AGENDA•Do Now• “Work Place & Labor Unions” Notes•Collective Bargaining Activity•Primary Sources
•Homework:– DBQ Essay due Monday– Industrialization Test Friday 12/12
DO NOW:•What conditions are necessary for
you to be a successful student?– Think environmental– Resources– Climate
Work Place & Labor Unions
American HistoryDecember 5, 2014
Changes in America• Only a few
entrepreneurs became rich
• Machines replaced skilled labor
• Work became monotonous
Women making teddy bears
Working life• Highly repetitive tasks• Little pride in work• Poor conditions
– Unhealthy• Breathed in lint, dust, and toxic fumes
– Dangerous • Machines lacked safety features
Time for Change•Workers decided they needed to
organize– Create a union
•Goals– Improve working conditions– Better wages
Opposition to Unions•Problems in
organizing:– No laws that allowed
them to organize– Courts usually ruled
against workers who went on strike
– Might be fined or jailed
•Unions had to work against perception– Capitalism vs. Marxism
• Immigrants were bringing in these ideas
•People were suspicious of Unions
•Eventually courts, police, and even the army were used to break up Unions
Opposition to Unions
Struggle to Organize•Early Unions only were made
of highly skilled workers– Factory owners needed their
skills, so they were able to negotiate
•Owners of large corporations were particularly opposed to:– Industrial Unions
• United all craft workers and common laborers in a particular industry
Struggle to Organize• Unions were less successful as industry
grew• Companies used techniques to prevent
Unions from forming– Required workers to sign contracts promising
not to join a Union– Hired undercover detectives– Fired workers who unionized
• A created a list of “Trouble Makers• “Black Listed” workers
• If a Union did form:– Companies locked out workers– Refused to pay them– Hire replacement workers
Struggle to Organize
American Federation of Labor
•Most early large scale industrial Unions failed
•Trade unions however did find some success
•Created the American Federation of Labor or the AFL
•First AFL leader, Samuel Gompers– Felt Unions should stay out of politics– Wanted to negotiate before a strike
American Federation of Labor
• The AFL had 3 goals:1. Convince companies to recognize
Unions and agree to collective bargaining
2. Create closed shops only hire union workers
3. Promoted an 8 hour work day
American Federation Of Labor
•By 1900 AFL was the largest Union– 500,000 members
•Only represented 15% of the workforce
•Only 18% of working population belonged to a Union
•As the 1900s began most workers were unrepresented and unions were relatively weak
Women in the Workplace
• Types of Jobs:– 1/3 worked as domestic servants– 1/3 worked as teachers, nurses, sales
clerks, and secretaries– 1/3 worked in light industrial jobs that
were deemed appropriate, mainly garment and food industries
• Women were paid less than men
Women in the Workplace
•Created the WTUL Union– 8 hour work day– Minimum wage– Abolition of Child Labor
Collective Bargaining• In groups of 6 or 7
– Split group in ½ 3 people are owners, 3 are laborers
• Read through confidential information – Determine the demands you will make in
negotiations– Make a plan and bargaining strategy
• Negotiations– 15 - 20 mins
• Once you come to an agreement you must write out a contract, signed and agreed by both sides
Contracts Must Address…•Wages•Working Hours•Vacations•Benefits•Health/Safety Conditions•Anything else you deem important