Bell Ringer What do you think of Plainview? Do you like him? Why or why not? Do you think workers have a right to strike? Should striking workers be protected from replacment workers taking their jobs?

Mr. Turner American History II Unit 2: Industrial America Labor Unions Mr. Turner American History II Unit 2: Industrial America

Background Second Industrial Revolution was great for Big Business owners It created higher standards of living and cheap products BUT People who worked in factories barely scraped by

Factory Work Immigrants were often hired because they worked for low wages They had 12 hour days, 6 days a week Work space was hot, dark, and dirty They were abused by their bosses Workers were fined for breaking rules or not working quickly

Factory Work Need for cash meant men and women worked Even children worked to help the family pay the bills By the end of the 1800s 1 in 5 kids worked in factories

Company Towns Big Businesses would create cities for their workers to live in The owners made them pay rent, buy materials from the company store, and live by a town code They would give them goods on credit but charge high interest Which meant they could rarely pay it back, or leave their work

Formation of Labor Unions There were some early attempts at collective bargaining and striking First national labor union was formed in 1834 - National Trades Union Had some successes although did not last very long Socialism spread in the 1830s; Labor Unions borrowed some Socialist ideas

Knights of Labor (K of L) Founded in 1869 by Uriah Smith Stephens Included all workers, skilled or unskilled in any industry The Union tried to replace Capitalism with workers’ cooperatives Terence Powderly took over in 1881 They boycotted and used negotiations with business owners

K of L By 1885, had 700,000 members Which included men, women, and all races and ethnicities However, failed strikes in the 1890s led to the disappearance of the union

American Federation of Labor (AFL) Founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers Only skilled workers could join Had high membership dues - used to assist workers in need Did not focus on social change instead: Higher wages Shorter hours Better working conditions

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) Founded in 1905 by Eugene V Debs. Relied heavily on Socialism Believed in violent means to secure workers’ gains Union of unskilled workers They were also known as the Wobblies

Strikes First major strike was in 1877 railroad workers went on strike due to wage cuts and destroyed a lot of property Militia was called in to protect scabs - temporary workers hired to fill in On May 1, 1886 strikes over an 8 hour work day broke out all over the country

Haymarket Square Riot On May 4, 1886 at a strike in Haymarket Square in Chicago a bomb was thrown Ended up killing several people including policemen and strikers This is known as the Haymarket Square riot

Homestead Strike In 1892, A Carnegie Steel plant in Homestead, PA cut workers’ wages Union called for a strike and the workers began to strike Carnegie’s partner Henry Frick called in the Pinkertons to help

Homestead Strike Pinkertons killed and injured several strikers Someone tried to assassinate Henry Frick Union called off the strike because it made them look bad

Pullman Strike In 1893, Pullman Palace Car Company laid off workers and cut wages by 25% In May, 1894 workers tried to negotiate with Pullman and he fired 3 workers Eugene V. Debs (leader of American Railways Union) called for a nationwide strike

Pullman Strike By June 1894 30,000 rail workers were striking President Grover Cleveland sent Federal troops in Debs was arrested and the strike ended

Effects Set a precedent for the government intervention, based on the Sherman Antitrust act Government could force workers to stop striking; if it harmed interstate commerce Unions still exist and can be very powerful today