Download The Rise of Labor Unions

Chapter
Industrialization
and Workers
Warm Up Exercise
1. In 1860, where did most of the population in the U.S. reside?
2. What trends do you notice about the U.S. labor force in graph #2?
The Growing Work Force
Around 14 million people immigrated to the U.S.
between 1860 and 1900.
About 8-9 million people moved to cities during the
late 1800’s. Most of them fled poor economic
conditions on the nation’s farms.
Plentiful work in the factories lured the former
farmers, as did many of the new attractions of city
life.
Factory Work
Most factories were sweatshops—
shops where employees worked long
hours at low wages and under poor
working conditions.
Most laborers worked 12 hour days.
Worked 6 days a week and even
more sometimes.
In many industries, workers received
a fixed amount for each finished
piece—piecework.
Division of Labor- factory workers
performed one small part of
production repeatedly and often
never saw the finished product.
What are the pros & cons of this
system?
The Work Environment
Working Conditions:
Factory workers ruled by the clock.
Workers could be fired for being late,
talking, or refusing to do a task.
Factories were unsafe.
Children often performed unsafe work
and worked in dangerously unhealthy
conditions.
Business owner did not interact with
workers.
Workers seen as part of the
“machine”.
Working Families
In the 1880s, children made up more
than 5% of the industrial labor force.
Children often left school at the
age of 12 or 13 to work.
Girls sometimes took factory jobs so
that their brothers could stay in
school.
If an adult became too ill to work,
children as young as 6 or 7 had to
work.
No govt. assistance!
No unemployment!
In the 1890s and early 1900s states
began legislating child labor.
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/hine-photos/images/garment-workers.gif
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/hine-photos/images/garment-workers.gif
The Gap Between Rich and
Poor
In 1890, the richest 9% of Americans had nearly
75% of the national wealth.
The average worker earned only a few hundred
dollars a year.
Many workers resented the extravagant lifestyles of
many factory owners.
Some workers became politically active. A few were
drawn to the idea of socialism.
Socialists believe that society at large, not just
private individuals, should control a nation’s wealth.
That wealth, they say, should be distributed equally
to everyone.
The Rise of Labor Unions
Early Labor Unions
• Became strong after the Civil War
• Provided assistance to members in bad times
• Later expressed workers’ demands to employers
The Knights of Labor
• A national union
• Recruited skilled and unskilled workers, women, and
African Americans
• Emphasized education and social reform
The American
Federation of Labor
(AFL)
•
•
•
•
Led by Samuel Gompers
Was a craft union of skilled workers
A bread and butter union
Used collective bargaining as a strategy
Industrial Workers of
the World (IWW)
•
•
•
•
Known as “The Wobblies”
Organized unskilled workers
Had radical socialist leaders
Many violent strikes.
Workers routinely worked
6 or 7 days a week, had no
vacations, no sick leave,
and no compensation for
injuries
Injuries were common – In
1882, an average of 675
workers were killed PER
WEEK on the job
As conditions for laborers
worsened, workers realized
they needed to organize
The first large-scale
national organization of
workers was the National
Labor Union in 1866
The Colored National Labor
Union followed
Craft Unions were unions of
workers in a skilled trade
Samuel Gompers led the Cigar
Makers’ International Union to
join with other craft unions in
1886
Gompers became president of
the American Federation of Labor
(AFL)
He focused on collective
bargaining to improve conditions,
wages and hours
Some unions were formed
with workers within a
specific industry
Eugene Debs attempted this
Industrial Union with the
railway workers
In 1894, the new union won
a strike for higher wages
and at its peak had 150,000
members
EUGENE DEBS
Some unionists (including Debs)
turned to a socialism – an
economic and political system
based on government control of
business and property and an
equal distribution of wealth
among all citizens
The International Workers of the
World (IWW) or Wobblies, was
one such socialist union
PROMOTIONAL POSTER
FOR THE IWW
Several strikes turned deadly in
the late 19th century as workers
and owners clashed
The Great Strike of 1877:
Workers for the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad struck to protest
wage cuts
Other rail workers across the
country struck in sympathy
Federal troops were called in to
end the strike
The Great Strikes
Labor leaders continued to
push for change – and on May
4, 1886 3,000 people gathered
at Chicago’s Haymarket Square
to protest police treatment of
striking workers
A bomb exploded near the
police line – killing 7 cops and
several workers
Radicals were rounded up and
executed for the crime
Even Andrew Carnegie could
not escape a workers strike
Conditions and wages were
not satisfactory in his Steel
plant in Pennsylvania and
workers struck in 1892
Carnegie hired Pinkerton
Detectives to guard the
plant and allow scabs to
work
Detectives and strikers
clashed – 3 detectives and 9
strikers died
The National guard restored
order – workers returned to
work
After the Pullman Company
laid off thousands of
workers and cut wages, the
workers went on strike in
the spring of 1894
Eugene Debs (American
Railroad Union) tried to
settle dispute which turned
violent
Pullman hired scabs and
fired the strikers – Federal
troops were brought in
Debs was jailed
Although women were barred
from most unions, they did
organize behind powerful
leaders such as Mary Harris
Jones
She organized the United Mine
Workers of America
Mine workers gave her the
nickname, “Mother Jones”
Pauline Newman organized the
International Ladies Garment
Workers Union at the age of 16
In 1911, a fire broke out
in a clothing factory.
