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Labor Unions

“I am only an average man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man.” -Teddy Roosevelt. Labor Unions. If you thought your job was bad……. Working Conditions. Monotonous – same job day after day Low wages/Long hours; 12 – 16 hour shifts, 6 days a week

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Labor Unions

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  1. “I am only an average man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man.”-Teddy Roosevelt

  2. Labor Unions

  3. If you thought your job was bad…….

  4. Working Conditions • Monotonous – same job day after day • Low wages/Long hours; 12 – 16 hour shifts, 6 days a week • Dangerous machinery with no safety precautions • Workers frequently lost fingers, limbs, eyesight, & hearing • Lung diseases from coal and lint dust • When workers were injured or too sick to work, they were fired • Employers get rich while workers deal with bad conditions

  5. Triangle Shirtwaist Fire • Deadliest industrial disaster in the history of New York • 146 workers died from fire, smoke inhalation, or falling to their deaths. • managers had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits

  6. Child Labor • Factory owners often hired children because: • They were smaller, so more room for machinery • They were cheaper – children were paid less than half of what grown men were • They were easier to intimidate with beatings and abuse

  7. What do groups of people who experience the same problems often do?Hint: Think about what farmers did?

  8. But are all workers the same? Explain

  9. Craft Unions Only allowed highly skilled craftsmen to join Machinists, welders, electricians, etc. Trade Unions Designed for unskilled laborers General factory workers, construction workers, etc. Craft Unions vs. Trade Unions

  10. What types of tactics could labor unions use to get better conditions?

  11. Union Tactics • Strikes: workers walked off the job in protest • Boycotts: encouraged the public to not buy goods from companies that would not negotiate with labor • Collective bargaining: employees negotiate contracts as a group rather than as individuals • Mediation: allowing a neutral third party to oversee negotiations • Arbitration: allowing a neutral third party to hear both sides’ arguments and make a final, binding ruling • Closed shops: agreement where employers could only hire union members, non-union workers were banned from the workplace • NFLPA

  12. How can employers respond to labor union tactics?

  13. Employer Responses • Yellow-dog contracts: contracts which forbade workers from joining unions • Blacklists: known union members were fired and wouldn’t be hired again • Lockouts: closing of factories to punish workers for unionizing • Scabs: replacement workers hired to replace strikers • Injunctions: sought legal court orders that forbade strikes

  14. Who will the Government support in this struggle?Employers or Laborers?Why?

  15. Government Responses • Supported employers over labor unions • Courts often ruled unions and strikes to be illegal conspiracies • Courts authorized use of force to break strikes when necessary • Presidents even used the US Army to break strikes

  16. Labor Unions Act!

  17. Great Railway Strike of 1877 • 80,000 railroad workers went on strike to protest pay cuts • Angry strikers damaged equipment, ripped up tracks, and blocked other tracks • President Hayes ordered US Army to reopen tracks • Over 100 people died in clashes between strikers and troops, millions of dollars in damage done to railroads

  18. More Unions emerge!

  19. The Knights of Labor • 1869 – 1949 • Workers’ organization • Wanted an 8-hour workday • Promoted equal pay for women • Supported a ban on child labor • Proposed worker-owned factories • Never well-organized, which left it ineffective

  20. The Haymarket Riot • May 1886: Unions called for a day of general strike to promote the 8-hour workday • Strikers and police clashed in Chicago, 1 striker killed • Anarchists protested in Haymarket Square the next day; police arrived to break up the demonstration • A bomb was set off, followed by a gun battle, killing 8 policemen, 4 strikers • 8 anarchists were arrested, including a member of the Knights of Labor • 4 were executed for murder • Knights of Labor lost popularity for being associated with anarchists

  21. Remember how Populists used strength in numbers!Individuals, Alliances/Cooperatives, ?

  22. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) • Merger of 20+ trade unions into the AFL in 1886 • 250,000 workers represented • Focus – get companies to recognize unions and agree to collective bargaining, push for closed shops, promote the 8-hour work day • Still exists today as the AFL-CIO

  23. Samuel Gompers • 1850 – 1924 • 1st leader of the AFL • Supported “plain and simple” unions: keep unions out of politics, reject ideals of socialism, communism, and anarchism • Concentrate on little things – better wages and working conditions • Preferred negotiation over strikes or boycotts

  24. We asserted that Andrew Carnegie was a “Captain of Industry” Remember, this is a perception not a fact

  25. The Homestead Strike • June-July, 1892 • Steel workers at Andrew Carnegie’s mill in Homestead, PA demanded higher wages, Carnegie responded by locking out workers, fortifying the plant with high fences and guard towers and trying to hire scabs • Striking workers laid siege to the plant, refused to allow scabs or even managers entry • Carnegie sent 300 armed agents of the Pinkerton Security firm to secure the plant and a gun battle erupted

  26. The Homestead Strike (cont.) • The Pinkerton agents were forced to surrender and run out of town, prompting the governor to send in the state militia to end the violence • Under the protection of 4000 soldiers, the plant reopened with replacement workers and the strike failed; union voted to accept the pay cut and go back to work

  27. The government increases its involvement in labor issues…

  28. The Pullman Strike • May 1894 • Pullman Company (which built train cars), required workers to live in the town of Pullman, IL and buy goods from company owned stores • Pullman cut wages, leading to workers struggling to meet their rent & buy necessities • Workers who complained were fired, prompting a general strike • Members of the American Railway Union across the country refused to work on Pullman-built cars to show support for the strikers, tying up rail traffic

  29. The Pullman Strike (cont.) • Railroads arranged for US mail to be attached to Pullman cars, resulting in the mail not being delivered • Strikers and the ARU were then in violation of federal law for interfering with the delivery of the US mail • This prompted the US government to get involved to ensure the delivery of the mail • Pres. Grover Cleveland ordered US troops to enforce a court injunction, breaking the boycott of Pullman cars and ending the strike of Pullman workers

  30. Labor unrest will prompt some to seek alternatives to capitalism… What alternatives are there?

  31. Eugene V. Debs • 1855 – 1926 • Worked with many different unions in his career, but gained much of his experience by helping to form the American Railway Union • Debs was sent to prison for failing to obey the court injunction ordering the end to the Pullman Strike • While incarcerated, Debs became a socialist and would later run for President as the Socialist Party’s candidate 5 times (1900, ’04, ’08, ’12, & ’20)

  32. Support for Unions damaged by: • Socialists: believed that labor should own and operate factories communally (socialism) • Anarchists: opposed all government, were willing to use violence to achieve their ends (essentially terrorists) • Nativism: anti-immigration sentiments were fed by the number of immigrants who were Marxists, anarchists

  33. 2.04 Menu Newspaper Editorial You are a laborer who is fed up with the conditions of your employment. You want to start a labor union by writing an editorial that your fellow employees will read. You must 1. Explain the conditions that you are upset with as well as 2. The tactics you will use as head of the union to improve your working conditions. 3. Persuade other workers to join your union. Essay Format Modern Strike Research Research a modern strike 1980-Present. In essay format explain to me the following: 1. In what industry did the strike take place? 2. What undesirable conditions led the workers to strike? 3. What improvement were the workers looking for? 4. How was the situation settled? In your opinion, was the strike justified? Explain. Use all available technology. Essay format

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