1. Industrialization: Reforms & Responses

2. During the Gilded Age, businesses gained power  Bigger  More control  Unchecked by government People responded by trying to limit this power

3. Complete your chart as we go Problems Responses 2. Working Conditions 1. Monopolies and Trusts 3. Child Labor 4. Worker Safety

4. Problem: Monopolies & Trusts Business set prices, control industry, and bribe politicians

5. 1890: Sherman Anti-Trust Act  Made it illegal to form a monopoly In 1900, President Theodore Roosevelt was the first President to effectively assert government control over big railroad, oil, and meatpacking "trusts.” Vague wording & biased courts meant business was still favored Responses: Legislation

6. Brutal conditions. 6 days a week, 12-14 hours a day. No breaks, no sick leave Problem: Working Conditions

7. Union: a group of workers organized to protect the interests of its members Unions derive their power from the threat of a strike Response: Unions & Strikes

8. National Labor Organizations Emerge

9. Labor Songs…Let’s listen! Solidarity Forever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly5ZKjjxMNM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly5ZKjjxMNM  According to the song, what are unions for?  What injustices are the unions supposed to help people overcome?  What can “the power in our hands” be used for according to this song? Union Maid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6oOuKQnPaU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6oOuKQnPaU  What makes the union maid so fearless?  Would women have problems today trying to “organize the guys”?  What other things might women be fighting for besides just higher pay?

10. Problem: Child Labor

11.  1836: First state child labor law in MA. The state required children under 15 working in factories to attend school at least 3 months/year  1876: Working Men’s Party proposes banning the employment of children under the age of 14.  1938: For the first time, minimum ages of employment and hours of work for children are regulated by federal law, called the Fair Labor Standards Act. Response: Laws & Legislation

12. Problem: Workplace Safety

13.  Labor unions, religious communities, political groups and social reform organizations assembled to mourn the lost lives and demand real progress in worker protection.  City fire inspectors  Mandatory fire drills  Fire-proof exits

14. Tensions Between Owners & Workers Haymarket Affair—Chicago 1886 Homestead Strike—1892 Pullman Strike—1894

15. Union Successes Better wages Better hours Better working conditions And…unions give power to the working class which it never had before

16. Unions & Strikes Today Are unions still relevant? Still necessary? Anyone have parents who are teachers? Work at Boeing? Work at a hospital? Lets look more closely at the recent fast food workers/minimum wage strikes that occurred in Seattle this spring…

18. Fast Food Strikers "I am a veteran of the United States Marines and I've worked at the Ballard Burger King for 8 years now. I'm paid minimum wage, and I made $13,000 last year. It’s really not enough to survive even, so I get food stamps, I go to food banks. My housing is subsidized. I don’t even have health care except through the V.A. I want to work, I work hard and this is all about personal dignity to me." "I work at the McDonald’s on Madison and it’s not possible to survive on minimum wage. I’m supporting three granddaughters because their father died. I’m taking care of them, but it is not easy to maintain a decent lifestyle for them. It’s really hard to live on minimum wage. If I was making $15 an hour they would be able to pursue a better career and wouldn’t have to only worry about their current living situation."

20. Discussion Q’s How do workers reasons for an increased minimum wage compare to workers requests of the past? Are they trying to obtain the same goals? Is the wealth disparity (gap between rich and poor) better or worse than what existed during the Gilded Age?