Labor Force Distribution

The Changing American Labor Force

“Galley Labor”

Labor Unrest:

Management vs. Labor “Tools” of Management “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

The Corporate “Bully-Boys”: Pinkerton Agents

A Striker Confronts a SCAB!

Knights of Labor (1869) Terence V. Powderly An injury to one is the concern of all! ù Sought to unite all of America’s workers ù Accepted Farm hands Farm hands Factory workers Factory workers Women Women African Americans African Americans Immigrants Immigrants ù Excluded  Gamblers  Lawyers  Bankers  Doctors  Liquor dealers

Goals of the Knights of Labor ù Eight-hour workday. ù Workers’ cooperatives. ù Worker-owned factories. ù Abolition of child and prison labor. ù Increased circulation of greenbacks. ù Equal pay for men and women. ù Safety codes in the workplace. ù Prohibition of contract foreign labor. ù Abolition of the National Bank.

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877  First nationwide strike  Baltimore & Ohio RR cut wages by 10% BUT gave a 10% dividend to stockholders  Brakemen in WV walked out on strike  Strike spread quickly along the rail routes  Strikers halted all train traffic  Unemployed and workers in other industries joined the protest  Mobs defied militia sent to disperse them  Rioting persisted for about a week  President Hayes called out the army to suppress the strike  Federal troops fired into a crowd in Pittsburg, killing 20  By the end of the strike over 100 were dead  Result:  Weakened railroad unions  Damaged reputation of labor unions because of the disruption and failure

Haymarket Riot (1886) McCormick Reaper workers demand 8hr workdayMcCormick Reaper workers demand 8hr workday Police harassment of workers/strikers killed 4 strikers the day before, called for a meeting in Haymarket SquarePolice harassment of workers/strikers killed 4 strikers the day before, called for a meeting in Haymarket Square Police ordered people to disperse, bomb was thrown (killed 6 officers, 67 injured)Police ordered people to disperse, bomb was thrown (killed 6 officers, 67 injured) 8 anarchists convicted of murder, unjust trial, they were scapegoats8 anarchists convicted of murder, unjust trial, they were scapegoats –7 sentenced to death  1 suicide, 4 executed, 2 terms to life in prison

Haymarket Riot (1886) McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.  Workers McCormick Harvesting Machine Company of Chicago go on strike (spring)  Workers demanded an 8hr workday  60-hour work weeks were common.  The company locked out the workers and hired strikebreakers, a common practice at the time.

Haymarket Riot (1886)  May 1, 1886 – nationwide general strike for 8hr day  45,000 workers parade down Michigan Ave in support  May 3 – protest outside the McCormick plant resulted in violence  May 4 – A mass meeting to protest what was seen as brutality by the police  Number of radical and anarchist speakers addressed a crowd of approximately 1,500 people.  Meeting = peaceful, BUT the mood became confrontational when the police tried to disperse the crowd.  Bomb thrown at police  Police fired into crowd

Haymarket Aftermath  Provoke fear & anger toward:  Anarchist  Labor unions  Strikers  Immigrants  Working class  Eight men tried = ALL guilty  4 executed  1 suicide  3 prison sentences

The American Federation of Labor (1886) ù Loose federation of 100+ craft unions Organized skilled worker. Organized skilled worker. ù Represented workers in matters of national legislation. ù Used strike to gain higher pay & better working conditions ù Maintained a national strike fund. ù Mediated disputes between management and labor. ù Pushed for closed shops.

Big Corporate Profits!

Homestead Steel Strike (1892) The Amalgamated Association of Iron & Steel Workers  Carnegie want to crush Union  Refuses to allow Union to negotiate for non-union workers  Workers strike  Frick builds a fence, locks strikers out & hires Pinkertons  Conflict b/w workers & Pinkertons led to violence  PA governor send in national guard

Attempted Assassination! Henry Clay Frick Alexander Berkman  Public attention turned against workers  Linked anarchism & unions  Workers gave up  Union leaders blackballed  12hr day, lower wages and 500 fewer jobs

The Pullman Strike of 1894

A “Company Town”: Pullman, IL A “Company Town”: Pullman, IL  Wages cut by 28%  Pullman refused to lower rents  90% of Pullman workers strike  American Railway Union (ARU) joins boycott of Pullman cars  Boycott spread to 15 RRs & 27 states

President Grover Cleveland If it takes the entire army and navy to deliver a postal card in Chicago, that card will be delivered!  Cleveland called in Army  Violence erupted  Troops killed 25 workers and wounded 60+  Debs arrested for violating court injunction  ARU, boycott & strike defeated  Significance  Courts & gov’t side with industrialists

International Workers of the World (“Wobblies”)  Violence was justified to overthrow capitalism.

The Hand That Will Rule the World  One Big Union

Mother Jones: “The Miner’s Angel”  Mary Harris.  Organizer for the United Mine Workers.  Founded the Social Democratic Party in  One of the founding members of the I. W. W. in 1905.

Lawrence, MA Strike: 1912

The “Bread & Roses” Strike DEMANDS: ù15¢/hr. wage increase. ùDouble pay for overtime. ùNo discrimination against strikers. ùAn end to “speed-up” on the assembly line. ùAn end to discrimination against foreign immigrant workers.

Lawrence, MA Strike: 1912

The “Formula” Unions +v+v+v+violence +s+s+s+strikes +s+s+s+socialists +i+i+i+immigrants Anarchists

Labor’s Weaknesses ù Principal labor organizations represented only a small percentage of the industrial work force.  ONLY 4% of industrial workers belonged to a Union in ù Reasons for not organizing:  Immigrants — make some money in America and return home  American workers —believed they were not going to be part of a permanent working class They or their children would become a higher position in society. They or their children would become a higher position in society. ù People rather low paying jobs than no jobs ù Middle Class resented unions = believed radical workers at heart of all problems

Labor Union Membership

Workers Benefits Today

The Rise & Decline of Organized Labor

Right-to-Work States Today

Unionism & Globalization?