Labor Response to Industrialism

Was the rise of industry good for American workers?

1. Introduction● Rose Schneiderman

○ Organized Uprising of 20,000■ 1000’s of women in shirtwaist industry strike

■ Higher wages, better working conditions

■ Met with some success

● Shortened work week/vacation pay

● Laid groundwork for Great Revolt in garment industry

■ Met with some loss

● Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

2. Conditions of the Working Class● Society begins dividing into social groups based on wealth and power

○ “The Gilded Age”

● Working class emerges○ provided the skill and the muscle that helped push American productivity

to new heights and made employers rich

○ treated as if they were merely parts of the machinery

■ 6 days per week/10 hours per day average

■ work itself was repetitive and boring-division of labor

■ Hazardous environments lacked safety regulations/equipment

● Sweatshops = contagious disease, ex: Tuberculosis

● Coal dust = lung disease

Child Labor● Becomes widespread

○ Meager wages were crucial to families’ survival○ Factory owners could pay children less money for the same workload as parents

● Some states enact child labor laws at 14/15 years old○ Often ignored by companies○ Government failure to enforce

● Child workers experienced some of the most dangerous working conditions○ Because they were small, they could squeeze inside running machinery to make repairs.

Young miners driving mules through tunnels risked being crushed by loads of coal.

■ In January 1876, a Pennsylvania newspaper noted, "During the past week nearly one boy a day has been killed" in the mines.

Furman Owens

1

Whitnel Cotton Mill Spinner

2

“Just happened in..”

3

Tony Casale

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Miners

5

Joseph Severio

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The Labor Movement● Workers unite for better conditions

○ Labor Unions■ group of workers organized to protect the interests of its members. Historically, most

labor unions have focused on three primary goals: higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions.

■ Much of a union's power came from the threat of a strike, a labor action in which workers simply refuse to go to work

● A Difficult Start for National Labor Organizations○ local unions began to realize that they might benefit from cooperating with each other to

achieve their goals

○ economic depression inflicted more damage on efforts to create national labor unions. In times of economic crisis, high unemployment intensified the competition for jobs

○

Labor Movement Continued...

○ yellow-dog contracts"= written pledges not to join a union■ Owners would not hire workers who did not sign a pledge

● They also exchanged lists of union members and organizers, refusing jobs to any worker whose name was on these blacklists.

● Yellow-dog contracts and blacklists discouraged workers from joining unions

● During the depression of the 1870s, business owners' tactics succeeded in smashing many labor unions

Economic and Union RecoveryAfter the economy regained its strength, however, the labor movement also revived. A series of new national labor organizations arose, bringing together various unions under one banner.

● Knights of Labor○ Welcomed both skilled and unskilled labor

● American Federation of Labor○ concentrated mainly on organizing skilled workers

○ focus on "bread-and-butter" worker objectives, such as higher wages and shorter workdays

○ only major national labor organization in the 1890s

● Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)○ members were nicknamed Wobblies

○ introduced radical ideas into the union movement, adopting the socialist theories of the German political philosopher Karl Marx- Socialism

■ political theory that advocates ownership of the means of production, such as factories and farms, by the people rather than by capitalists and landowners

Strikes Erupt NationwideAs labor unions gained strength in the late 1800s, workers showed a greater willingness to strike. At the same time, business owners stubbornly opposed union demands. As a result, confrontations between unions and owners increased

● Economic depression

○ Starvation, death, rage

● Railroad Strike of 1877

○ Rail companies respond to economic depression by cutting wages

○ Workers strike nationwide, shutting down half the railways in nation

■ Police, state militia respond against strikers

■ Riots break out

● left about 100 people dead and millions of dollars worth of property destroyed

● Many Americans became alarmed

● Set stage for future strikes and outbreaks

Strike! Strike! Strike!● Haymarket Affair

○ took place in Chicago

○ strikers fought with "scabs," nonunion workers brought in to replace strikers

○ Police trying to break up the fight shot into the crowd

■ killing at least one striker and wounding others

■ Anarchists call for meeting next day in Haymarket Square

● 1000+ attend meeting

● Police break up meeting

● Bomb is thrown among police

○ Several officers died

○ Police fired into crowd, killing 4

○ Brought confusion among labor movement

Homestead Strike

● involved iron- and steelworkers at the Carnegie Steel plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania

● manager, Henry Frick, in charge

○ hired 300 private guards from the Pinkerton Agency

● Strikers armed and ready for Pinkerton agents

○ Daylong battle leads to Pinkerton surrender

○ Strikers take over city

○ State militia brought in to gain control

● Frick brought in nonunion workers to run the plant

○ union was shut out for the next four decades

Pullman Strike of 1894● Pullman Palace Car Company-south of Chicago

○ Company- owned town

■ workers rented company-owned housing and bought food and other goods at company stores, often at inflated prices

■ many workers owed large debts to the company

○ Spring of 1894 depression

■ Pullman cut wages 25%, did not decrease rent and other charges

● Workers strike

○ American Railway Union supported the Pullman Strike

■ members shut down most rail traffic in the Midwest by refusing to handle trains with Pullman cars

■ Interference with mail cars considered a Federal offense

● President Cleveland sent federal troops to break up strike

● Violent encounter - federal troops prevail

Mixed Success for UnionsThe union struggles of the late 1800s brought mixed results for organized labor. Unions generally experienced more setbacks than gains and failed to get government support or the backing of most Americans.

● Setbacks○ Although the Railroad Strike of 1877 helped boost union membership, it prompted the federal

government to take the side of business owners in most labor disputes

○ Failed to win support and respect of Americans

■ Violence and radicalism also weakened unions by scaring away potential union members

● Gaines○ work hours and wages improved steadily

■ work hours per week for union employees fell from 54 to 49/ weekly pay rose from $17.60 to $21.30

○ won some recognition of workers' rights-no longer machines