Miss Smith 7 th Grade Civics *pgs

 The Industrial Revolution changed the way products were made and how people worked  Machines were invented to manufacture goods faster and more cheaply than human workers  Businesses built factories to house their machines and workers

 Harsh conditions  6 day work weeks  12-16hr days  Dangerous machinery

 Labor unions- organizations of workers formed to improve workers’ wages and working conditions

 Workers would demand better wages and working conditions  Collective bargaining- union leaders and employer representatives meet to reach an agreement on an issue  This usually involves a compromise

 Strike- labor union members walk off a job if employers do not agree to union demands  Picketing- marching in front of one’s workplace, often with signs, to encourage other workers not to work  Sit-down strike- workers occupy the factory, but refuse to work  Job action- work slowdown or action short of a strike

 Would blacklist members of unions so they couldn’t find work  Use armed guards and even the police and state militias to deter strikers

 National strikes threatened the country’s economy  The first president to support labor unions was Theodore Roosevelt

 Congress began passing labor laws to:  regulate unions, labor negotiations, and strikes  Prevent employers from using unfair practices

 A.k.a. the Wagner Act  Guarantees the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively through representatives

 A.k.a the Taft-Hartley Act  Allows the president to have the labor union delay a strike for up to 80 days to protect national welfare

 Mediation- method of settling labor disputes in which an expert on labor relations examines an issue and recommends a solution  Arbitration- labor expert’s decision on a labor issue is binding on both sides