Luddites and Labor Unions

Workers in a New Economy The new factory system changed families, towns, industry, and the nature of labor Factories required a large amount of capital ($) to build factories and install machines

3 Levels of Participants Wealthy business people: Investors/Owners Mid level employees: Ran factories and supervised daily operations Low level employees: Physically run the machines Investors expected a profit and shared little money with employees who were paid hourly

Value and Quality No single worker was responsible for the quality of the finished product= very little incentive to improve job performance Workers were plentiful- job could be easily taken away and given to someone else Employers preferred to hire women and children because they would accept lower wages and take orders more readily

Cottage Workers Unrest Handmade goods became more expensive than factory made items so they had a difficult time selling 1811 Textile Factory attacked in Nottingham, England This marked the beginning of the Luddite movement Luddites opposed machines that were “hurtful to the commonality” or in other words that put people out of work. Burned factories, smashed machines Avoided injuring people

Changing Labor Conditions GB gov did not want to get involved in factory problems: Did not see regulating business as their job Idea that if the gov provided too much help to poor people they would lose their incentive to work= Did not pass labor laws (work hours, safety, child labor, etc.) Urged employers to raise wages and improve conditions Strikes began Why might workers be reluctant to strike?

Labor Unions At first Parliament banned labor unions 1832 Parliament hears the Sadler Report Described abuses in factories Passed laws to limit work hours Children needed to be at least 9 1871 Parliament legalized labor unions

Woolen Workers Petition See attachment in email or schoolwires

Luddites Interactive Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JAWWhPzCsQ