The first cars were very expensive.
Why does an assembly line speed up production? How would implementing an assembly line effect the cost of the final product? How easy would it be to replace an employee on an assembly line vs someone who makes a product from start to finish?
What was Henry Ford's great achievement in the production of automobiles? development of the assembly line
How did the assembly line lead to great efficiency? More products can be made in a shorter time products cost less to make products can be sold cheaper
I seriously hate my job!
Spent most of their working hours at the machines with little time for fresh air or exercise. There were some serious accidents: some children were scalped when their hair was caught in the machine, hands were crushed some children were killed when they went to sleep and fell into the machine.
Children were usually hit with a strap to make them work faster.
Coal miner boys
roofs sometimes caved in, explosions happened and workers got all sorts of injuries. There were very few safety rules. Cutting and moving coal which machines do nowadays was done by men, women and children.
Girls were preferred over boys. They were paid less, had smaller hands.
Children were also punished for arriving late for work and for talking to the other children.
In some factories children were dipped head first into the water tank if they became drowsy
Lawrence J. Hill, 17 years old, had four fingers mashed off by stamping machine in a lamp factory.
Why were immigrants used for factories? They would work for less
What were negatives that immigrants had to deal with in the workplace? Low wages Poor working conditions Long hours Little breaks
Strikes (work stoppages) are the primary tools that labor unions use to get what they want. Photo Credit: ~Prescott~Prescott Slide credit: tomrichey.net
Employers had many tools that they used to break strikes. Photo by florianric Breaking Strikes Slide credit: tomrichey.net
Breaking Strikes LOCKOUTS Slide credit: tomrichey.net
Breaking Strikes LOCKOUTS SCABS Replacement Workers
Breaking Strikes LOCKOUTS SCABS YELLOW DOG CONTRACTS “I won’t join a union.”
Breaking Strikes LOCKOUTS SCABS YELLOW DOG CONTRACTS BLACKLISTS Slide credit: tomrichey.net
Breaking Strikes LOCKOUTS SCABS YELLOW DOG CONTRACTS BLACKLISTS PINKERTONS Slide credit: tomrichey.net
Labor Unions = COMMUNISM SOCIALISM ANARCHISM Slide credit: tomrichey.net
A. Carnegie (Carnegie Steel) Henry Clay Frick (Homestead Manager) LOCKOUT SCABS PINKERTONS (1892) Slide credit: tomrichey.net
Strikers vs. Pinkertons 16 Killed 23 Wounded July 6, 1892 Slide credit: tomrichey.net
In 1886 delegates from over 20 of the nation’s trade unions organized the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The AFL’s first leader was Samuel Gompers, whose plain and simple approach to labor relations helped unions become accepted.
Even with these unions developing in the late 19 th century the vast majority of workers remained unorganized, and unions were relatively weak. Three decades would pass before true reforms were made
Why are unions good? Provide higher wages, job security, and safer conditions
What happens if you are blacklisted? No one will hire you
Who was Samuel Gompers? First leader of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).