goal 5 part 2 labor unions / strikes. what is a union? union – a group of laborers with a common...
TRANSCRIPT
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