Labor Unions and Strikes

Labor
Unions
and
Strikes
Child Labor
What were working conditions
like in 1800’s?
•
•
•
•
6 or 7 days a week
10-12 hours a day
little break time
no vacation or sick
leave
• no insurance for
injuries
• In 1882, an average of 675
workers were killed PER
WEEK on the job
LABOR UNIONS EMERGE
• Labor UnionOrganization that
represents workers
and protects them
• Fights for better pay
and better working
conditions
The First National Unions
Knights of Labor
Led by Terence
Powderly
“An injury to one is the concern of all!”
Knights of Labor
• Skilled and Unskilled
workers
• Women and African
Americans joined
• Bankers, doctors,
lawyers, were
excluded
• Short-lived and
virtually dead by
1900
Knights of Labor
• Preferred
arbitration over
strikes
• Arbitrationmethod of
resolving a
dispute in which a
third party renders
a decision
The A.F. of L
• Unions from all around
country united
• Variety of professions
• Focused on collective
bargaining
The American Federation
of Labor
LeaderLeader-Samuel Gompers
Collective Bargaining
When a labor
union
negotiates a
contract for
all its
workers
Bread and Butter Unionism
IWW- Industrial Workers of the World
(“Wobblies”)
It focused on
attainable
goals such as
better pay,
shorter hours
and better
working
conditions
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
•
•
•
•
Railroad workers oppose salary cuts
Destroy trains and tracks
Military ends strike
Over 100 dead across country
Socialist Union
that demanded
government
control of
major
industries
“Big Bill” Haywood of
the IWW justified the
use of violence
Haymarket Riot
Protest over
working
conditions
leads to 7
police and 4
protesters dead
Homestead Steel Strike
• Carnegie’s Factory
• Workers strike protesting wage cuts
• Violent battle occurs and union is
defeated
Pullman Strike
• Leads to
nationwide shut
down of
railroads
• President
Cleveland sends
in Army to stop
strike
Management vs. Labor
“Tools” of
Management
0“scabs”
scabs”
0Pinkertons
“Tools”
Tools” of
Labor
0boycotts
0lockout
0sympathy
demonstrations
0blacklisting
0picketing
0court
injunctions
0strikes
Early Strikes and
Tactics of Labor
0boycotts
0sympathy
demonstrations
0picketing
0strikes
Great Railroad Strike
1877
Haymarket Riot
1886
Homestead Strike
1892
Pullman Strike
1894
Why did Strikes Fail?
Government
supported
business
owners
Reasons for Unpopularity
• Violence
• Unions viewed as
Anti-American
• Immigrants
• Some contained
Communists,
Socialists, and/or
Anarchists
Eugene Debs
• Union leader who
was jailed for
role in Pullman
strike
• Ran for President
5 times as
Socialist Party of
America
candidate