The Labor Movement

The Labor Movement

Chapter 5

Section 4

Seamstresses

• 12 Hour Days, 6 days a week

Steel Mills

• 7 Day work week, no sick leave, no vacation

Railroads

• 1890: 1 in 300 workers would die

Women and Children• 1890: 4 million

women working• 1920: 8 million• Children earned $.27

per day ($6.47)• Men made $498 per

year ($7,100 today)• Women made $269

per year ($6,400 today)

Deflation

• The value of the dollar increases

• One dollar buys more products

• Deflation in late 19th century resulted in employers cutting wages.

• Workers began to unionize

National Labor Union

• First large scale national labor union

• Founded by iron worker William Sylvis

• 300 Locals in 13 states• Sylvis wanted to admit

women and African-Americans, but Locals refused

Knights of Labor

Uriah Stevens: 1868Focused on Industrial

LaborMembership open to

everyoneAdvocated arbitration as

opposed to strikes-3rd party helps workers come to agreement with management

Craft Unionism and Samuel Gompers

• Craft Unions included only skilled workers but often from many industries

• American Federation of Labor– Founded in 1886 by

Samuel Gompers– Pushed for closed shops

-all workers were in the union

Industrial Unionism and Eugene Debs

• Industrial Unionism: all workers in one industry, skilled and unskilled, form a union

• Eugene Debs formed the American Railway Union, the first true industrial union

• They saw minor successes

Socialism and the IWW

• Socialism: economic and political system based on government control of business and property and equal distribution of wealth

• Industrial Workers of the World: Wobblies

The Great Strike of 1877The Great Strike of 1877

• Baltimore and Ohio RR workers strike in Baltimore and Ohio RR workers strike in protest of wage cutsprotest of wage cuts

• The strike eventually spread to a national The strike eventually spread to a national levellevel

• 50,000 miles of railroads stopped for a week50,000 miles of railroads stopped for a week• Resulted in nation wide riotsResulted in nation wide riots• President Hayes sent troops in to stop the President Hayes sent troops in to stop the

strikestrike• RR strike that was very violent and spread RR strike that was very violent and spread

nationwidenationwide

The Haymarket Affair

• May 3, 1886: Police kill a striker at the McCormick Harvester factory

• May 4, 1886: 1,200 people gather in Haymarket Square to protest

• At 10 o’clock, the crowd was leaving due to rain

The Haymarket Affair Cont’d.

170 Policemen assemble at a nearby train station and marched into the square

A bomb was thrown at the police and they opened fire

The Haymarket Aftermath

• 7 Policemen killed

• Several strikers killed (exact number unknown)

• 3 speakers and 8 radicals arrested

• 4 hanged, 1 killed himself in jail

The Homestead Strike

• Carnegie Steel Plant in Homestead, PA

• Henry Clay Frick: company president

• Announced a wage cut on July 6, 1892

• A strike ensued

Pinkertons

The Homestead Strike Cont’d.

• 3 detectives and 6 strikers killed

• Strikers closed the plant until July 12

• The National Guard was called in and the violence stopped

• The strike continued until November when the union caved in.

The Pullman Strike

• Built train cars in Pullman, Illinois

• Workers went on strike when he lowered wages but not rent

The Pullman Strike Cont’d.

• Strike spread nationwide

• ARU got involved, shut down train service

• Military called in to break strike

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

• March 25, 1911-huge fire in factory in NYC

• 145 workers died

• New York set up a task force to inspect factories

• established fire codes, 54 hour workweek for women and minors

• no Sunday work and no one under 14 could work

Anti-union Actions

• Owners refused to negotiate with strikers

• forbade union meetings, fired members

• Yellow dog contracts-said worker would not join a union or strike

• Turned Sherman Anti-trust Act against unions

• Lockout-refused to allow union members on their property