1. Bell Ringer
What do you think of Plainview? Do you like him? Why or why not?
Do you think workers have a right to strike?
Should striking workers be protected from replacment workers taking their jobs?

2. Mr. Turner American History II Unit 2: Industrial America
Labor Unions
Mr. Turner
American History II
Unit 2: Industrial America

3. Background
Second Industrial Revolution was great for Big Business owners
It created higher standards of living and cheap products BUT
People who worked in factories barely scraped by

4. Factory Work
Immigrants were often hired because they worked for low wages
They had 12 hour days, 6 days a week
Work space was hot, dark, and dirty
They were abused by their bosses
Workers were fined for breaking rules or not working quickly

5. Factory Work Need for cash meant men and women worked
Even children worked to help the family pay the bills
By the end of the 1800s 1 in 5 kids worked in factories

6. Company Towns
Big Businesses would create cities for their workers to live in
The owners made them pay rent, buy materials from the company store, and live by a town code
They would give them goods on credit but charge high interest
Which meant they could rarely pay it back, or leave their work

7. Formation of Labor Unions
There were some early attempts at collective bargaining and striking
First national labor union was formed in National Trades Union
Had some successes although did not last very long
Socialism spread in the 1830s; Labor Unions borrowed some Socialist ideas

8. Knights of Labor (K of L)
Founded in 1869 by Uriah Smith Stephens
Included all workers, skilled or unskilled in any industry
The Union tried to replace Capitalism with workers’ cooperatives
Terence Powderly took over in 1881
They boycotted and used negotiations with business owners

9. K of L
By 1885, had 700,000 members
Which included men, women, and all races and ethnicities
However, failed strikes in the 1890s led to the disappearance of the union

10. American Federation of Labor (AFL)
Founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers
Only skilled workers could join
Had high membership dues - used to assist workers in need
Did not focus on social change instead:
Higher wages
Shorter hours
Better working conditions

11. Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
Founded in 1905 by Eugene V Debs.
Relied heavily on Socialism
Believed in violent means to secure workers’ gains
Union of unskilled workers
They were also known as the Wobblies

12. Strikes First major strike was in 1877
railroad workers went on strike due to wage cuts and destroyed a lot of property
Militia was called in to protect scabs - temporary workers hired to fill in
On May 1, 1886 strikes over an 8 hour work day broke out all over the country

13. Haymarket Square Riot
On May 4, 1886 at a strike in Haymarket Square in Chicago a bomb was thrown
Ended up killing several people including policemen and strikers
This is known as the Haymarket Square riot

14. Homestead Strike
In 1892, A Carnegie Steel plant in Homestead, PA cut workers’ wages
Union called for a strike and the workers began to strike
Carnegie’s partner Henry Frick called in the Pinkertons to help

15. Homestead Strike Pinkertons killed and injured several strikers
Someone tried to assassinate Henry Frick
Union called off the strike because it made them look bad

16. Pullman Strike
In 1893, Pullman Palace Car Company laid off workers and cut wages by 25%
In May, 1894 workers tried to negotiate with Pullman and he fired 3 workers
Eugene V. Debs (leader of American Railways Union) called for a nationwide strike

17. Pullman Strike By June 1894 30,000 rail workers were striking
President Grover Cleveland sent Federal troops in
Debs was arrested and the strike ended

18. Effects
Set a precedent for the government intervention, based on the Sherman Antitrust act
Government could force workers to stop striking; if it harmed interstate commerce
Unions still exist and can be very powerful today