WORKING CONDITIONS

LABOR UNREST

Formation of Labor Unions

LABOR UNREST1870-1900

Labor Unions & Labor Leaders

• Knights of Labor 1869– Uriah Stephens – Terence V. Powderly

AFL 1886Samuel Gompers

InternationalWorkers of theWorld (IWW)

or “Wobblies”

Big Bill Haywood

Violence was justified to overthrow capitalism

Knights of Labor

-Open to ALL workers

-Advocated arbitration, strikes should be a last resort

American Federation of Labor

-skilled workers only

-Used strikes as a major tactic, successful strikes led higher wages & shorter workweeks

IWW-Unskilled workers including African Americans

-Radical Unionsts and Socialists

Socialists

Eugene V. Debs

-Started working for RR at age 14

-Orgz. American Railway Union

-Read Karl Marx while in jail & became spokesperson for Socialist Party

-Will run for president 5 times

The Great Railroad Strike1877

-workers from B&O protested 2nd wage cut

-over 50,000 mi of track was stopped for over a week

-Prez. Hayes intervened with federal troops to stop strike because it interfered with interstate commerce

The Haymarket Riot 1886

-May 4th 3,000 people gathered at Chicago’s Haymarket Square to protest police brutality

-At 10am crowd began to disperse when police arrived and suddenly a bomb was tossed into police line

-Police fired on workers several died from each side

-No one ever learned who threw the bomb

-8 workers were convicted, 4 were hanged & public opinion began to turn against labor movement

Pullman Cars

Pullman Strike 1894

Mother Jones

• Marry Harris• Organizer of

the United Mine Workers

• Founded Social Democratic Party

• One of founding members of IWW

The Miner’s Angel

-supported Great Strike of 1877

-to expose child labor she led a march of 80 children mill workers with hideous injuries on the home of President Roosevelt

-led to passage of child labor laws

Triangle Shirtwaist FactoryAsch Building, 8th and 10th Floors

Triangle Shirtwaist FactoryAsch Building, 8th and 10th Floors

Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910

Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910

Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910

Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910

Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910

Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910

Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910

Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910

Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910

Typical NYC Sweatshop, 1910

Inside the Building After the FireInside the Building After the Fire

10th Floor After the Fire10th Floor After the Fire

Crumpled Fire Escape, 50 DiedCrumpled Fire Escape, 50 Died

Dead Bodies on the SidewalkDead Bodies on the Sidewalk

Scene at the MorgueScene at the Morgue

Relatives Review Bodies146 Dead

Relatives Review Bodies146 Dead

Most Doors Were LockedMost Doors Were Locked

One of the “Lucky” Ones?One of the “Lucky” Ones?

Rose Schneiderman

The LastSurvivor

Rose Schneiderman

The LastSurvivor

Page of the

New York Journal

Page of the

New York Journal

One of the Many FuneralsOne of the Many Funerals

Protestors March to City HallProtestors March to City Hall

Out of the AshesOut of the Ashes► ILGWU membership surged.

► NYC created a Bureau of Fire Prevention.

► New strict building codes were passed.

► Tougher fire inspection of sweatshops.

► Growing momentum of support for women’s suffrage.