What is the purpose of a labor union?

Labor Union an organization of workers formed for the purpose of advancing its members' interests in respect to wages, benefits, and working conditions Merriam-Webster Dictionary

How a union works? Most gain power through collective bargaining Unions negotiating with employers on behalf of all employees try to gain better pay, conditions, et cetera for the whole group The unions power lies in its numbers, unity & ability to take action (strike…?) BUT the employer can always hire scabs or make employees sign yellow dog contracts

Unions in America As early as revolutionary period unions existed in America, mostly temporary & based on individual crafts Became more widespread, more diverse and more permanent during the 19th century Disband when demands met promise not to unionize - In 1932, yellow-dog contracts were outlawed in the United States under the Norris-LaGuardia Ac – only private sector not public – teachers not allowed to until 1960s

Organized Labor NLU, 1866, William Sylus, no women or African Americans, working conditions & politics Knights of Labor, 1869, Uriah Stephens, everyone, working conditions & politics AFL, 1886, Samuel Gompers, skilled only, working conditions IWW, 1905, Bob Haywood, unskilled base, anyone could be part, get rid of capitalism NOT A UNION – Socialist Party of America, 1895, Eugene Debs, anyone

IWW KNIGHTS NLU AFL-CIO Socialism

Most Conservative American Federation of Labor Craftsmen only (skilled) Work conditions and rates of pay ONLY In 1955, the AFL merged with its longtime rival, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, to form the AFL-CIO, a federation which remains in place to this day. Together with its offspring, the AFL has comprised the longest lasting and most influential labor federation in the United States.

Middle of the Road NLU Knights of Labor Incorporated more people Political agenda (prison labor, land reform, currency reform) Knights of Labor All 8 hour day - Political agenda (government ownership railroads, telegraphs, telephones) s only about 5% of all workers belonged to unions

Most Radical IWW workers unite to do away with capitalism SPLIT – stay with Socialists? "Capitalists of America, we will fight against you, not for you! There is not a power in the world that can make the working class fight if they refuse." DO AWAY WITH THROUGH STRIKES The government used World War I as an opportunity to crush the IWW. In September 1917, U.S. Department of Justice agents made simultaneous raids on forty-eight IWW meeting halls across the country. In 1917, one hundred and sixty-five IWW leaders were arrested for conspiring to hinder the draft, encourage desertion, and intimidate others in connection with labor disputes, under the new Espionage Act; one hundred and one went on trial before Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis in 1918. 1917, during an incident known as the Tulsa Outrage, a group of black-robed Knights of Liberty, a short-lived faction of the Ku Klux Klan, tarred and feathered seventeen members of the IWW in Oklahoma. The IWW members had been turned over to the Knights of Liberty by local authorities after they were convicted of the crime of not owning war bonds. Five other men who testified in defense of the Wobblies were also fined by the court and subjected to the same torture and humiliations at the hands of the Knights of Liberty.[22] of 2005, the 100th anniversary of its founding, the IWW had around 5,000 members, compared to 13 million members in the AFL-CIO.[36] Other IWW branches are located in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

The few own the many because they possess the means of livelihood of all ... The country is governed for the richest, for the corporations, the bankers, the land speculators, and for the exploiters of labor. The majority of mankind are working people. So long as their fair demands - the ownership and control of their livelihoods - are set at naught, we can have neither men's rights nor women's rights. The majority of mankind is ground down by industrial oppression in order that the small remnant may live in ease." — Helen Keller, IWW member, 1911

What happened to the unions of the progressive era?

What happens to them? NLU – divided Knights – Haymarket AFL – Survived IWW – Pretty dead after WWI What determined which were successful?

Major Strikes & Their Impacts on Unions Haymarket Riot 1886 -May 3 - 2 workers killed & others wounded by police - McCormick Reaper Works workers rally for an 8 hour day -May 4, 1886 rally organized by radicals – bomb thrown & police fire -8 charged & convicted, 7 sentenced to death Pullman Strike 1894 http://video.ezinemark.com/impact-of-the-pullman-strike-430e4f3d150.html http://www.democracynow.org/2005/12/21/mayor_bloomberg_condemns_new_york_city\ Transit strike On May 3, striking workers in Chicago met near the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company plant. Union molders at the plant had been locked out since early February and the predominantly Irish-American workers at McCormick had come under attack from Pinkerton guards during an earlier strike action in 1885. This event, along with the eight-hour militancy of McCormick workers, had gained the strikers some respect and notoriety around the city. By the time of the 1886 general strike, strikebreakers entering the McCormick plant were under protection from a garrison of 400 police officers. Although half of the replacement workers defected to the general strike on May 1, McCormick workers continued to harass strikebreakers as they crossed the picket lines. Speaking to a rally outside the plant on May 3, August Spies advised the striking workers to "hold together, to stand by their union, or they would not succeed."[27] Well-planned and coordinated, the general strike to this point had remained largely nonviolent. When the end-of-the-workday bell sounded, however, a group of workers surged to the gates to confront the strikebreakers. Despite calls for calm by Spies, the police fired on the crowd. Two McCormick workers were killed (although some newspaper accounts said there were six fatalities).[28] Spies would later testify, "I was very indignant. I knew from experience of the past that this butchering of people was done for the express purpose of defeating the eight-hour movement."[27] August 1886, eight men, labeled as anarchists, were convicted in a sensational and controversial trial in which the jury was considered to be biased and no solid evidence was presented linking the defendants to the bombing. Judge Joseph E. Gary imposed the death sentence on seven of the men, and the eighth was sentenced to 15 years in prison. On November 11, 1887, four of the men were hanged. Of the additional three who were sentenced to death, one committed suicide on the eve of his execution and the other two had their death sentences commuted to life in prison by Illinois Governor Richard J. Oglesby In all, seven policemen and at least four workers were killed

Unions Victories ½ strikes lead to demands being met Victorious: Anthracite Coal Strike 1902 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxO24cTGCeI Politically fight for: Child labor legislation Work days/hours Muller v. Oregon (1908) – women only – 10 hour Bunting v. Oregon (1917) – men too – 10 hour Workmen’s compensation What is missing?

Average Work Week in Hours Weekly Wages and Hours in Manufacturing Average Work Week in Hours Hourly Wage Average Annual Wage 1890 60 20 cents 1900 59 22 cents $400-500 1910 56.6 26 cents 1920 51 66 cents $1,424 1930 42 55 cents $1,368 1940 38 $1,300 1950 40.5 $1.46 $3,008

What hindered unions the most?

Labor Unions in Action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5arsHVN5CTo& feature=related