1. The Labor Movement
Chapter 5
Section 4

2. Seamstresses
12 Hour Days, 6 days a week

3. Steel Mills
7 Day work week, no sick leave, no vacation

4. Railroads
1890: 1 in 300 workers would die

5. Women and Children 1890: 4 million women working 1920: 8 million
Children earned $.27 per day ($6.47)
Men made $498 per year ($7,100 today)
Women made $269 per year ($6,400 today)

6. Deflation The value of the dollar increases
One dollar buys more products
Deflation in late 19th century resulted in employers cutting wages.
Workers began to unionize

7. National Labor Union First large scale national labor union
Founded by iron worker William Sylvis
300 Locals in 13 states
Sylvis wanted to admit women and African-Americans, but Locals refused

8. Knights of Labor Uriah Stevens: 1868 Focused on Industrial Labor
Membership open to everyone
Advocated arbitration as opposed to strikes-3rd party helps workers come to agreement with management

9. Craft Unionism and Samuel Gompers
Craft Unions included only skilled workers but often from many industries
American Federation of Labor
Founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers
Pushed for closed shops -all workers were in the union

10. Industrial Unionism and Eugene Debs
Industrial Unionism: all workers in one industry, skilled and unskilled, form a union
Eugene Debs formed the American Railway Union, the first true industrial union
They saw minor successes

11. Socialism and the IWW
Socialism: economic and political system based on government control of business and property and equal distribution of wealth
Industrial Workers of the World: Wobblies

12. The Great Strike of 1877
Baltimore and Ohio RR workers strike in protest of wage cuts
The strike eventually spread to a national level
50,000 miles of railroads stopped for a week
Resulted in nation wide riots
President Hayes sent troops in to stop the strike
RR strike that was very violent and spread nationwide

13. The Haymarket Affair
May 3, 1886: Police kill a striker at the McCormick Harvester factory
May 4, 1886: 1,200 people gather in Haymarket Square to protest
At 10 o’clock, the crowd was leaving due to rain

14. The Haymarket Affair Cont’d.
170 Policemen assemble at a nearby train station and marched into the square
A bomb was thrown at the police and they opened fire

17. The Haymarket Aftermath
7 Policemen killed
Several strikers killed (exact number unknown)
3 speakers and 8 radicals arrested
4 hanged, 1 killed himself in jail

18. The Homestead Strike Carnegie Steel Plant in Homestead, PA
Henry Clay Frick: company president
Announced a wage cut on July 6, 1892
A strike ensued

19. Pinkertons

20. The Homestead Strike Cont’d.
3 detectives and 6 strikers killed
Strikers closed the plant until July 12
The National Guard was called in and the violence stopped
The strike continued until November when the union caved in.

21. The Pullman Strike Built train cars in Pullman, Illinois
Workers went on strike when he lowered wages but not rent

22. The Pullman Strike Cont’d.
Strike spread nationwide
ARU got involved, shut down train service
Military called in to break strike

23. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
March 25, 1911-huge fire in factory in NYC
145 workers died
New York set up a task force to inspect factories
established fire codes, 54 hour workweek for women and minors
no Sunday work and no one under 14 could work

26. Anti-union Actions Owners refused to negotiate with strikers
forbade union meetings, fired members
Yellow dog contracts-said worker would not join a union or strike
Turned Sherman Anti-trust Act against unions
Lockout-refused to allow union members on their property