Chapter 20, Section 4: The Rise of Organized

Labor

Chapter 20, Section 4: The Rise of Organized

LaborMain Idea: As workers lost power

over their working conditions, they began to organize into unions.

The Changing American Labor Force

The Changing American Labor Force

A. A New WorkplaceA. A New Workplace Changed Relations w/ Workers – before the Civil War, most businesses were small, family-

run; after, large factories. This meant less employer/worker contact = no personal connection. Factory work was often hazardous (crowded, noisy) & workers were expendable

Sweat Shops – workplace where people worked long hours in poor conditions for low payChildren at WorkChildren at Work

Children in Industry – in 1900, 2 million kids under the age of 15 worked in mills, mines, factories & sweatshops. A typical work week for these kids 12 hours per day, 6 days per week.

Owners hired kids because they worked cheaply & in some cases they were better at certain jobs (small hand & fingers)

Working kids couldn’t go to school, so they had little chance for a better life as an adult.

Hazards of WorkHazards of Work Owners did little to provide safety for their workers (cost $ & few laws requiring them to do so) Some workers were severely injured or even killed, while many suffered from poor health Industrial work was full of hazards and danger:

Textile Mills – lung-damaging dust filled the airMines – cave-ins, gas explosions, coal dust (black lung disease)Steel Mills – spilling vats of molten metal, 195 died on one year in Pittsburgh steel mills

Child LaborChild Labor

“Galley Labor”“Galley Labor”

B. The Rise of Organized Labor

B. The Rise of Organized Labor Workers found ways to fight back (strikes). Some started to join together for better conditions.

Knights of LaborKnights of Labor Knights of Labor (1869) – skilled workers only at 1st; meetings were secret because owners

would fire workers who joined unions. Terence Powderly was president. He opened it up to immigrants, minorities, women &

unskilled workers to increase membership. He used rallies & meetings to win public support, rather than strikes. The Knights main goals

were shorter work day, end to child labor, equal pay for men & women. Most importantly, they wanted workers & employers to share ownership & profits.

Trouble in Haymarket SquareTrouble in Haymarket Square Chicago, 1886: Workers at McCormick Harvester Co. go on strike & clash w/ strikebreakers

(replacement workers hired by company) outside the factory. Police shoot in crowd, killing 4 workers.

Workers rally the next day in Haymarket Square to protest the killings & a bomb goes off, killing 7 police officers & others as well. This is now known as the Haymarket Riot.

8 anarchists (people who oppose government) are arrested & 4 were convicted & executed. Public opinion begins to turn against labor unions because they are associated w/ riots,

violence & anarchism. Membership in the Knights of Labor declines sharply.

Knights of LaborKnights of Labor

Terence V. PowderlyTerence V. Powderly

An injury to one is the concern of An injury to one is the concern of all!all!

Workers Organize

Knights of Labor – formed in 1869 as the first labor

union in the nation.

Goal #1:Shorter work day

Goal #2:End child labor

Goal #3:Equal pay for men

and women

· On May 3, 1886, striking factory workers clashed with strikebreakers in Chicago.

· Four workers were killed by the police.

· The next day, thousands of people gathered in Haymarket Square to protest the killings.

· A bomb exploded, killing a police officer.· The police then opened fire, killing ten protesters. This became known as the Haymarket Riot.

Haymarket Riot (1886)

Haymarket Riot (1886)

McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.

C. American Federation of Labor

C. American Federation of LaborReplaced Knights of Labor as largest labor union in US.

Samuel Gompers – organized & became 1st president of AFL. People joined trade unions (workers in same trade or profession). That trade

union would belong to the AFL, which was made up of many trade unions.Goals: higher wages, shorter hours, better conditions

collective bargaining – right of unions to negotiate worker contracts as a group supported strikes to achieve these goalscollected dues & put some in a strike fund (workers on strike would get $ from

AFL so they would last longer & not have to give in to owner’s demands)Membership swelled from 150,000 in 1886 to 1.5 million by 1910.Because they allowed skilled workers only to join, many workers could not

become members (immigrants, minorities, etc.)

The American Federation

of Labor: 1886

The American Federation

of Labor: 1886

Samuel GompersSamuel Gompers

A F L

Screen Actors Guild

American Postal Workers Union

American Federation of Teachers

United Steel Workers of America

United Farm Workers of America

International Association of Firefighters

Unions of the AFL - CIO • The AFL is an umbrella organization made up of many different trade unions.

