Industry and Immigration (1865-1914) Lesson 3 The Organized Labor Movement

Industry and Immigration (1865-1914) Lesson 3 The Organized Labor Movement Learning Objectives Assess the impact of business practices on workers in the late 1800s. Compare the goals and strategies of the first labor unions. Analyze the causes and effects of strikes in the late 1800s.

Industry and Immigration (1865-1914) Lesson 3 The Organized Labor Movement Key Terms sweatshops company towns collective bargaining socialism Knights of Labor Terence V. Powderly Samuel Gompers American Federation of Labor (AFL) Haymarket Riot Homestead Strike Eugene V. Debs, Pullman Strike

Workers Endure Difficulties As industrialization intensified, the success of the booming American economy relied heavily on its workers. But struggles between business owners and workers also intensified, as workers rebelled against low pay and unsafe working conditions. To keep the economy thriving, Americans had to find ways to ease the tensions between business owners and workers.

Workers Endure Difficulties The Hardships of Factory Work Children in the Workplace Company Towns and Wage Slavery

Workers Endure Difficulties Women working on a sewing machine in a shoe factory in the late nineteenth century.

The Growth of Labor Unions Industrialization and free enterprise lowered the prices of consumer goods but helped business investors gain large profits. Workers usually did not object to their employer making a profit from their work. After all, if the business was not profitable, it could close and leave workers jobless. Keeping companies profitable was in the best interest of the workers as well.

The Growth of Labor Unions Early Labor Protests Socialism Influences Labor The Knights of Labor A New Organization for Workers

The Growth of Labor Unions Many working-class families struggled to get by on low wages.

The Growth of Labor Unions Different labor unions continued to advocate for worker's rights.Analyze Tables How were all of these labor unions similar? What were some ways in which they differed?

Labor Unions Lead Protests As membership in labor unions rose and labor activists became more skilled in organizing large-scale protests, a wave of bitter confrontations between labor and management hit the nation. The first major strike occurred in the railroad industry in 1877. Striking workers, responding to wage cuts, caused massive property destruction in several cities. State militias were called in to protect strikebreakers, or temporary workers hired to perform the jobs of striking workers. Finally, the federal government sent in troops to restore order. In the decades to follow, similar labor disputes would affect businesses, the government, and the organization of labor unions themselves.

Labor Unions Lead Protests Workers Protest in Chicago Steelworkers Clash with the Pinkertons A Union Addresses Social Issues in a Pullman Town The Impact of Labor Unions

Labor Unions Lead Protests Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) rally in protest in Union Square in New York City, New York.

Labor Unions Lead Protests Company towns like this one provided everything workers would need, but at a significant cost.Analyze Graphs What reasons account for the workers' complaints about Pullman?

Quiz: Workers Endure Difficulties What does the term “wage slavery” refer to? A. The practice of paying low wages for extremely long hours of work B. The fact that mine workers had no place to live but in a “company town” C. The fact that workers couldn’t leave a job while owing money to the employer D. The reality of laboring in a mine while undergoing ethnic competition and distrust

Quiz: The Growth of Labor Unions The AFL differed from the Knights of Labor in that A. the AFL preferred their members not strike. B. the AFL did not charge membership dues. C. the AFL welcomed skilled and unskilled workers. D. the AFL did not advocate for broad social change.

Quiz: Labor Unions Lead Protests From the first major strike in 1877 through the Pullman strike in 1893, all major strikes A. were unsuccessful. B. made only small gains for workers. C. involved the use of federal troops. D. involved anarchists and arrests.