Labor Unions

Page 450-454 in Textbook

Introduction

As business leaders merged and consolidated their forces, it seemed necessary for workers to do the same. Although northern wages were generally higher than Southern wages, exploitation and unsafe working conditions drew workers together across regions in a nationwide labor movement. Laborers joined together in unions to improve their job situations.

Questions to consider:

1. Why did labor unions form? 2. What did unions fight for? 3. If the government had supported

unions instead of management during the 19th century, how might the lives of workers had been different?

4. What have unions accomplished today?

Textbook Reading

Read 450-454 in your textbook and answer the questions on the worksheet

Working Conditions

a. Seamstresses worked 12 or more hours a day, 6 days a week.

b. Employees did not get vacation, sick leave, unemployment insurance, or reimbursement for injuries on the job.

c. Factories were dirty, poorly ventilated and workers had to perform repetitive or mind dulling tasks sometimes with faulty or broken equipment.

d. An average of 675 laborers were killed in work related accidents each week.

e. Everyone in the family was required to work because the wages were so low.

f. Children were anywhere from 5-15 years old when they went to work. They had to give up their education.

g. People, especially women and children often didn’t have the skills to work in paces other than sweatshops, so they had to put up with the conditions.

h. Children were paid 27 cents for a 14 hour day; women received $267 a year, and men approximately $498 a year.

i. Andrew Carnegie made $23 million dollars, and didn’t pay income tax (because they didn’t have income tax back then).

Highlight or star this on your worksheet

Poor working conditions and low wages forced workers to organize into unions to demand fair treatment.

A union is: An organization of workers in a particular job that join together to protect and further their rights and interests.

Some types of unions are police unions, electrical unions, teachers unions, construction unions, actors unions.

Many types of Unions developed in the late 1800s.

National labor UnionColored National Labor UnionKnights of LaborAmerican Federation of LaborAmerican Railway UnionIndustrial Workers of the WorldSugar Beet and Farm Laborer’s UnionState Federation of Labor (miners)

Strikes turn violent

Workers went on strike (stopped working) to try to get better wages, more reasonable work hours, safer working conditions.

Industry and government responded forcefully to union activity, which they thought to be a threat to free enterprise.

Great Strike of 1877  Who was

involved in the strike

What did the workers want

What was the impact of the strike

What was the result of the strike

Great Strike of 1877

 Railroad workers from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad   

Better wages

Train traffic covering 50,000 stopped for one week

The president used the authority of the Interstate Commerce Act to send troops to stop the strike

The Haymarket Affair  Who was

involvedWhat did the workers want

What was the impact of the strike

What was the result of the strike

Great Strike of 1877

Protesters who wanted to stop police brutality; a striker had been killed by police the day before 

More fair treatment by the police

A bomb was thrown at the police workers, and the police fired back at the workers

7 police officers and several protesters died.

The public began to turn against the protesters because the protests were violent

The Homestead Strike  Who was

involvedWhat did the workers want

What was the impact of the strike

What was the result of the strike

Great Strike of 1877

Steelworkers that worked for Andrew Carnegie’s Steel plan in PA

Better wages.

The plant was closed from July – November. The National Guard ended the strike

The steelworkers union lost support. It took 45 years for another steelworker union to form.

The Pullman Strike Chicago, 1894

Interior of a Pullman Sleeper Car

Pullman Palace Car CompanyRailway car company owned by

George PullmanOver 6,000 workers Workers had lived in “company town”Rent was 25% higher than other areas

Pullman, Illinois

Origins of the Strike

Historical Context: Depression of 1893

Pullman cuts workers’ wages

But doesn’t cut rent for apartments

Strike Begins

May 10, 1894- Workers walk out

ARU Supports Pullman Workers

American Railway Union is a NATIONAL union of railway workers

Eugene Debs, ARU leader, decides to support Pullman strikers

Across the nation, railway workers refused to run trains that had Pullman cars attached to them

The country is paralyzed

President Grover Cleveland sends in troops

Violence Erupts

Presence of Federal troops sets off riots

Rioters burn buildings, troops kill 4 and wound 20

End of Strike

By August, strike fall apart

1000 union workers fired

New workers have to sign contracts promising not to join a union

Debs arrested and jailed for 6 months

Reading Like a Historian

How did the newspapers report on what happened that day?

Read the two articles that you are assigned.

Take notes in the appropriate boxes. Based on your close reading of the

articles, determine which paper supported the workers and which supported Pullman.

Accomplishments of Labor Unions

End child labor Establish the legal right of workers to form unions and

collectively bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions

Establish the 8 hour work day and paid overtime Win workers' comp benefits for workers injured on the job Secure unemployment insurance for workers who lose their

jobs Secure a guaranteed minimum wage Win health care insurance for workers Win paid sick leave, vacations, and holidays as standard

benefits for most workers