Chapter 20 Section 1 Part 2 The Labor Unions

A Time of Labor Unrest  Government wouldn’t allow striking during the War  1919 U.S. saw more than 3,000 strikes with more than 4 million workers walking off jobs

Labor Problems:  Wages not keeping up with prices  Bosses didn’t want to raises or unions  union members seen as revolutionaries  Labeled striking workers as communists

Project Directions:  Groups will work on a poster (some will be strike posters representing the strikes while others will represent anti-strike propaganda)  You are to devise a poster representing your cause  On this poster you will have a slogan and an artistic depiction of that slogan

The Boston Police Strike  Not given a raise since before the war  Denied right to unionize  Representatives asked for raise and were fired  Remaining men decided to strike

Governor Coolidge and the Police Strike  Called the National Guard to restore order  The police called off the strike  Police commissioner hired new police officers to take their places

American Federation of Labor  When AFL leader Samuel Gompers appealed to Coolidge, Coolidge said:  “There is no right to stike against the public safety by anyone, anywhere, anytime.”

Coolidge for President  Coolidge received press that shot him to the White House.  People praised Coolidge for saving Boston from communism/anarchy  1920, he became the vice president nominee with Warren G. Harding who won.

The Steel Mill Strike  Working conditions were extemely difficult and dangerous  Many worked seven 12-hour days a week.  U.S. Steel Corporation refused to meet with union representatives  300,000 workers walked off their jobs

What did they want?  The right to organize and bargain with their employer  Shorter working hours  A living wage

Anti-Strike Propaganda  Strikebreakers were hired  workers who agreed to work during the strike  Strikers were beaten by police, federal troops, and state militia  18 workers were killed  Linked strikers to communism

 Oct – negotiations between labor and management produced a deadlock  President Wilson made written pleas to both negotiators

What did the steel workers get?  Eight-hour workday  Remained without a union

The Coal Miners’ Strike  Unionism more successful in coalfields  1919 – United Mine Workers of America (organized since 1890) got John L. Lewis as new leader  Lewis called union’s members out on strike (Nov. 1, 1919)

What did they want?  More money  Shorter workdays

Attorney General Palmer  obtained court order sending miners back to work  Lewis declared it over but quietly said to continue  Mines stayed closed an additional month (defiance of the court order)

What happened and what did they get?  President Wilson appointed arbitrator, or judge, to put an end to the dispute  27% wage increase was granted though no shorter workdays or workweeks (not until 1930’s)  Lewis became a national hero

Why did Union Membership drop? 1. Much workforce immigrants who had no choice but to work in such conditions 2. Language barrier made it impossible to organize immigrants 3. Farmers, who were looking for jobs in factories, were used to relying on themselves

Most unions excluded African Americans  By 1929 – 82,000 African Americans (less than 1% of their population) were apart of unions while just over 3% whites were  African Americans joined unions like: Mineworkers’, Longshoremans’, or Railroad Porters’

 1925 – A. Philip Randolph founded Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters to help African Americans gain a fair wage.  American’s faith fading in unions and President