American History II: Note Set #8: The Rise of Labor
Working Conditions in the Factories
Worked long shifts, 6 days a week, no vacations
Dangerous machinery led to 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 with no benefits
Factory owners often hired women and children because:
They were smaller, so there was more room for machinery
They were cheaper – women and children were paid less than half of what grown men were
They were easier to intimidate with beatings and abuse
To fight for better working conditions, workers began to form labor unions - organizations where workers bargained as a group, rather than individually, for raises, benefits, and working conditions
Types of Labor Unions
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.)
Industrial Unions
United all craft and trade workers in a particular industry into a single union
Example: United Auto Workers unites everyone who works in the auto manufacturing industries
How Could Labor Unions Force Factory Owners to Give Them What They Wanted?
Go on strikes: workers refused to perform their jobs in protest
Organize boycotts: unions 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 between labor and management
Arbitration: allowing a neutral third party to hear both sides’ arguments and make a final, binding ruling
Create closed shops: agreement where employers could only hire union members, non-union workers were banned from the workplace
How Could Factory Owners Force Workers to Not Join Unions?
Yellow-dog contracts: employment contracts which forbade workers from joining unions
Blacklists: fire union organizers and then share their names with other factories so that they would not get hired at other factories
Lockouts: close factories to punish workers for unionizing
Hire scabs: bring in new (often minority) workers to replace union workers who were on strike
Injunctions: sought legal court orders that forbade strikes
Hire strikebreakers: hired thugs (often off-duty police) to violently attack workers who were on strike
How Did the U.S. Government Often Respond to Labor Disputes?
Congress passed laws that supported factory owners over labor unions
Federal courts often ruled that unions and strikes were illegal conspiracies and authorized the use of physical force to break strikes when necessary
U.S. Presidents even used the Army to break strikes that threatened the economy
History of Late-19th Century Labor Disputes
The Great Railway Strike of 1877
80,000 railroad workers went on strike to protest pay cuts; they did millions of dollars in damage to the railroads before U.S. President Hayes ordered the Army to break the strike (leading to over 100 strikers being killed)
The Knights of Labor (1869 – 1949): National workers’ organization
Wanted an 8-hour workday, equal pay for women, ban on child labor
In May 1886, several unions (including the Knights of Labor) called for a one-day general strike to promote the 8-hour workday
After strikers and police clashed in Chicago, leaving one striker dead, a group of anarchists (people who hate all government) staged a protest in Haymarket Square
When police arrived to break up the protest, a bomb was set off, followed by a gun battle, and 8 policemen were killed in what came to be known as the Haymarket Riot
8 anarchists were arrested, including one who was a member of the Knights of Labor; 4 of them would later be executed for their role in the policemen's deaths
After the Haymarket Riot, the Knights lost popularity for being associated with anarchists
The American Federation of Labor (AFL): In 1886, 20+ unions merged into the AFL
Focus was to get companies to recognize unions, agree to collective bargaining, accept closed shops, and agree to an 8-hour work day
First leader was Samuel Gompers (1850 – 1924), who kept the AFL out of politics and rejected the ideals of socialism, communism, and anarchism which many other unions supported
AFL was largely successful under Gompers, thanks to his avoidance of strikes and boycotts
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 factory with high fences and guard towers and trying to hire scabs
Striking workers attacked the factory, refused to allow the scabs to enter the factory
Carnegie sent 300 strikebreakers to secure the factory, but they were captured by the strikers
Finally the governor of Pennsylvania sent in the state militia to end the violence
Under the protection of 4000 soldiers, the factory reopened with (mostly black) replacement workers and the strike was broken; the union voted to accept the pay cut and go back to work
The Pullman Strike (May 1894)
The Pullman Company (which built train cars), required its workers to live in the town of Pullman, IL and buy goods from company owned stores
When Pullman cut wages, it led to workers struggling to meet their rent or buy necessities
Workers who complained were fired, leading the other workers to go on strike
Members of the American Railway Union nation-wide refused to work on any Pullman-built cars to show support for the strikers; this slowed railroad traffic
The railroads arranged for the 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 mail
This prompted the US government to get involved to ensure the delivery of the mail
Pres. Grover Cleveland ordered US troops to break the boycott of Pullman cars and end the strike to ensure the delivery of the mail
Union leader Eugene V. Debs (1855 – 1926) was sent to prison for his role in the Pullman Strike
While in prison, Debs became a socialist and later ran for President as the Socialist Party’s candidate 5 times; Debs' opposition to WWI would land him in prison a second time
Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL): created in 1903
Most unions excluded women workers because they weren’t the primary earners for families
Goals: 8-hour work day, creation of a minimum wage, ban on child labor
Popular Support for Unions Was Limited By Unions' Association With:
Marxists, who believed that labor should own and operate factories communally (socialism)
Anarchists, who opposed all government and were willing to use violence to achieve their ends (essentially terrorists)