1. Workers & Labor Unions
Section 4

2. Which of the following was the result of the other three?
A) Child Labor
B) Large factories expanding
C) Assembly line labor in factories leading to mass production
D) Rise of labor unions

3. Introduction
In 1896, Frederick Taylor introduced the system of “scientific management”. However, this made workers look more like parts of machinery rather than men. By the late 1800’s, workers faced harsh working conditions that caused them to unionize.

4. I. The New Work Place
A. The Workers
1. most workers are native born men
2. African Americans, women, children and immigrantds paid less

5. I. The New Work Place
B. Relations with Employers
1. New type of workplace; Before factories were small and personal (like “small family”)
2. Factories lose close,friendly relationships between workers and bosses as factories grow large

6. “Hi Ho Hi Ho … it’s off to work we go …
C. Dangerous Conditions
1a. Factories were hazardous to worker’s health.
1b. Example: workers were buried alive in coal mines; textile workers inhaled dangerous chemicals
2. In one year, 195 steel workers died in Pittsburgh alone.

7. Can you believe? … D. Children in Industry
1a. By 1900, there were 2 million children under the age of 15 working
1b. WHY? … Children were willing to work harder for almost no pay
2. Working children were destined to never see a better future. Why?
No Schooling

8. So, what happened? … Well …
II. Workers Organized: Low wages, long hours and unsafe working conditions threatened worker’s well-being.
Knights of Labor
: Knights of Labor opened for skilled workers.
2. Secret meetings held to protect worker’s jobs
: Terence Powderly opened up union to all workers- strong union, ended secret meetings

9. Margin Notes Knights establish Goals …
Shorter hours
End to child labor
Equal pay for equal work for all worker
(men and women)
** Membership to unions increased by the late 1880’s. Why?
Workers now felt safe, protected and respected on the job.

10. But, there was trouble brewing on the horizon …
B. Trouble for the Knights
1. Knights of Labor did not believe in or support strikes
2. Haymarket Square: May 4, 1886:
**Riot: -workers gather, strikers and strike breakers clash, bomb explodes (11 dead, 50+ injured)
RESULT: Feeling of “anti-labor” and membership to unions begins to decline/

11. The American Federation of Labor to the rescue?
III. American Federation of Labor:
Margin Notes:
Labor movement not ended
1886: Samuel Gompers formed a new union in New York City
American Federation of Labor is for skilled workers only

12. The American Federation set out to …
Limited Goals:
“modify the world, don’t change it” –stress higher wages, shorter hours and improved working conditions.
** Unlike the Knights, the American Federation of Labor believed in strikes to accomplish goals

13. 2. Strikes proved to be an effective weapon
B. Powerful Union
1. The union collected a strike fund ( money paid as dues) for payment during striking.
2. Strikes proved to be an effective weapon
- American Federation of Labor became most powerful Union