1. Working Conditions, Unions, & Strikes

2. Working Conditions Child labor 12 hour shifts pennies a day
All workers
low wages
long hours
Unskilled workers
at least 10 hours a day
6 days a week
less than $10 a week
African American, Asian American and Mexican American men worked the same hours and days for lower wages
Women and Children worked the same long hours and days for ½ the pay as men
Dangerous working conditions
long hours left workers exhausted
,000 railroad workers were killed/injured on the job
Employers did not feel responsible - did little to improve working conditions
Company towns
created to control workers
lived in the towns
paid in scrip which had to be used at the town stores
prices were higher
spent entire paychecks on necessities like food and clothing

3. The New Working Class African Americans
African Americans moved north from the rural south into cities to find work.
Northern and Midwestern industries offered working opportunities to African Americans
Southern industries barred African Americans from holding factory jobs
Cigar factories did employ African Americans
women
cleaned and sorted tobacco leaves
men
made the cigars
1891 only 7,400 black southernes held industrial jobs
Women and Children
“A family of workers can always live well, but the man with a family of small children to support, unless his wife works also, has a small chance of living properly.”
1900 women accounted for 18 percent of the work force
5 million workers
Children doubled for the same reason
% of American children between ages (1.5 million) worked for wages
North Carolina = ¼ was younger than 16 in textile mills
Massachusetts mills = 1/20
“It wasn’t heavy work, but it was monotonous, because you did the same thing from 7:30 in the morning to 9 at night.”

4. The New Working Class African Americans Women and Children
African Americans moved north from the rural south into cities to find work.
Northern and Midwestern industries offered working opportunities to African Americans
Southern industries barred African Americans from holding factory jobs
Cigar factories did employ African Americans
women
cleaned and sorted tobacco leaves
men
made the cigars
1891 only 7,400 black southerners held industrial jobs
Women and Children
“A family of workers can always live well, but the man with a family of small children to support, unless his wife works also, has a small chance of living properly.”
1900 women accounted for 18 percent of the work force
5 million workers
Children doubled for the same reason
% of American children between ages (1.5 million) worked for wages
North Carolina = ¼ was younger than 16 in textile mills
Massachusetts mills = 1/20
“It wasn’t heavy work, but it was monotonous, because you did the same thing from 7:30 in the morning to 9 at night.”

5. The New Working Class African Americans Women and Children Immigrants
African Americans moved north from the rural south into cities to find work.
Northern and Midwestern industries offered working opportunities to African Americans
Southern industries barred African Americans from holding factory jobs
Cigar factories did employ African Americans
women
cleaned and sorted tobacco leaves
men
made the cigars
1891 only 7,400 black southernes held industrial jobs
Women and Children
“A family of workers can always live well, but the man with a family of small children to support, unless his wife works also, has a small chance of living properly.”
1900 women accounted for 18 percent of the work force
5 million workers
Children doubled for the same reason
% of American children between ages (1.5 million) worked for wages
North Carolina = ¼ was younger than 16 in textile mills
Massachusetts mills = 1/20
“It wasn’t heavy work, but it was monotonous, because you did the same thing from 7:30 in the morning to 9 at night.”

6. Unions Knights of Labor national union
open to skilled and unskilled workers and women and African Americans
Fought for:
temperance
8 hour work day
equal pay for equal work
end to child labor
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
Organized independent craft unions into a group that worked to advance the interests of skilled workers
How did it help
organized laborers
fought for the rights of working people
Success of labor strikes (unions)
unsuccessful
violence
federal troop intervention
anti union activities
blacklisted
brought in nonunion strikebreakers (lockouts)

7. Labor Leaders Samuel Gompers Founder & Leader of AFL - skilled workers
attempted to avoid strikes & work within the system

8. Labor Leaders Terence Powderly Leader of Knights of Labor
combined skilled and unskilled workers
downplayed violence & strikes, but would unfortunately get blamed for them (haymarket)

9. Labor Leaders Eugene V Debs
Founded one of the nations first unions - ARU (Am. Railway Union)
Supported the Pullman strikers
became an outspoken socialist
ran for president 5 times
was jailed many times for his views/actions

10. Strikes
Great Upheaval
,5000 strikes involving 400,000 workers

11. Strikes Haymarket Riot -May 1, 1886 -Chicago
-striking for 8 hour workday
-anarchists join, bomb suddenly explodes, anarchists arrested, 4 hanged

12. Strikes Pullman Strike -Pullman sleeping car factories -company town
-cut wages, kept rent & prices the same
-strike shut down rail traffic
S-federal troops sent in

13. Strikes Homestead Strike -Carnegie steel workers -protesting wage cuts
-violence leads to 16 deaths