1. The Failure to Gain Public Acceptance
Labor Unions
The Failure to Gain Public Acceptance

2. Factory System Factory workers cut corners to maximize profits
The employee is no longer a primary concern
Long hours
Low pay
Rigid timetables
Strict discipline
Monotonous work
Frequent layoffs
Women/Children paid less
Unsafe, unsanitary working conditions

3. Collective Organization
Unions are not illegal conspiracies: Commonwealth v. Hunt, 1842
Still faced opposition with the public and the national government
“Rugged Individualism”
Unions associated with anarchists, socialists, and other foreign radicalism.
Federal government sought to limit union power to protect big business and appease public opinion by using troops, injunctions, and legal restrictions

4. Who was eligible to join?
Knight of Labor:
Anyone, including blacks, women, professionals, laborers, skilled workers, anarchists, socialists, and farmers.
AFL:
Restricted membership to those with similar interests; only skilled workers that were difficult to replace if they went on strike

5. What were the goals of the union?
Knights of Labor:
Eliminate capitalism by creating worker owned businesses based on the concept of cooperatives. Unions would be self-supporting
AFL:
Higher wages, shorter hours and improved working conditions.

6. Methods of achieving its goals
Knights of Labor:
Boycotts, strikes, and mass meetings
AFL:
Strikes and refrained from aligning with political parties

7. Public perception of the union?
Knights of Labor:
Abhorred use of violence and were suspicious of their anti capitalistic philosophies.
AFL:
disapproved of collective actions, but less threatening than the Knight of Labor

8. Bias? Capitalists: Nativists: Horatio Alger: Anarchists: Socialists:
They believed in rugged individualism
Nativists:
They opposed foreigners, Catholics, radicals, Southern and Eastern Europeans
Horatio Alger:
He preached rugged individualism and the idea that hard work is the path to wealth
Anarchists:
They were anti-Capitalist
Socialists:
American Public:
They opposed labor unions, anarchists, socialists, and violence

9. Questions
In what ways did these biases strengthen American capitalism?
In attacking anticapitalist groups, they, in effect, defended capitalism
In what ways did these biases weaken the American labor movement?
Most Americans associated these anticapitalist groups with violence, revolution, and foreign ideas.

10. Questions
According to Judge Jenkin, does the right of the property owner or the laborer take precedence? Explain his position.
Judge Jenkin put the right of property above the rights of laborers, as he explained in Farmer’s Loan and Trust v. Northern Pacific.

11. Questions
In what way does the cartoon reflect Judge Jenkin’s decision?
The government had called out the militia to control the strikers and protect private property
How does the document explain why Samuel Gompers believed socialists were wrong economically, socially, and industrially?
Eliminating private enterprise seemed unrealistic for workers.
They used foreign and radical doctrines
No motive for workers to produce

12. Final Thoughts
Between , 300,000 members of the work force, belonged to unions.
After depression of 1870s, only 50,000 belonged to unions.
By 1900, union membership of 900,000 persons constituted only 8.74% of the work force.
Why has this occurred?
Public generally was distrustful of union activity
Government supported employers
Unions, except the AFL, had accomplished little for their members.