1. Organized Labor
American History

2. Goals Students will be able to: Terms to know:
Examine the causes and consequences of the second Industrial Revolution
Analyze changes as the United States became an industrial society
Examine the causes, course, and consequences of the labor movement
Review different economic and philosophic ideologies
Terms to know:
Sweatshop, company town, collective bargaining, socialism, Knights of Labor, Terrence v Powderly, Samuel Gompers, AFL, Haymarket Riot, Homestead Strike, Eugene v Deb, Pullman Strike

3. Hardships Many workers in the America’s toiled in workshops
These workers were often foreign born, lacked good English-speaking skills, were often very poor
Factory workers often worked 12 hour days, 6 days a week, in a small, hot, dark, and dirty workhouses known as sweatshops
Those who worked in mining towns lived in isolated communities near their workplace
The housing areas were known as company towns, which were owned and rented out by the business that employed them
Most of the income workers made, immediately went back to the business
This was known as wage slavery

4. Labor Unions
In the 1820’s factors workers began using a technique known as collective bargaining
This is a system of negotiating as a group for higher wages or better working conditions
In order to gain leverage, workers would strike to try and force the hand of the employer
In 1869, Uriah Smith Stephens found a group called the Knights of Labor
This group actively recruited African Americans and devoted their time to bring broad social reform to the country
The widely adopted socialist idea that wealth should be distributed amongst the people, rather than concentrated in a wealthy elite

5. Labor Unions
By the late 1800’s, Terrence v. Powderly took over the Knights of Labor and continued to push for economic reform
Boycotts and strikes were used extensively to try and protect workers that made up every race and gender
The group eventually failed after a series of failed strike attempts
In 1886 Samuel Gompers formed the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
The AFL was a craft union that pooled money to create a strike and pension fund to assist workers in need
The AFL also pressed for closed shops, opposed women members, and local branches of the organization often excluded racial minorities

6. Major Strikes
On May 1, 1886 thousands of workers mounted a national demonstration for an eight-hour workday
Strikes took place in many cities and fights broke out between strikers and strikebreakers
On May 4th, a riot broke out in Hay Market Sqaure
Dozens of people were killed, as the fighting between police, anarchists, strikers and strike breakers fought

7. Major Strikes
In the summer of 1892, a Carnegie Steel plant cut wages at a steel plant in Homestead, Penn
Riots broke out and Andrew Carnegie’s partner Henry Fick was almost assassinated
Even though the union had nothing to do with the assassination plot, the two were connected in the public eye and the strike was called off

8. Major Strikes
In 1893, workers at Pullman Palace Car Company, a company that made luxury rail road cars, laid of workers and reduced wages by 25%
Of the workers that went to negotiate with George Pullman regarding wage increases were largely fired and the plant was shut down in protest of workers demands
Eugene V. Debs who rain the American Railway Union (A.R.U) organized a strike
This strike shutdown rail traffic throughout the country which hurt business and the U.S. post office
Because the strike interfered with the governance of the country President Grover Cleveland sent in federal troops to put down the strike