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UNIONS

UNIONS. SECTION 5-4. Working in the United States. Deflation- rise in the value of money. Added tensions between workers and employers. Early Unions. Trade Unions-craft workers began the first trade unions in the 1830’s, as industrialization started to spread.

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UNIONS

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  1. UNIONS SECTION 5-4

  2. Working in the United States • Deflation- rise in the value of money. Added tensions between workers and employers.

  3. Early Unions • Trade Unions-craft workers began the first trade unions in the 1830’s, as industrialization started to spread. • Industrial Unions-united all workers in a particular industry. Business leaders opposed these and used several techniques to stop workers from forming unions. • Blacklist-list of “troublemakers.” You were blacklisted if you were a worker who tried to organize a union or strike. You would be fired then put on a blacklist so that no company would hire you.

  4. Early Unions • Lockouts-companies used lockouts to try and break up unions. They would lock workers out of the property and refused to pay them. If the union called a strike, the companies would hire replacements or scabs. • Marxism-ideas of Karl Marx. Became influential in Europe at the time. Many believed that unions were un-American (Socialism).

  5. Struggling to Organize • The Great Railroad Strike of 1877- Happened as a result of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad cutting their wages for the third time. Workers walked off the job and blocked the tracks. As word spread railroad workers from around the country walked off the job. Strike lasted for 12 bloody days after President Hayes sent federal troops to Martinsburg (WV), Baltimore, and Pittsburgh to put down the strike.

  6. Struggling to Organize • The Knights of Labor- (1869) Took a different approach to labor issues. They opposed strikes preferring to use boycotts to pressure employers. Called for an eight-hour workday, equal pay for women, the abolition of child labor, the creation of worker-owned factories, and unlike many organizations of the era, they welcomed women and African Americans. They also supported arbitration. • Arbitration- a process in which a third party helps workers and employers reach an agreement.

  7. Struggling to Organize • The Haymarket Riot- (1886) Started as a strike to support the eight-hour workday. Police intervened to stop a fight on the picket line at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. The incident turned violent and police fired on the strikers. The next day people gathered in Chicago’s Haymarket Square to protest the shootings. When the police moved in to keep order, someone through a bomb into the crowd of police. The police opened fire and the workers shot back.

  8. Struggling to Organize • The Homestead Strike- (1892) Labor dispute led to bloodshed at a steel mill owned by Andrew Carnegie, in Homestead, Pennsylvania.

  9. Struggling to Organize • The Pullman Strike- (1893) The American Railway Union (ARU) led by Eugene V. Debs, tried to organize the workers of the Pullman Palace Car Company. The workers were required to live in George Pullman’s company town and to buy goods from company stores. But in 1893, Pullman laid off workers and slashed wages. The workers went on strike and other ARU members boycotted Pullman cars. The government then arranged for the U.S. Mail carts to be attached to Pullman cars. If the strikers refused to handle the Pullman cars they would be interfering with the U.S. mail (violation of federal law). President Cleveland sent troops in to make sure the mail kept running. • Injunction- federal court order. An injunction was issued directing the union to halt the boycott. Debs was imprisoned for violating this injunction. This gave business a powerful tool for dealing with labor unrest.

  10. New Unions Emerge • American Federation of Labor- (AFL) Dominant union of the late 1800’s. Focused on promoting the interests of skilled workers. Had three main goals: 1.) tried to convince companies to recognize unions and to agree to collective bargaining 2.) it pushed for closed shops- meaning that companies could only hire union members. 3.) promoted an eight-hour workday. • Samuel Gompers- First president of the AFL. Focused on “bread and butter issues”- wages, working hours, and working conditions.

  11. New Unions Emerge • Industrial Workers of the World- (IWW) Labor radicals. Many of them were socialists. Nicknamed the “Wobblies.” Wanted to organize all workers according to industry, without making distinctions between skilled and unskilled workers.

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