  The first large- scale national organization of laborers, The National Labor Union (NLU), was formed in 1866 by iron worker William H Sylvis  Some National Labor Unions refused to let in African Americans, so it led to the creation of the Color National Labor Union (CNLU)  The NLU membership grew to 640,000  Uriah Stephens said that the motto to these unions was that “The injury to one is the concern to all”  In 1866 the NLU persuaded the congress to legalize and 8- hour day for government workers. Early Labor Organizations

  Factory workers in most industries worked 12 or more hours a day, six days a week.  Employees were not entitled to vacation, sick leave, unemployment compensation, or reimbursement for injuries on the job.  Workers had to preform repetitive, mind dulling tasks, sometimes with dangerous or faulty equipment.  Around 675 laborers were killed in work-related accidents per week.  Wages were so low, that most families couldn’t survive unless everyone held a job. 20% of boys and 10 %of girls had full time jobs by the time they were 15 yrs old, some started as young as 5 yrs old Long Hours and Danger

 Craft Unionism VS Industrial Unionism Craft Unionism  Samuel Gompers led the cigar makers’ international unions to join with other craft unions in 1886  The American Federation of Labor (AFL) focused on bargaining, or negotiation between representatives of labor and management to reach written agreements on wages, hours and working conditions.  Between 1890 and 1950 the average weekly wages rose from $17.50 to $24.00 and the work week dropped from 54.5 hours to 49 hours. Industrial Unionism  Felt that unions should include all laborers, skilled and unskilled, in a specific industry  Eugene Debs attempted to form the American Railway Union (ARU), most members were unskilled or semiskilled laborers, but some skilled engineers and firemen joined too.  In 1894 the new union won a strike for higher wages.  Within 2 months its membership went up to 130,00  The ARU, like the Knights of Labor, never recovered after the failure of a major strike, it added to the momentum of the union organization.

  Eugene Debs and some other laborers eventually turned to socialism  Socialism carried to its extreme form- communism was advocated by the German philosopher Karl Marx- resulted in the overthrow of the capitalist system.  In the late 19-century American drew back and worked within the labor movement to achieve better conditions for workers.  In 1905, unionist and socialist in Chicago organized the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) where they welcomed African Americans but the membership never topped 100,000. Its only major strike victory occurred in 1912 Socialism and the IWW

  April 1903, about 1,000 Japanese and Mexican workers organized a strike in the sugar beet fields of Ventura County, California.  Their goal was to have the same wage and treatment as other union miners, and in Wyoming, the state federation of labor supported the union.  These small, independent unions increased both the overall strength of the labor movement and the tension between labor and management Other Labor Activism In The West