Labor Issues during the Gilded Age

Child Labor Children provided: A cheap source of laborA cheap source of labor A labor force that could not complainA labor force that could not complain Smaller workers to fit into areas that adults couldn’tSmaller workers to fit into areas that adults couldn’t Parents wanted children to work because: The families needed the money The families needed the money They thought hard work built character They thought hard work built character They believed once children learned how to read, write, and do basic math, they were educated enough They believed once children learned how to read, write, and do basic math, they were educated enough

Child Labor

The Birth of Unions

What is a Labor Union? Labor Union – an organization of workers who unite to protect the rights of the workers

What is a Labor Strike? Labor strike – A labor union refuses to go to work in order to shut down a business because of poor working conditions or poor pay

Early Unions The free enterprise system meant that businesses made their own rules Without government interference, business owners could pay their workers what they wanted and make them work as long as they wanted Industrialization during the late 1800s contributed to the development of organized labor because it created low-wage, low-skill jobs that made employees easy to replace.

Mary Harris “Mother” Jones Mother Jones was the nation’s most prominent woman union leader during the American Industrial Revolution Jones became an organizer for the United Mine Workers She traveled to numerous mining camps to see conditions miners had to endure. She gave fiery speeches for miners to unite to fight for better working conditions and better pay.

Eugene V. Debs Eugene V. Debs was the powerful leader of the American Railway Union. Debs would run for president four times as a candidate for the Socialist Party

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor was the union of over 20 trade unions Samuel Gompers was the union’s first leader. Gompers believed unions should stay out of politics and that they should negotiate rather than go on strike.

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

Knights of Labor In response to the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, labor organizers formed the first nationwide industrial union – the Knights of Labor. The Knights called for an eight-hour workday, supported the use of arbitration AND began to organize strikes.

Haymarket Riot

Homestead Strike

Pullman Strike Nationwide conflict between labor unions and railroads that occurred near Chicago in Following the firing of union workers, Debs organized a strike that shut down the nation’s railroads and threatened the economy.

Pullman Strike

Union membership declined as many people saw unions as being Un-American and violent Impact of union strikes

IWW (Wobblies) The International Workers of the World (IWW) is the union created in Chicago in 1905 that was made up primarily of socialists and anarchists The IWW called for all workers to be united as a class and no wage system