2. The Labor Union Movement Early Struggles, Early Defeats

3. Labor Union A formal organization of workers with several goals –Better wages –Better conditions –Less Hours –Job Security

4. 2 Types Trade (Craft) Unions – only “skilled” workers Industrial Unions – all skilled and unskilled workers in an industry

5. Wage Earners By 1900 –2/3 of workers were wage earners –10 hour days –6 day weeks –Subsistence level wages –Supply (high -immigrants) & demand –David Ricardo – “iron law of wages”

6. Women Workingmen’s earnings insufficient Women & children needed to increase household earnings 1/5 women worked for wages Textile, garment, food processing Clerical work becomes feminized >> wages and status fall

7. YearStrikesEstablishmentsNo. striking & involved 18814712,928129,521 18824542,105154,671 18834782,759149,763 18844432,367147,054 18856452,284242,705 18861,4119,891499,489

9. Power of Big Business Lockouts Blacklists Yellow-dog Contracts Private Armies State Militias Court Injunctions

10. Great RR Strike of 1877 Depression >> wage cuts >> B&O RR strike spread along the track >> ½ million other workers join in >> Pres. Hayes calls out Fed Troops >> 100+ killed Results –A few companies made concessions –Most companies set out to break the unions

12. Knights of Labor Inclusive –Male & Female –Black? & White –Skilled & Unskilled 1870’s-1886 Terence V. Powderly Abolish: child labor, trusts & monopolies Establish: workers cooperatives

13. Haymaker Bombing 1886 in Chicago 1 st May Day celebration  General strike for 8hr workday >> violence at McCormick’s Harvester plant >> workers hold public meeting on May 4 >> police sent to break up >> seven officers killed by bomb (anarchists)  Result: Knights loose popularity & membership

14. AFL (American Federation of Labor) Moderate Union Skilled Workers Collective Bargaining Strikes 1890-1915 –Raises began to rise –Hours fell Samuel Gompers

16. 1890’s Homestead Strike - 1892 –Carnegie’s Homestead Steel Plant –20% wage cut –Lockout, private guards & strikebreakers (scabs) defeat steel unions –Steel workers crushed until New Deal (1930’s)

17. 1890’s Cont… Pullman Strike 1894 –Wage cuts, fired union leaders >>Eugene Debs (American RR Union) directs RR workers not to handle Pullman cars >> traffic halted nationwide >> Pres. Cleveland orders troops to keep mail trains running >> injunction issued >> Debs arrested for ignoring injunction >> later forms Socialist Party in 1900

18. Radical Solutions Socialist Party – Eugene Debs

20. Radical Solutions – Worldwide Union?