Krissie Tan Moiy vS Maxwell Tsai Steve Kim

“…while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.” Political activist Eugene Debs at his sentencing hearing in 1918

  horrible labor conditions  workers fought for their rights  first American labor unions founded  companies tried to stop workers from unifying but workers we determined to unite and revolt. 19 th Century Factory Work

  Type of labor union  Membership limited to workers of the same craft  Able to join even if they work in a different industry  EX: Teachers from SAS & SMIC can form a craft union for higher wages Craft Union

  process of negotiations between employers and a group of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions Collective Bargaining

  doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership  Individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another. Socialism

  isolated community  near their workplace  laborer who worked in mines  owned by business and rent to employees  workers were forced to buy goods  high interest  ethnic competition and distrust Company Town

  shop or factory in which employees work long hours at low wages under poor conditions.  Basic worker rights not respected  Minimum wages  Child labor Sweatshop

 Anarchist  a person who believes in or tries to bring about anarchy (absence of authority).

  a person who refuses to strike or to join a labor union or who takes over the job responsibilities of a striking worker. Scab

  the use of children in industry or business, especially when illegal or considered inhumane  used by many companies because it was cheap  harsh conditions led to death and disease  many children didn't have proper education Child Labor

  Founded in 1869 by Uriah Smith Stephens  largest American labor force organization  Industrial union: a labor union to which all the workers of a particular industry can belong regardless of their occupation or trade  proposed to organize skilled and unskilled workers to the union  Proposed to:  Work 8 hours a day  Terminate child labor  Get equal pay for equal work Knights of Labor

  America’s first major rail strike  July 14, 1877 in Martinsburg, West Virginia  Went on for 45 days  Labor unions not involved  Causes:  wage cuts (second time in a year)  distrust of capitalists  poor working conditions  Ended when President Hayes sent federal troops from city to city Great Railroad Strike of 1877

  Cigar maker  English-born American labor union leader  Founded the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Union in 1881  Became American Federation of Labor in 1886  Promoted harmony among different craft unions Samuel Gompers

  Continuation of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Union in 1886  Founded in Columbus, Ohio by an alliance of craft unions  Proposed many resolutions  Compulsory education of children  Prohibition of child labor under the age of 14  Establishment of an eight-hour work day  Prohibition of the importation of foreign workers  Legislation making employers responsible for industrial accidents American Federation of Labor

  May 4, 1886  Violent riot in Chicago’s Haymarket Square  Demand for an eight-hour working day  Bomb thrown at police  eight people died  eight radical labor activists convicted in connection with the bombing  setback for the organized labor movement in America Haymarket Riot

  July 6, 1892  second largest labor dispute in U.S. labor history  battle between strikers (Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers) and private security agents (Carnegie Steel Company)  in Homestead Steel Works at Homestead, Pennsylvania  Resulted in defeat for the union  Made it difficult for steelworkers to unite Homestead Strike

  Socialist who believed that industrial unions can exert united pressure on employers  1893: organizes the American Railway Union for unskilled workers  1894: goes to jail for leading the Pullman Strike  1905: creates Industrial Workers of the World Eugene V. Debs

  May 11, 1894  Strike: work stoppage caused by employees who refuse to work (want to give gov pressure to change policies)  Pullman Strike: conflict begun by the Pullman Company cutting wages of employees by 28%  protesting wage cuts and worker layoffs  refused to service trains with Pullman cars  destroyed railroad equipment  July 4th, President Grover Cleveland sent troops to end the strike Pullman Strike

 Impact  New technologies improved industrial and agricultural productivity  Growing cities provided markets and workers for industrial businesses  Improved rail transportation allowed products to reach distant markets  Financial innovations allocated capital more efficiently  New forms of business organization facilitated rapid growth

 Impact  What's Missing?  Unskilled workers in industrial factories mostly did not share in Gilded Age prosperity  Hours were long, wages were low, conditions were dangerous  Many workers lived in miserable urban slums

 Conclusion  Middle-class Americans were terrified by violent labor conflict of Gilded Age  By end of 19th century, middle-class reformers were pursuing Progressive policies aimed at forcing workers and businessmen to compromise