Management vs. Labor

Management vs. Labor

““Tools” of Tools” of ManagementManagement

““Tools” of Tools” of LaborLabor

““scabs”scabs”

P. R. campaignP. R. campaign

PinkertonsPinkertons

lockoutlockout

blacklistingblacklisting yellow-dog contractsyellow-dog contracts

court injunctionscourt injunctions

open shopopen shop

boycottsboycotts

sympathy sympathy demonstrationsdemonstrations

informational informational picketingpicketing

closed shopsclosed shops

organized organized strikesstrikes

““wildcat” wildcat” strikesstrikes

D. Women in the Labor Movement

D. Women in the Labor Movement By 1890, over 1 million women worked in factories. Many women were employed in textile

mills, tobacco factories & the garment (clothing) industry. Union success was more difficult.

Mother Jones OrganizesMother Jones Organizes Mary Harris Jones organized labor movements across the country & devoted much of her life

to the cause of workers. She helped paved way for reform & an end to child labor.

Organizing Garment WorkersOrganizing Garment Workers International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) – organized a work stoppage of over

20,000 workers in 1909, which led to better pay & shorter hours. Key member of AFL. Many women, however, did not join unions & worked long hours in unsafe conditions for less $

Tragedy at TriangleTragedy at Triangle A fire broke out on the upper floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in NYC in March 1911.

As workers tried to escape, many obstacles prevented them from reaching safety. Many of the exit doors were locked by the company to keep workers from taking unapproved breaks. Fire escapes became twisted & mangled from the fire. They had not been properly inspected. Ladders of the fire trucks couldn’t reach the upper floors (where the fire was), forcing many to leap to their deaths

Nearly 150 people, mostly women, died in the Triangle Fire. This resulted in public shock & outrage, which eventually led to new safety laws to protect factory workers.

Mother Jones: “The Miner’s Angel”

Mother Jones: “The Miner’s Angel”• Organizer for the United Mine Organizer for the United Mine

Workers.Workers.

Founded the Social Founded the Social Democratic Party in 1898.Democratic Party in 1898.

One of the founding members One of the founding members of the I. W. W. in 1905.of the I. W. W. in 1905.

Triangle Fire – (1911) One hundred and fifty people, mostly young women, died in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. Fire fighters arrived

soon after the alarm was sounded but ladders only reached the 6th floor and pumps could not raise water to the highest floors of the 10-story building.  Still the fire was quickly controlled and was essentially extinguished in half an hour.  In this fire-proof building, 146 men, women, and children lost their lives and many others were seriously injured.

The 240 employees sewing shirtwaists on the ninth floor had their escape blocked by back-to-back chairs and workbaskets in the aisles.  The 75-foot long paired sewing machine tables obstructed essential access to the windows, stairs, and elevators.

For endless hours, police officers held lanterns to light the bodies while crowds filed past victims laid out in numbered rough brown coffins.  As the dead were identified the coffin was closed and moved aside.  Forty-three were identified by sunrise on Sunday. Six days later 7 were still unrecognized. 

Few of the terrified workers on the 9th floor knew that a fire escape was hidden behind iron window shutters. The ladder descended next to the building forcing those fleeing to climb down through flames as they struggled past other shutters stuck open across their path.  The design had been deemed inadequate and the material from which it was made was insubstantial.  After a few made their way down, the heat of the fire and weight of the people caused the ladder to twist and collapse dropping many who had chosen it as their lifeline. 

- After the fire, new laws were passed to protect factory workers.

E. Hard Times for Organized LaborE. Hard Times for Organized Labor As the economy swung wildly back & forth between good times & bad, factory owners would

fire & rehire workers over & over again. This created instability for workers (no jobs, pay cuts).

Strike!Strike! Strikes became more common in the 1870s. Railroad workers & miners went on strike during

this time, causing railroads to shut down across the country and mines to close. Many Americans did not support strikes if they were inconvenienced by it. At times, unions

would lose support from the public if strikes happened too often or caused major problems.

Government Sides With OwnersGovernment Sides With Owners The federal government usually sided with owners. Several Presidents ended strikes by

sending in troops. Courts also tended to rule in favor of companies & against labor unions. The Pullman Strike (1894) – George Pullman cut the pay of his workers, but did not lower the

rents they paid for company-owned houses. Workers walked off the job as a result. A federal judge ordered Pullman workers to end strike & leaders of strike were jailed for

“violating Sherman Antitrust Act,” which was originally intended to limit the power of trusts & monopolies. The court said, however, that striking workers were limiting free trade, and therefore were in violation of the law. This was a major setback for organized labor (unions).

Slow ProgressSlow Progress All of the strikes in the late 1800s caused many Americans to distrust unions & they grew more

unpopular. In 1910, only 5% of workers belonged to a union (due to only skilled allowed).