WORKING IN THE GILDED AGESSUSH12 The student will analyze important consequences of American industrial growth.

b. Identify the American Federation of Labor and Samuel Gompers.

d. Describe the 1894 Pullman strike as an example of industrial unrest.

Population shift feeds a growing work force• Between 1860 to 1900, 14 million people immigrated to

the US• In addition, 8 to 9 million Americans moved to cities at the

end of the 19th Century• These population shifts added more workers during the

Gilded Age – the period of big business at the end of the 19th Century• The term gilded means to cover with a thin layer of gold – this

phrase is used to indicate that a thin layer of prosperity covered up many problems with farmers, workers, and the government

Problems of Urbanization• Most new immigrants lived in cities – it was cheap and close to their work

• Working families either bought a house on the outskirts of town or lived in tenements

• Families who lived outside of town had transportation problems, leading cities to create mass transit systems

• Cities had to find a way to supply safe drinking water and had to figure out how to keep the cities clean

• Crime increased with the population• The limited water supply led to a major risk of fire

Working in a factory• Most workers worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week• In many industries, workers were paid by the piece and

not by the hour – this is piecework• Most of this work was performed in sweatshops – a shop

where employees worked long hours at low wages in poor conditions

• Division of labor – the work of factory workers was divided into separate tasks to be more efficient – they performed that same task over and over

• This was different than artisan work where tasks were completed from start to finish

• Work in factories was hard – it was very scheduled to maximize profit, the machines were noisy, the light and ventilation were poor, fatigue, faulty equipment, and careless training led to accidents and fires

• Children often left school at 12 or 13 to work in factories

The Rise of Labor Unions

• Labor unions formed as a result of the demand

or shorter workdays, higher wages, and better working conditions• Knights of Labor formed in 1869 – they hoped to organize all men

and women, skilled and unskilled, into a single union• Had disbanded by the 1890s after a series of ineffective strikes• American Federation of Labor (AFL) –

formed in 1886 under the leadership

of Samuel Gompers• It was a craft union and was organized according

the specific work done• Tried to force employers into collective bargaining – a process

where workers try to negotiate as a group with employers

Organization leads to strikes• The formation of unions led to a series of strikes in

American railroads, factories, mines, and mills• Many of these strikes were quite violent and some even

led to deaths of police officers and strikers• The most famous was the Pullman strike in 1894• During the Panic of 1893 and the depression that

followed, the Pullman company laid off half of its employees and cut the wages of those who remained from 25% to 50% without cutting the cost of employee housing

• When the economy improved in the spring of 1894 and company did nothing to reverse its policies, the workers decided to strike and a boycott of Pullman trains was organized by Eugene V. Debs and the American Railway Union (ARU)

• Pullman will hire strikebreakers and the strike turned violent – President Cleveland sent in federal troops

• Most of the strikers were fired and blacklisted so they could never get another railroad job

• Eventually, these strikes led to the 8 hour workday