Labor’s Response to Industrialism

Working Class Society begins to divide into two unequal groups based on wealth and power Working class includes : Men, Women and Children Treated like parts of the “machinery” 6 days/10 hours a day or More Earned $1 a day

Division of Labor~ Factory system relied on this Production divided into separate tasks, with one task assigned to each worker. Efficiency Hazardous Conditions: Deaths, toxic gas and dust Sweat Shops- constant threat of diseases-such as tuberculosis Lose job if protested

Child Labor Families couldn’t survive Children earned less then Adults- expected to do the same amount Some states enforced age laws usually 14 yrs-companies ignored 6 year olds-worked in cotton mills, 8 year olds-worked in coal mines

Unsanitary Living Conditions Slums-Heavily populated parts of a city marked by filth and squalor Tenements- run down apartment buildings of four to six stories, usually 4 families on each floor

Labor Living conditions and work conditions were horrible Worst part as economy slumped so do workers pay Workers could not bargain with employers or seek help from the government

Workers Unite Labor Unions- group of workers organized to protect the interests of its members 3 Goals= High wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions Power~ threats of strikes Strike- labor action in which workers simply refuse to go to work. ~easily shut down factories, railroads, or mines.

Difficult Start for National Labor Organizations Smaller unions join together to create large “national labor federation”- union in which they sought 8 hour work day, poor leadership led to collapse in 1872 “Yellow-dog contracts”- written pledges not to join a union ~ not hired unless you sign Black Lists- Union members and organizers are refused to be hired.

Common Goals, Different Strategies Knights of Labor- 8 hr work/day, equal pay, education for working class, Abolish child labor American Federation of Labor- increase wages, improved working conditions, limit work hrs, recognition of AFL Industrial Workers of the World- one single union, overthrow capitalism Page 181 Chart

Socialism- Political theory that advocates ownership of the means of production such as factories and farms, by the people rather than by capitalists and landowners. Collective Bargaining- Negotiations between employers and employee representatives by concerning wages, working conditions, and other terms of employment.

Railroad Strike of 1877 Government - Laissez-Faire (hands-off) Workers starved, children died, rage boils Railroads slash wages 1877 workers in WV strike – Nation wide Half the nations railways shut down Rutherford B Hayes- Calls Army-used federal troops to restore order and get trains rolling again (1st time)

Destruction of Union Depot

Haymarket Affair May 4, 1886- Haymarket square in Chicago Began as a rally for support of workers

Homestead strike June 30, 1892- Homestead, PA Carnegie steel and Association of Iron and Steel workers (AA)

Pullman Strike May 11, 1894 - Pullman Palace Car Company, walk out.

Government Favors Owners over workers Heroes of the Labor Movement Rose Schneiderman Samuel Gompers Mary Harris “mother” Jones Eugene V. Debs

Rose Schneiderman devoted most of her time to the Women's Trade Union League, which she later called "the most important influence on my life." Within a year, she was elected vice-president of the New York chapter, and thanks to a stipend provided by a member, she was able to work full-time organizing for the WTUL. After the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, she helped established the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and led its 1913 strike. Determined to outlaw sweatshop labor, she told New Yorkers, "I would be a traitor to those poor burned bodies if I came here to talk good fellowship. . . . Every year thousands of us are maimed. The life of men and women is so cheap and property is so sacred." Fought for fire-Safety laws and other union backed reforms

Samuel Gompers Started as a cigar maker and local union leader in NYC American Federation of Labor – president for 40 years Favored cooperation over strikes and resisted efforts to introduce socialist ideas into the AFL

Mary Harris “mother” Jones Helped coal miners, textile workers, and other form unions “Hell-Raiser”

Eugene V. Debs Locomotive fireman Helped found the American Railway Union and the Industrial Workers of the World Ran for president as member of Socialist Party of America (5X), last time while in prison