Unions 3-4

Working in the US Factories Dangerous Work was dull Repetitive tasks Lint, dust, toxic fumes No safety devices Rise in Standard of living Average worker's wage rose 50% 1900 – 22c per hour/ worked 59 hrs per week Deflation 1865-1897 Prices fall – increased the buying power of workers wages Working in the US

Craft workers – had special skills and training -> more money & worked their own hours Machinists Iron molders –Iron Molders’ International Union Stonecutters Shoemakers – Knights of St. Crispin Printers - International Typographical Union Common laborers – few skills and no training -> lower wages & long hours Employers had to negotiate with unions because they needed the skilled workers Early Unions

Management vs. Labor “scabs” P. R. campaign Pinkertons lockout “Tools” of Labor “scabs” P. R. campaign Pinkertons lockout blacklisting yellow-dog contracts court injunctions open shop boycotts sympathy demonstrations informational picketing closed shops organized strikes “wildcat” strikes Management vs. Labor

Did this work? YES – no laws gave workers the right to form unions and go on strike Courts frequently ruled that strikes were "conspiracies in restraint of trade"

Railroad Strike of 1877

Railroad Strike of 1877 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad July 1877 – Cut wages for the third time Martinsburg, WV – workers walked off & blocked tracks 80,000 railroad workers Smashed equipment, tore up tracks, blocked rails in NYC, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, St. Louis & Chicago Militias called out – gun battles President called out federal troops 12 Days for police, state and federal troops to restore order $10 Million in RR property destroyed Railroad Strike of 1877

Knights of Labor - 1869 Eight-hour workday. Workers’ cooperatives. Boycotts & Arbitration Welcomed Women and African Americans Goals: Eight-hour workday. Workers’ cooperatives. Worker-owned factories. Abolition of child and prison labor. Increased circulation of greenbacks. Equal pay for men and women. Safety codes in the workplace. Prohibition of contract foreign labor. Abolition of the National Bank Terence V. Powderly Knights of Labor - 1869

Haymarket Riot - 1886 Nation Wide strike May 1 Fight broke out in Chicago – police opened fire Next day 3,000 gathered in Haymarket square Someone threw a bomb Police and workers shot at each other 170 people hurt & 10 police were killed 8 arrested for the bombing, 4 executed Haymarket Riot - 1886

Homestead Steel Strike Homestead – Summer 1892 Henry Clay Frick – Manager of Pen. Steal mill Frick wanted to cut wages 20% Locked out Union employees Pinkerton bring in replacements Fights between strikers and Pinkerton Many killed & injured over 14 hours Homestead Steel Strike

Pullman Strikes Pullman, IL “A Company Town” Founded and ran by George Pullman Model city Library, groceries stores, schools but no taverns 20,000 workers Pullman Strikes

Pullman Strikes 1894 – Depression caused business to plummet Pullman cut wages, but KEPT rent and prices high Workers allied with American Railway Union (ARU) Refused to handle Pullman cars Made sleeper and luxury railcars Workers in 23 states joined the ARU strikes Mail Cars – Injunction -> Cleveland sent in Federal Troops Pullman Strikes

AFL (American Federation of Labor) Catered to the skilled worker. Represented workers in matters of national legislation. Maintained a national strike fund. Evangelized the cause of unionism. Prevented disputes among the many craft unions. Mediated disputes between management and labor. Pushed for closed shops. 8 Hour workday AFL (American Federation of Labor)

IWW & Women Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) “One Big Union” Skilled & Unskilled workers Used strikes Most failed 1912 – Successful strike 25,000 textile workers Company gave in after 10 weeks IWW & Women

IWW & Women Women by 1900 were 18% of work force 1/3 were domestic servants, 1/3 teachers, nurses, sales clerks, 1/3 garment industry and food- processing plants Paid Less & not accepted into unions Mary Harris Jones “Mother Jones” Knight of Labor Mary Kenney O’Sullivan & Leonora O’Reilly Woman's Trade Union League (WTUL) 8 hour day, minimum wage, end of evening work for women and end to child labor IWW & Women