The Organized Labor Movement Essential Question: How did the rise of labor unions shape relations among workers, big business and government?
Workers 12hrs a day; 6 days a week Worked in sweatshops Owners clocked work and break hours Employees fined for breaking rules or working slowly Workspace was dim, overheated and poorly ventilated Machines so dangerous, people lost their lives
Families in the Workforce Women started working Children contributed to family income Children suffered from physical and mental growth Labor unions worked to stop child labor
Space rented to employees; if you left the job, you lost your home Company Towns Live near workspace Space rented to employees; if you left the job, you lost your home Portion of income would go towards housing Segregated by race
Labor Unions Used collective bargaining techniques Negotiated for 10hr. Workdays Socialism (society controls wealth, not private few; wealth should be spread evenly) Led by Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels in Communist Manifesto Rejected by American public Labor unions used ideas to support goals for social reform
Knights of Labor—union for ppl in trades Led by Terence Powderly Encourage boycotts and negotiations American Federation of Labor (AFL) Craft union led by Samuel Gompers Had a membership fee used as a pension for workers on strike
Strikes in the US Haymarket—1886 Demonstration for 8 hour workday Strikes erupted into fights with strikebreakers Police had to stop it 3 days later, protesters gather at Haymarket Square in Chicago Protestor throws a bomb, kills a policeman
Homestead—1892 Carnegie Steel plan cuts wages Workers strike Bring in Pinkertons (private police who break up strikes) Pinkertons kill and wound strikers; lasts 2 weeks Caused by growing depression
Pullman—1893—Pullman Palace Car Company Laid off workers and reduced wages by 25% Did not reduce housing rent American Railway Union led by Eugene Debs got RR workers across the US to strike 300,000 strike; halts mail delivery President Grover Cleveland sends federal troops to end the strike
This image, a response to the Pullman Strike, depicts labor leader Eugene V. Debs perched atop a railroad bridge. RR cars-fruit, beef, fresh veggies bridge is cutting off traffic of RR Factories have closed signes---helped mobilize opinons against strikers
Target Goal Create a cartoon (at least 6 panels) to outline how the rise of labor unions shaped relations among workers, big business and government. When you’re finished, work on Vocab 1 or target goals from this week you have not finished.