1. 19-4 Industrial Workers Mrs. Manley

2. Industrial Workers Why are workers organizing into unions? - to demand better pay and working conditions Mass production- leads to less personal working conditions in factories 10-12 hr. workdays Fired at anytime/any reason Immigrants working for low pay took jobs Factories- noisy, unhealthy & unsafe Burns, spills, coal dust, cave-ins, lung damage, poor eyesight Sweatshops- urban factories where garments are made- known for poor conditions

3. Women were paid ½ of what men earned for same work Child Labor- laws said had to be 12 yrs. And couldn’t work more that 10 hrs. a day; did not apply to agriculture or address unsafe conditions

4. Labor Unions Labor Unions- groups of dissatisfied workers who organize to demand better pay and working conditions Knights of Labor- – led by Terrence Powderly in Philadelphia – African-Americans, immigrants, and unskilled laborers could join – Grew quickly but lost power

5. Labor Unions cont. American Federation of Labor (AFL)- – Skilled workers of various crafts/trades – Led by Samuel Gompers – Wanted : higher wages, shorter hours, better working conditions, and collective bargaining- unions represent workers to bargain or work with management for change

6. Women and Unions Many unions wouldn’t accept women “Mother Jones”, Mary Harris Jones, fought for women’s rights Triangle Shirtwaist Company- – Crowded sweatshop NYC – Fire breaks out, women trapped and burned to death b/c company locked doors to prevent them from leaving – 150 workers die International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) forms to push for safer working conditions

7. Unions Act: Economic depressions led to firings and pay cuts Strikes break out Strikebreakers- hired by companies to replace striking workers Haymarket Square, Chicago- Strikers gather to protest the killing of other strikers. Police are called. Bomb thrown at police and a riot breaks out. This Haymarket Riot= terrorism and disorder

8. Homestead Strike- at Carnegie’s Steel Plant in Homestead, PA. – Wages were cut – Union strikes, company hires strikebreakers (non- union) and guards to protect them – Fight breaks out, 10 dead – Militia is sent in to restore order. Failed.

9. Pullman Strike- – Railcar plant cuts wages, workers strike – Pullman closes plant – Other rail workers refuse to work and rail traffic is stopped – US Attorney general issues an injunction- court order- to stop obstructing the railways! – Eugene Debs- leader; refuses to end strike and is jailed – President Grover Cleveland sends in federal troops to end strike, another failed strike.

10. Unions do not give up and keep fighting for: – Better wages – Better Working Conditions