Labor Unions

Middle Class

• Emerges as industries rise• Made up of individuals who work

administrative jobs for companies• Salaried employees• Higher demand for products and services

Wage Earners

• Usually worked 10 hours a day, 6 days a week• Wages determined by supply and demand• Lots of job competition with immigrants so

wages remained low• Most families depended on income of women

and children to survive

Women

• Most women expected to stay home• Some did factory work that was an extension

of the home- textiles, garments, food, etc.• Women became clerical workers for

businesses

Labor Discontent

• Workers had transitioned from artisans to a step on an assembly line

• Low wages• Dangerous conditions that sometimes caused

chronic illness and death• Some joined labor unions

Industrial Warfare

In order to break strikes, business owners would– bringing in more workers– The lockout: closing the factory– Blacklists: names of prounion workers distributed– Yellow-dog contracts: workers signing an

agreement not to join a union– Hire private guards and state militia– Obtain court injunctions against strikers

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

• RR companies cut wages to reduce costs• RR workers were joined by 500,000 industrial

workers• President Hayes sent federal troops to end

violence• Over 100 people killed• Some conditions improved while some

became worse

National Unions

• National Labor Union– Organized skilled and unskilled workers– 640,000 members– Wanted higher wages and eight hour day plus

equal rights for women and African Americans, monetary reform, and worker cooperatives

National Unions

• Knights of Labor– Started in 1869 as a secret society– Led by Terence V. Powderly– Accepted all groups of people for membership– Wanted to settle labor disputes by arbitration

instead of strikes• Some still participated in strikes

– Haymarket riot turned public against them

Haymarket Riot

• Chicago– Also home to 200 anarchists

• Workers held public meeting in Haymarket Square

• Police attempted to break up the meeting• Someone threw a bomb and killed 7 officers• 8 anarchists tried for crime and 7 executed• Many Americans thought unions were too

radical

National Unions

• American Federation of Labor– Led by Samuel Gompers– Wanted higher wages and improved conditions– Coached people to walk out of work until

employer agreed to negotiate (collective bargaining)

– Largest union with 1 million members

Homestead Strike

• Caused by Henry Frick cutting steel workers’ wages by 20%

• Strike was ultimately unsuccessful after 4 months– Frick called in Pinkerton army, a private militia, to

clear the entrance to the factory• Fighting lasted 14 hours; 16 people dead

Pullman Strike

• Pullman had cut wages and fired leaders who tried to bargain with him.

• Workers appealed to American RR Union, led by Eugene V. Debs– Instructed RR workers not to handle Pullman cars– Pullman cars pulled by mail trains

• Federal court issued injunction forbidding mail trains to be disrupted

• Debs ignored injunction; gets arrested

Goldman/Frick Analysis

• In your groups, read the source of your document found on the last page.

• Next, read your document. As you are reading, underline/circle any biased language you see.

• When all members of your group are finished, discuss this language in your groups.

Four A’s Protocol

• In your groups, decide the following:– 1 thing in the article you agree with– 1 thing you would like to argue– 1 assumption the author makes– 1 idea you would aspire to

Goldman/Frick Questions

• 1. How are Goldman and Frick’s claims about the Homestead Strike different? List at least 3 differences.

• 2. Whose claim is more believable? Why? (2 sentences)

• 3. Whose side would you have taken if you lived during the Homestead Strike? Why? (2 sentences)

Elevator Pitches• Task: Create a short recruitment “speech” for

your labor union that could be given in the time of an elevator ride. Your “pitch” should last about 30 seconds and explain the following things:– Who can be a part of your union?– What are some things your union wants to achieve

for the working class?– What are your main means of achieving these goals?– Be creative and tell us the time and location of your

next meeting.