Workers Unite

The Workforce  Immigrants arrived in big cities and stayed because they could not afford to travel any further  Spent all their money to get to America  Contract Labor Law: employers paid for passage to US in exchange for labor contracts

Working was a family affair  Because of low wages, all family members worked for survival  By age 12-13, children left school to go to work  Younger children worked if a member of the family was unable to earn wages  No public assistance at this time – it promoted laziness

Organized Labor Begins  Poor working conditions and low wages drove workers to work together.  Early labor unions centered around specific trades  Later unions tried to unite all workers  Knights of Labor: United all workers – men and women; skilled and unskilled  American Federation of Labor: only skilled workers; no women

Goals and Strategies  Most labor unions had 3 goals:  Equal pay  8-hour work day  End to child labor  Workers used many strategies to improve conditions:  Boycott: refuse to buy certain goods  Collective Bargaining: negotiate with employers as a group  Strike: refuse to work

Employers React  Most employers refused to work with unions.  Forbid union meetings on company property  Fired union organizers  Yellow Dog Contracts: workers agreed not to join union in exchange for a job  Blacklisted union organizers – other companies refused to hire organizers

3 Great Strikes  Haymarket Strike: 1886  Cause – workers wanted an 8-hour work day  The company brought in scabs to replace workers  After 4 days of violence, public began to associate strikes with violence

3 Great Strikes  Homestead, 1882  Cause – wage cut at Carnegie Steel  While Mr. Carnegie was on vacation, his associated wanted to prove that he could run the company more efficiently.  Pinkertons were called in to break the strike  Called off after a few months as a failure

3 Great Strikes  Pullman Strike – 1884  Cause – wage cut at Pullman Train Co but rents and prices remained the same in the company town.  Organized by Eugene Debs  Got out of hand when it interfered with the US Mail  Federal government interfered and sent troops to end strike

Early effects of unions 1.Courts ruled against striking workers 2.Federal government denied recognition as legally protected organizations 3.Government opposition lasted until after World War I

Labor Unions