Almost 150 women
workers died, in part
because they had been
locked inside.
The public was outraged
and some reforms
favoring workers were
passed.
The more powerful the unions
became, the more employers
came to fear them
Employers often forbade
union meetings and refused to
recognize unions
Employers forced new workers
to sign “Yellow Dog Contracts,”
swearing that they would
never join a union
Despite those efforts, the AFL
had over 2 million members
by 1914
Railroad Workers Organize
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
Railway workers protested unfair wage cuts
and unsafe working conditions.
The strike was violent and unorganized.
President Hayes sent federal troops to put
down the strikes.
From then on, employers relied on federal
and state troops to repress labor unrest.
Debs and the American Railway Union
At the time of the 1877 strike, railroad
workers mainly organized into various
“brotherhoods,” which were basically craft
unions.
Eugene V. Debs proposed a new industrial
union for all railway workers called the
American Railway Union (A.R.U.).
The A.R.U. unite all railroad workers, skilled
and unskilled.
http://www.communitywalk.com/photos/2/57/23642_l.jpg
IMMIGRANTION
AMERICA BECOMES A MELTING POT
IN THE LATE 19TH & EARLY 20TH
CENTURY
THE NEW IMMIGRANTS
Millions of immigrants
entered the U.S. in the late
19th and early 20th centuries
Some came to escape
difficult conditions, others
known as “birds of passage”
intended to stay only
temporarily to earn money,
and then return to their
homeland
EUROPEANS
Between 1870 and 1920, about
20 million Europeans arrived in
the United States
Before 1890, most were from
western and northern Europe
After 1890, most came from
southern and eastern Europe
All were looking for
opportunity
CHINESE
Between 1851 and 1882, about
300,000 Chinese arrived on the
West Coast
Some were attracted by the
Gold Rush, others went to work
for the railroads, farmed or
worked as domestic servants
An anti-Chinese immigration
act by Congress curtailed
immigration after 1882
Congress passed the Chinese
Exclusion Act in 1882. The act
prohibited Chinese laborers
from entering the country.
Many Chinese men worked
for the railroads
JAPANESE
In 1884, the Japanese
government allowed
Hawaiian planters to recruit
Japanese workers
The U.S. annexation of Hawaii
in 1898 increased Japanese
immigration to the west coast
By 1920, more than 200,000
Japanese lived on the west
coast
THE WEST INDIES AND MEXICO
Between 1880 and 1920, about
260,000 immigrants arrived in
the eastern and southeastern
United States form the West
Indies
They came from Jamaica, Cuba,
Puerto Rico, and other islands
Mexicans, too, immigrated to
the U.S. to find work and flee
political turmoil – 700,000
Mexicans arrived in the early
20th century
LIFE IN THE NEW LAND
In the late 19th century most
immigrants arrived via boats
The trip from Europe took
about a month, while it took
about 3 weeks from Asia
The trip was arduous and
many died along the way
Destination was Ellis Island for
Europeans, and Angel Island
for Asians
ELLIS ISLAND, NEW YORK
Ellis Island was the arrival point
for European immigrants
They had to pass inspection at
the immigration stations
Processing took hours, and the
sick were sent home
Immigrants also had to show that
they were not criminals, had
some money ($25), and were
able to work
From 1892-1924, 17 million
immigrants passed through Ellis
Island’s facilities
ELLIS ISLAND, NEW YORK HARBOR
ANGEL ISLAND, SAN FRANCISCO
Asians, primarily
Chinese, arriving on the
West Coast gained
admission at Angel
Island in the San
Francisco Bay
Processing was much
harsher than Ellis Island
as immigrants withstood
tough questioning and
long detentions in filthy
conditions
ANGEL ISLAND WAS CONSIDERED MORE HARSH THAN
ELLIS ISLAND
FRICTION DEVELOPS
While some immigrants tried to
assimilate into American
culture, others kept to
themselves and created ethnic
communities
Committed to their own culture,
but also trying hard to become
Americans, many came to think
of themselves as ItalianAmericans, Polish-Americans,
Chinese-Americans, etc
Some native born Americans
disliked the immigrants
unfamiliar customs and
languages – friction soon
Chinatowns are found in many
developed
major cities
IMMIGRANT RESTRICTIONS
As immigration increased, so
did anti-immigrant feelings
among natives
Nativism (favoritism toward
native-born Americans) led to
anti-immigrant organizations
and governmental restrictions
against immigration
In 1882, Congress passed the
Chinese Exclusion Act which
limited Chinese immigration
until 1943
Anti-Asian feelings included
restaurant boycotts