Why did the workers want to start a union ? Put your answers under A, # 1-9

NO MONEY FOR INJURIES ON THE JOB

You’re sick and can’t work? Lose Your Job!

CHILD LABOR

SPEEDING UP PRODUCTION

NO SAFETY GEAR

Long hours

Low pay

(Read for Low pay) WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? In 1864 a group of New York City workers each earned $16.00 a week. Each week, a family of six needed $16.10 to buy food and to pay the rent.

Where does the money go? Weekly Expenses 1 bag of flour $ cents a day.91 ¼ lb. of tea.32 1 lb. of coffee.35 3 ½ lbs. of sugar.80 Meat bushels of coal lbs. of butter lbs. of lard (fat of pigs).38 Oil for lamps.20 Soap, salt, pepper.75 Vegetables.50 Apples.25 Rent 4.44 Factory Workers Wanted 12 hour day 6 days a week No skilled needed PAY: $10.00 a week – men $ 5.00 a week – women $ 3.00 a week - children

Unsafe workplace

Sexual harassment

REASONS FOR STARTING A UNION  CHILD LABOR  DEMAND FOR FASTER PRODUCTION  NO SAFETY GEAR FOR WORKERS  LONG HOURS  LOW PAY  UNSAFE WORKPLACES  SEXUAL HARASSMENT  NO MONEY FOR JOB INJURIES  YOU’RE SICK? LOSE YOUR JOB!

Just read KNIGHTS OF LABOR

(Put in box Part B) WHO COULD JOIN K of L??? SKILLED WORKERS ONLY LATER WOMEN IMMIGRANTS AF- AMERICANS UNSKILLED

K of L GOALS  MAKE A BETTER WORKING PLACE  SHORTER WORK DAY  END CHILD LABOR  EQUAL PAY FOR BOTH SEXES

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR (PUT IN WHO CAN JOIN ) skilled workers only A “union of unions” (WRITE WHAT THIS IS – CHECK NEXT SLIDE )

Who Could Join? skilled workers join a trade union first Ex. Plumber joins the plumber’s union Then the plumber’s union joins the AFL Has the best workers in the country’s workforce Nonwhites not allowed to join until later when they get skills to join a trade union.

AFL GOALS – THEY WANTED SHORTER HOURS BETTER PAY BETTER WORKING CONDITIONS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ( THEY SEND 4 – 5 UNION REPRESENTATIVES TO MEET WITH OWNERS TO WORK OUT A FAIR WORKING CONTRACT)

AFL – A UNION OF UNIONS!

UNIONS Knights of Labor st – skilled later – unskilled Not always for strikes would rather use rallies, meetings to win to win public support Make world a better place for workers American Federation of Labor 1886 trade unions can join Nonwhites can join today more practical Believed in strikes Wanted collective bargaining

WEAPONS OF THE WORKERS Scene : Charles, a union leader, and Howard, a worker, are having a cup of coffee in the cafeteria of a large factory. Charles : I talked with the boss for the tenth time yesterday. The company will not give us what we want. Howard: What did you ask for? Charles: Higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions. Howard: Well, what happens now?

Charles: There are many things we can do to get what we want. I am thinking of a strike or a walkout. Get everybody to just stop working and go home! The factory will lose money. Maybe than they will listen to us. Howard: What happens if they still don’t listen? Charles: The workers will picket the factory. They will walk up and down with signs telling everyone that we are on strike. Once people know we are on strike, we hope they will not buy the factory’s foods. Then, that would be a boycott. Howard: If we use all three weapons, the bosses are sure to give us what we want.

THINK: Which union weapon do you think is the most powerful and why is it? strike picketing boycott

WEAPONS OF THE EMPLOYERS Scene: Rachel and Edith, the owners of the factory, are having a meeting. Rachel : Charles came in to see me yesterday and asked for higher wages, shorter hours, and better conditions for all workers. Edith: What did you say to him? Rachel : I told him we could not do it. Edith: I overheard Charles and Howard. They are thinking of a strike, picketing, even a boycott,

Rachel : We can use a lockout. We will close the factory and put locks on the doors. Then we’ll sit and wait. The workers will not get paid. They will come back to work when they need money. Edith: What will we do if that does not work? Rachel: We can fire all the workers and hire others. The fired workers will be put on a blacklist. We can give the list to other factories. The blacklisted workers will never get another job. Edith: Suppose the new workers join a union?

Rachel: We won’t let them. If they want jobs, they’ll have to sign yellow - dog contracts. By the contract, a worker will agree not to join a union. Edith: Let’s use all three weapons.

THINK: Which weapon of the employer do you think is the most powerful? Why?

Do you think workers or employers have more powerful weapons? Explain.

Workers and employers were almost at war with each other during these early years of the labor movement. Most of these conflicts took the form of strikes and many resulted in violence and death.