industrial age how successful was organized labor in improving the position of workers in the period...

INDUSTRIAL AGEINDUSTRIAL AGEHow successful was organized labor in improving the position of workers in How successful was organized labor in improving the position of workers in the period from 1875 to 1900? Analyze the factors that contributed to the the period from 1875 to 1900? Analyze the factors that contributed to the level of success achieved.level of success achieved.

INDUSTRIAL AGEINDUSTRIAL AGE• VI. VI. Union MovementUnion MovementA. Knights of Labor

1. LeaderUriah Stephens & Terence Powderly

2. Members/EligibilityOpen Membership = Male, Female,

African American, etc.

3. GoalsReform Economic system = worker

cooperatives, abolition of trusts, abolition of child labor, 8hr. Day, govt. regulation

4. Methods of Achieving GoalsArbitration (preferred, but couldn’t

stop local assemblies from striking

5. Results/Public Perceptionsa. 1886 = May Day & Great

Upheaval = strike failures and fear of economic chaos

b. Haymarket = become associated with anarchists

c. Large and loosely organizedd. By 1890s = down to 100,000 and

disappear by mid 1890s

INDUSTRIAL AGEINDUSTRIAL AGE

• VI. VI. Union MovementUnion MovementB. American Federation of Labor (AFL)

1. LeaderSamuel Gompers

2. Members/EligibilitySkilled Workers = Association of Craft

Unions

3. Goals “bread & butter” issues (accept

capitalism/wage system)Better Wages, Hours, Working Conditions =

not economic or governmental reform; concentrate on relationship between management and labor

4. Methods of Achieving Goalsbargain collectively & closed shop

walk out, boycott, strikes against employers who refuse to bargain

5. Public PerceptionsNot as bad as K of L, but still associated

with anarchists after Haymarket

INDUSTRIAL AGEINDUSTRIAL AGE• VI. VI. Union MovementUnion Movement

– C. StrikesC. Strikes• 1. Railroad Strike 18771. Railroad Strike 1877

a. Causesi. Wages Cut 10% for 2nd time since 1873



b. Labor Actionsi. Strike = First National Strike, 11 states, 2/3 of country’s railsii. Railroad strikers joined by 500,000 workers from other industriesiii. Disrupt service from Baltimore to St. Louis, destroy equipment, riots in Pittsburgh & other cities



c. Response & Resultsi. President Hayes uses Federal Troops in W.V., militiamen used in other cities, 100 killed by endii. Shows resentment on both sides, and lengths bothsides would go to; Government use Federal Troopsiii. Fear of union by propertied classes


– C. StrikesC. Strikes• 2. Haymarket Riot, 18862. Haymarket Riot, 1886

a. Causesi. May Day labor movement in Chicagoii. Strike and violence at McCormick Harvester plant



b. Labor Actionsi. Labor leaders call for public meeting at Haymarket Squareii. Radical and anarchists present



c. Response & Resultsi. Police attempt to break up, bomb thrownii. Kills 7 policemen, 60+ injured; police fire into crowd and kill 4 civiliansiii. 8 anarchists accused & found guilty; 7 sentenced to death, 4 executed, 1 suicide, 3 pardoned (Gov. John Altgeld)iv. Most middle class associate unions w/ anarchists


– C. StrikesC. Strikes

• 3. Homestead Strike, 18923. Homestead Strike, 1892

a. Causesi. Frick & Carnegie cut wages 20% in 1892ii. Had been cutting wages for two years = not

want to pay workers by ton produced but by sliding scale (market price) = want streamline efforts & cut labor costs

iii. want to get rid of union at Homestead plant




b. Labor Actionsi. Strike




c. Response & Resultsi. Frick closes Plant & calls in Pinkertons (strikebreakers) = violence erupts, 13 killed & 100+ wounded




c. Response & ResultsFiring continued for hours, “One observer estimated more than

one thousand shots were fired in the first ten minutes”“The noise that they made on shore was awful, and it made us

shake in our boots. We were penned in like rats….All of our men were under the beds and bunks, crying and trembling.” (Gillon, Ten Days…)




c. Response & Results“According to one account, the joyous crowd formed itself ‘into

two lines, 600 yards long, between which the men from the barges had to pass.’ The crowd assaulted the detectives as they walked the gauntlet. A woman used her umbrella to punch out the eye of one man. ‘The men screamed for mercy. We were clubbed at every step.”(Gillon, Ten Days…)




c. Response & Resultsii. Governor sends in state militiaiii. Scabs used to resume production iv. public opinion turns when radical attempts assassinate Frickv. Union surrenders after 4 months & is broken


– C. StrikesC. Strikes• 4. Pullman Strike, 18944. Pullman Strike, 1894

a. Causesi. Pullman cut wages 25%ii. Refused to reduce rents in Pullman town (already higher than surrounding rents)



b. Labor Actionsi. Workers Strike & helped by American Railway Union led

by Eugene Debsii. Effects rail transportation across the country



c. Response & Resultsi. Gov. Altgeld refuses to call out militia; Pres. Cleveland &

Att. Gen. Olney get court injunction = interfering w/ mailii. Debs & union leaders refuse, arrested and jailed; strike

brokeniii. Use of court injunction gives employers powerful weapon

against unions

industrial age how successful was organized labor in improving the position of workers in the period...

Documents

union movementc

fear of union

rid of union

homestead strike

labor actionsi

citiesindustrial agevi

haymarketindustrial

organized labor