The Organization of Labor The Gilded Age The Organization of Labor

Essential Question: How did workers & the U. S Essential Question: How did workers & the U.S. government respond to the rapid changes of industrialization during the Gilded Age?

Changes of the Gilded Age During the Gilded Age (1870-1900), the U.S. industrialized rapidly: New technology led to a boom in railroads, oil, steel, electricity Trusts, corporate mergers, & new business leaders led to monopolies Mass immigration from Southern & Eastern Europe increased the size of American cities

Describe the changes in the Labor Force:

Changes of the Gilded Age During the Gilded Age (1870-1900), the U.S. industrialized rapidly: New technology led to a boom in railroads, oil, steel, electricity Trusts, corporate mergers, & new business leaders led to monopolies Mass immigration from Southern & Eastern Europe increased the size of American cities But, problems during the Gilded Age led to demands for change

Group Activity: Gilded Age Theme Analysis Students will examine a series of three primary sources from the Gilded Age: For each image, provide a one sentence summary of the image Once all three images are revealed, determine how the images are related—What’s the theme?

Theme #1—Image A

Theme #1—Image B

Theme #1—Image C

Theme #1: Labor Unions 10 – 18 hour days, 6 days per week Industrial work was hard: 10 – 18 hour days, 6 days per week Received low wages; No sick leave or injury compensation Industrial work was unskilled, dangerous, & monotonous These bad conditions led to the growth of labor unions -- groups that demanded better pay & conditions through collective bargaining Low wages ($400-500/year but living cost $600); railroad injury rate 1 in 26, death rate 1 in 399; Composition of work force in 1900: 20% women (in 296 of 303 jobs) 10% of girls & 20% of boys had jobs (“child labor” meant ↓14 yrs) all children poorly paid, but girls less than boys; Earning comparisons: Adults > Children; Men > Women; Skilled > Unskilled; Protestants > Catholics or Jews; Whites > Blacks & Asians; Blacks worked menial jobs; Chinese worked on Pacific Coast; often discriminated against (Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882)

Theme #1: Labor Unions Two Labor Union (types) 1) Trade Unions (skilled) Limited to people with similar skills Vs. 2) Common Laborers (unskilled) workers w/ little to no skills (paid less)

Theme #1: Labor Unions Industrial Unions Unification of all trade unions and common laborers Opposed by business interests

Knights of Labor first major union founded in 1869 demanded sweeping reforms: Equal pay for women An end to child labor 8 hour work day claimed a substantial membership Women African Americans immigrants

American Federation of Labor (AFL) Samuel Gompers, creates union catered exclusively to skilled laborers and focused on smaller, more practical issues: Increasing wages Reducing hours Imposing safety measures Pushed for closed shops Company could only hire union workers

Theme #1: Labor Unions Some people turned to socialism (government control of business and property, equal distribution of wealth) Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, called the “Wobblies”) formed in 1905 Socialism seemed appealing to some Americans, but never became a major option for workers By 1900, only 4% of all workers were unionized

Theme #2—Image A

Theme #2 —Image B

Theme #2—Image C

Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest One of the tactics used by unions to gain better pay was to strike: Strikes were designed to stop production in order to gain pay

Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest Business Opposition Blacklists union organizers put on do not hire lists Lockouts when union formed, business locks out workers Strikebreakers (scabs) replacement workers

The Corporate “Bully-Boys”: Pinkerton Agents Some business firms hired private police companies to deal w/ strikers In some cases, violence broke out

Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest During the Chicago Haymarket Strike (1886), unionists demanded an 8-hr day; When violence broke out, public opinion turned against unions, viewing them as violent & “un-American”

Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest Violence erupted during the Homestead Strike (1892) at one of Carnegie’s steel plants; State militia were called to re-open the place with replacement workers Steelworkers did not form a new union for 40 years

Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest In 1894, Eugene Debs led railroad workers on a national strike when the Pullman Palace Car Company cut wages by 50% President Cleveland sent the army to end the strike; Strikers in 27 states resisted U.S. troops & dozens died

Management vs. Labor “Tools” of Management “Tools” of Labor “scabs” P. R. campaign Pinkertons lockout Blacklisting open shop boycotts sympathy demonstrations informational picketing closed shops organized strikes “wildcat” strikes

The Great U.S. FEAR: The Hand That Will Rule the World One Big Union

A “Company Town”: Pullman, IL

Child Labor

Child Labor

After viewing the photos of child labor, why do you think this image is called “Galley Labor?”

Organized Labor Loses Strength Supreme Court later upheld the use of injunctions against labor unions, giving businesses a powerful new weapon to suppress strikes

Organized Labor Loses Strength Lochner v. New York (1905) Supreme Court ruled 60-hour work week limit unconstitutional Freedom of Contract Organized labor began to fade in strength, and did not resurge until the 1930s