1. Aim: Why did Labor Unions fail to gain public acceptance?

8. Labor conditions and organizations
Problems of Labor

9. Yesterday and Today

10. II. Obstacles to unions 1. 2. 3.
Ex. Molly McGuires

11. “Anarchy Man, Anarchy!”

12. III. Efforts at Union Building
A. Knights of Labor
B. AFL – American Federation of Labor

13. “Workers of the world, awaken. Break your chains, demand your rights
“Workers of the world, awaken. Break your chains, demand your rights. All the wealth you make is taken, by exploiting parasites."

14. Great Railroad Strike 1877

15. McCormick Harvester Strike 1886 Haymarket Affair

16. Homestead Steel Strike 1892

17. Pullman Strike 1894

18. all that is ugly, and discordant, and demoralizing, is eliminated
. . all that is ugly, and discordant, and demoralizing, is eliminated Pullman Company Town Pamphlet This is a corporation made and a corporation governed town, and is utterly un-American in its tendencies. Rev. William H. Carwardine, The Pullman Strike, 1894

19. Pullman Strike (Pinkerton Guards v. Workers)

20. Anthracite Coal Strike 1902

21. Textile Workers Strike 1912

22. IV. Socialism and American Labor
A. Eugene Debs
B. Social Democratic Party
C. I.W.W.: “Wobblies”: Promoted One big union, unite workers as a social class, abolish capitalism and wage labor advocated “workplace democracy”. Considered too radical. Disappeared after 1920’s crackdown on socialism  

23. V. Government Regulation
Factors leading to government involvement:
Supreme Court Cases
1. Munn v. Illinois 1877 – government may regulate industry that serves the public interest like RR’s
2. Wabash v. Illinois 1886 – only the federal government can regulate Interstate Commerce

24. Interstate Commerce Commission 1887
Sherman Anti-Trust Act 1890

25. VI. Organized Labor and the Courts
Lochner v. New York 1905 – declared unconstitutional a law that limited work hours for bakers citing “liberty of contract”.
1. Significance of the “Lochner Era”:

26. B. Lowe v. Lawlor, 1908
Workers organized a boycott of Lowe a hat manufacturer who created an open shop.
Supreme Court ruled that the boycott restrained the Lowe Company’s ability to trade and commerce.
Significance:

27. C. Coppage v. Kansas 1915
Coppage, an employer, forbade his workers from joining unions by forcing them to sign “yellow dog contract”, thus violating a Kansas law that prohibited this type of anti-union activity.
Supreme Court declared Kansas law unconstitutional
Impact:

28. D. Clayton Anti Trust Law 1914
“Magna Carta of Labor”

29. VII. The Government Passes Labor Legislation
Department of Labor 1913
Adamson Act 1916
Norris-LaGuardia Anti Injunction Act 1932
National Labor Relations Act 1935
Social Security Act 1935
Fair Labor Standards Act 1938
Taft-Hartley Act 1947

30. VIII. Impact of Workers