptance?

Labor conditions and organizations Problems of Labor

Yesterday and Today

II. Obstacles to unions 1. 2. 3. Ex. Molly McGuires

“Anarchy Man, Anarchy!”

III. Efforts at Union Building A. Knights of Labor B. AFL – American Federation of Labor

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Great Railroad Strike 1877

McCormick Harvester Strike 1886 Haymarket Affair

Homestead Steel Strike 1892

Pullman Strike 1894

all that is ugly, and discordant, and demoralizing, is eliminated . . all that is ugly, and discordant, and demoralizing, is eliminated. . . .Pullman Company Town Pamphlet This is a corporation made and a corporation governed town, and is utterly un-American in its tendencies. Rev. William H. Carwardine, The Pullman Strike, 1894

Pullman Strike (Pinkerton Guards v. Workers)

Anthracite Coal Strike 1902

Textile Workers Strike 1912

IV. Socialism and American Labor A. Eugene Debs B. Social Democratic Party C. I.W.W.: “Wobblies”: Promoted One big union, unite workers as a social class, abolish capitalism and wage labor advocated “workplace democracy”. Considered too radical. Disappeared after 1920’s crackdown on socialism.  

V. Government Regulation Factors leading to government involvement: Supreme Court Cases 1. Munn v. Illinois 1877 – government may regulate industry that serves the public interest like RR’s 2. Wabash v. Illinois 1886 – only the federal government can regulate Interstate Commerce

Interstate Commerce Commission 1887 Sherman Anti-Trust Act 1890

VI. Organized Labor and the Courts Lochner v. New York 1905 – declared unconstitutional a law that limited work hours for bakers citing “liberty of contract”. 1. Significance of the “Lochner Era”:

B. Lowe v. Lawlor, 1908 Workers organized a boycott of Lowe a hat manufacturer who created an open shop. Supreme Court ruled that the boycott restrained the Lowe Company’s ability to trade and commerce. Significance:

C. Coppage v. Kansas 1915 Coppage, an employer, forbade his workers from joining unions by forcing them to sign “yellow dog contract”, thus violating a Kansas law that prohibited this type of anti-union activity. Supreme Court declared Kansas law unconstitutional Impact:

D. Clayton Anti Trust Law 1914 “Magna Carta of Labor”

VII. The Government Passes Labor Legislation Department of Labor 1913 Adamson Act 1916 Norris-LaGuardia Anti Injunction Act 1932 National Labor Relations Act 1935 Social Security Act 1935 Fair Labor Standards Act 1938 Taft-Hartley Act 1947

VIII. Impact of Workers