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Rise of the Labor Movement
Standard 4 Original Source: Susan Pojer
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Life in the Factories Seven day workweek 12 hours + a day
No vacation, sick days, unemployment, or workers compensation for injuries Dirty, poor ventilated factories Repetitive, mindless tasks Dangerous, faulty equipment = MANY injuries Low wages By 1910 there were 8 million women laborers 20% of male and female workers were under the age of 15 some as young as 5
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Child Labor
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Child Labor
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Labor Unions Emerge The development of unions was the result of the workers’ attempt to join to protect themselves against abuses of the market place. Working conditions and the changing composition of the workforce established a need for unions. Now there was mass production which required little skill Applied the law of supply and demand to the work place
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Early Labor Unions 1st large scale labor union = National Labor Union
Founded in 1860s Advocated 8 hour workday and reform Did not allow African Americans resulting in the formation of Colored national labor Union Labor union success was dependent upon the UNITY of the organization, ECONOMIC conditions of the time, and the public’s PERCEPTION of the union.
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New types of unions form
Craft Unionism Organization of skilled workers (example: Woodworkers, plumbers, etc) Skilled workers were more difficult to replace so the threat of strike was effective Most famous is the AFL (American Federation of Labor) AFL advocated collective bargaining to reach agreements on wages, hours and conditions Collective bargaining- negotiation between representatives of labor and management to reach agreements
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Types of unions continued
Industrial Unionism Some labor leaders felt that a union should include BOTH skilled and unskilled workers in a specific industry Eugene Debs formed the American railway Union Radical Unions Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) were known as the “Wobblies” They advocated the overthrow of capitalism
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The American Federation of Labor: 1886
American railway Union: Eugene Debs The American Federation of Labor: 1886 International Workers of the World (“Wobblies”) Samuel Gompers
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Strikes Turn Violent Great rail road strike of 1877
Railroad workers went on strike to protest wage cuts Freight and some passenger traffic that covered 50,000mi was stopped for over a week The strike was successful! (thus encouraging more strikes)
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The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
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The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
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Strikes Turn Violent Haymarket affair
3,000 people gathered to protest police brutality A bomb was thrown which resulted in police fire 8 were convicted with inciting a riot After this incident, people began to turn against the labor movement Associated with anarchism which led to the demise of the Knights of Labor
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McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.
Haymarket Riot (1886) McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.
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Haymarket Martyrs
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Strikes turn Violent Continued
Pullman Company Strike Pullman company laid off thousands of workers and cut wages during the 1893 economic depression When the economy improved they still did not raise wages Went on strike Pullman refused to negotiate and workers boycotted Hired strikebreakers and the strike turned violent Pullman fired most strikers and blacklisted many workers
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A “Company Town”: Pullman, IL
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Pullman Cars A Pullman porter
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The Pullman Strike of 1894
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Mother Jones: “The Miner’s Angel”
Mary Harris. Led the Children’s march- to show the horrors of child labor marched 80 children with injuries to President Roosevelt's house
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Triangle Shirtwaist factory
A fire broke out in the garment factory and the workers could not escape because the only unlocked door was blocked by fire. 146 women were killed. This increased public concern for the plight of workers
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