Goal 5 Part 2Labor Unions / Strikes

What is a union? Union – a group of laborers with a common cause: – expose the harsh conditions of jobs 2 major types: (1) Craft (SKILLED)(2) Industrial / Trade (SKILLED / UNSKILLED)

“United we stand, divided we fall”

Stats and conditions

Working Conditions:7 day workweek12 or more hour shifts (daily)no vacation / no sick daysNo workman’s compensationInjured – no reimbursementALL family members had to work to survive

Children - .27 every 14 hoursMen - $498 / yearWomen - $267 / yearCarnegie - $23 million / year

Statistics:1882 – 675 (avg.) weekly deaths in America

Collective Bargaining

Unions form to fight for TWO things(1) Better wages / more money

(2) Better working conditions

“Negotiation between laborers and management”

Early Labor Unions

National Labor Union (NLU) 1866 – - refused African Americans as members- Skilled and unskilled (Trade unionism)

Leader: William Sylvis

- Lobbied Congress, not the Employers

MAIN LEGACY: 8 hours a day (Originally pushed by Populist…later adopted by Democrats)

Colored National Labor Union (CNLU) – accepted African Americans

Knights of Labor

Beliefs: (1) EQUALITY = Equal pay for equal work

***(2) ACCEPTED EVERYONE…(women and African Americans) / “skilled AND unskilled”

Leader: Terrence Powderly

(3) DID NOT USE STRIKES – refusal to work, as a LAST resort (favored non-violence)

(4) Practiced Arbitration: resolving a dispute OUTSIDE of the court system

“Injury to one is the concern of all”

2 types of Unions / Craft vs. Trade 1 Craft Unionism: includes skilled workersAmerican Federation of Labor (AFL)Leader - SAMUEL GOMPERS

- believed in “collective bargaining” - used STRIKES as a MAJOR / FIRST tactic /resort (supported violence)* Complete opposite of Knights of Labor

2 Industrial Unionism / Trade Unionism: included skilled AND unskilled workers

American Railway Union (ARU)Leader - EUGENE V. DEBS (SOCIALIST) *STRIKES WERE USED!

“The Strike is the weapon of the oppressed” Eugene V. Debs

Eugene V. Debs – Socialist

Socialism / Industrial Workers of the World ( I. W. W. ) Socialism – an economic system in which the government controls

business and property / less extreme version of communism Individuals do not work for themselves, but live in corporation of one

another Purpose: Overthrow Capitalism Pro: total equality regardless of physical differences Con: hard workers get no support “EQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH”

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD (IWW)****************Example of Socialist Union*********************

-Mostly Unskilled workers Leader: Eugene V. Debs / Bill Haywood Nickname: WobbliesUsed STRIKES….all the time! (USED VIOLENCE)

* Socialist Unions – EUGENE V. DEBS!!!!!!!!

Strikes

Federal Government response to Strikes / Unions: unhappy and acted with force

(threat to the capitalist government – messes w/$) Federal troops are sent in (injunction)

Great Railroad Strike of 1877 –B & O Railroad lead a strike (covered 50,000 miles)

President Rutherford B Hayes claimed they threatened *interstate commerce* - sent federal troops to end the strike!

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

INJUNCTION

Injunction: when federal government

“jumps in” and tries to fix everything

Example:

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

Pullman Strike

(federal troops were sent in)

**HAYMARKET AFFAIR STRIKE**

Strike in Chicago….police show up, workers threw a bomb into police lines!

Several police officers died MAJOR EFFECT:

THE PUBLIC BEGAN TO TURN

AGAINST THE LABOR

MOVEMENT (due to violence)

ENDS THE LABOR MOVEMENT

Homestead Strike

Carnegie Steel Company (Homestead Plant in PA) – cut wages – a strike occurs!

Henry Frick, Homestead Plant manager hired ,SCABS, or strikebreakers, that continued to work, despite the strike to keep the company going

The Pullman Company Strike

Pullman Company laid off 3,000 workers George Pullman hired employees and gave them housing…after

lay offs, didn’t lower the rent on the house! ****George Pullman wanted to control the lives of his workers

(no loitering on front porch!) George Pullman hired SCABS, strikebreakers…strikes turned

violent Major effect: federal troops were sent in

*** Railroads “BLACKLISTED” the strikers*Blacklist – a list that included people that COULD NOT work on

the railroads, due to their connection to strikes

Women Organize

Fighting for: Better working conditions Equal pay for equal work End of child labor

****MAIN LEADER: MARY HARRIS JONES (MOTHER)

To expose the cruelties of child labor – Mary Harris Jones led a march of 80 mill children to home of President Teddy Roosevelt….this crusade influenced the passage of Child Labor Laws

Child Labor / Mary Harris Jones

CHILD LABOR

Triangle Shirtwaste Fire

March 25, 1911 (New York City) Oil-drenched machines caught on fire! (conditions) Company locked all of the doors *(Crime / force) 146 women died (from fire or jumping) MAJOR EFFECT/ Public Reaction: a task force

was set up to study the terrible working conditions of many industries in New York

* spurred the growth of improved factory conditions and safety standards

Triangle Shirtwaste Fire (1911)

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Factors that LIMIT the success of Labor Unions / Employers CONTROLYellow Dog Contracts – swearing / oath they will NOT join a

UnionBlacklist – if you are part of or leader of a union against the

productivity of a business, you are placed on this list / difficult for you to get a job

Lockout: owner tells the employees not to bother showing up until they agree to a pay cut

Scabs: Strikebreakers (hired to continue economy of business while strikers are not working)

Interstate Commerce: a company claims strikers are affecting interstate commerce and the federal government comes running!

* T.Q. Which statement BEST describes how the Knights of Labor differed from the American Federation of Labor (AFL)? A. Knights of Labor used strikes as a

major tactic

B. Knights of Labor ONLY organized

skilled laborers

C. Knights of Labor used strikes as a last resort

D. Knights of Labor opposed equal pay for women

What event contributed MOST to the demise of the Knights of Labor?A. Great Chicago Fire

B. Haymarket Square Riot

C. Homestead Act

D. Pullman Company Strike

Why?

Monopoly vs. Labor Union