Essential Questions

• How did labor unions impact industry and the lives of workers?

• How effective were labor unions in improving the lives of American workers?

Big Business• Horizontal integration: monopoly formed

by controlling all of the same type of business

• Vertical integration: monopoly formed by controlling business related to the primary business

Vertical and Horizontal Integration

• Resources

• Manufacturing

• Distribution

• How do trusts and monopolies affect industry and the economy? Fewer control more, growing gap between the rich and poor

• What conditions did factory workers face? Long hours, no benefits, poor pay and very hazardous conditions

Rise of Labor UnionsGoals of Industry

Effects on Workers

Results/Reaction

•Make money•Improve manufacturing•Control businesses•Eliminate competition•Mass production

•Bad working conditions•Long hours•Low wages•No benefits•Mind-dulling tasks•Company towns

•Workers try to join together•Labor unions form•Strikes•Incidents that get public attention•Gov’t regulation•Few gains during this era

Labor Unions Develop: a group of wage earners formed for the purpose of serving the members’ interests with respect to wages and working conditions.

Employee/Labor Union TacticsEmployee/Labor Union Tactics• Strike: a groups refusal to work in protest

to low pay or bad working conditions• Collective bargaining: negotiation between

an employer and trade union, generally labor union leaders and the employer

• Arbitration: the hearing and determination of a dispute by a neutral party agreed to by both parties

Employer Tactics

• Blacklists: a list of persons or organizations that have incurred disapproval or suspicion or are to be boycotted

• Lockouts: a management action resisting employee’s demands; employees are prohibited from entering the work place until they agree to terms

• Scabs: workers that break strike lines to work

• Injunction: court order command or preventing an action— used to shut-down strikes

Knights of Labor• Terrance Powderly• Any kind of labor

accepted—open shop

• Weakness—unskilled workers lack leverage

• Preferred to only use strikes as last resort

• Equal pay for men and women

American Federation of Labor

• Samuel Gompers—most well-known labor leader

• Only skilled workers—craft union

• Used collective bargaining and negotiations

• Made strikes a legitimate weapon for unions

BOTH• Unions• Want to

improve conditions for

worker• First labor organizations

• Better pay• Better

working conditions

• Shorter work week

Industrial Labor Unions• Radical labor union

• Founded by Eugene Debs

• All workers from the same industry

• Do achieve increased wages, but few other gains

• Industrial Workers of World aka the Wobblies

• Advocated workers making more decisions for the company and even becoming involved in politics

Box Event Who What Results

Gov’t Interventio

n

Great Strike of 1877

Railroad workers

Violent protests due to cutting of wages for a

second time in one month

Over 50,000 miles of RR are shut down

Federal troops are sent in by Pres. Hayes—he says

they are impeding interstate commerce

Haymarket Square

Haymarket Square

Affair in Chicago of

1886

McCormick workers(3000) &

Knights of Labor

Protesting the death of a striker—a bomb is

thrown into crowd police then fire into

crowd = several police and civilians killed.

Union activity is blamed for this incident, Union leaders are convicted, and it will lead to a

decline in union activity especially Knights of

Labor

Industrial Unions

Pullman Coach Strike

of 1894

United Railroad Workers

(all laborers in one industry)Eugene Debs

Response to workers being laid off and

wages being cut, but housing rent not being

reduced.

Pullman hired strikebreakers and violence breaks out

Debs is jailedWorkers are blacklisted

Women Workers

Women’s Labor

Movement

Mary Harris “mother” Jones

Urged women to get behind leaders and striking husbandsUsed women and

children to help strikeAdvocated against child

labor

Widespread publicityHelped get child labor

laws passedGot women involved

with movement

Public Pressure

Triangle Shirtwaist

Factory Fire

Workers at the factory, mostly

women

Fire broke out in factory, workers were trapped inside because

the company had locked all the doors to prevent

theft and to keep out union organizers

About 145 diedPublic is outraged

Task force set up to deal with conditions

Leads to government regulations on working

conditions

Public Pressure

Homestead Strike

Steel workers at Carnegie’s Steel Co. in Homestead,

PA

Company president announce wage cuts,

workers strike and the president of the

company hired scabs and strikebreakers

which lead to violence

3 detectives and 6 workers dead

Gov’t interventionHurts union

Hurts Carnegie’s reputation

ACTIVITY ON STRIKESYou will be creating a brochure on the major strikes and incidents in the late 1800s

that were a part of the labor movement and helped improve wages and conditions that workers faced during the time period.

Front: Title, Picture, Name, Date, Block

Inside: cover who was striking, why, what happened, any key people, any other pertinent information

for the following events:1. Great Strike of 1877

2. Pullman Coach Strike3. Homestead Strike4. Haymarket Strike

5. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Back Side: Knights of Labor and AFL as well as the tactics used by Unions and tactics used by Owners during the labor movement

A minimum of 4 drawings (including front page)Each section must have a title

Needs to be neat, colorful, and creative!!

ACTIVITY ON STRIKESYou will be creating a brochure on the major strikes and incidents in the late 1800s

that were a part of the labor movement and helped improve wages and conditions that workers faced during the time period.

Front: Title, Picture, Name, Date, Block

Inside: cover who was striking, why, what happened, any key people, any other pertinent information

for the following events:1. Great Strike of 1877

2. Pullman Coach Strike3. Homestead Strike4. Haymarket Strike

5. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Back Side: Knights of Labor and AFL as well as the tactics used by Unions and tactics used by Owners during the labor movement

A minimum of 4 drawings (including front page)Each section must have a title

Needs to be neat, colorful, and creative!!

_________________• Led by

__________ ___________

• Any kind of labor accepted— ______ ________

• Weakness—______________ workers lack leverage

• Preferred to only use strikes as ____ ___________

• Wanted _______ pay for men and women

_____________________________

• Led by ___________ _________ —most well-known labor leader

• Only _________--________ _______

• Used collective bargaining and negotiations

• Made strikes a legitimate weapon for unions

BOTH• Unions• Want to __________ conditions for

worker• _______ labor

organizations• Better pay

• Better working conditions

• _______ work week