The Plight of the Worker in the late 19th and early 20th ...
Transcript of The Plight of the Worker in the late 19th and early 20th ...
The Immigrant Work Force
Old vs. New Immigration
Push vs. Pull Factors
Recruitment & Advertisement
-Railroads
-Labor Contract Laws
-Brokers
-Homestead Act
The Immigrant Work Force Poor Wages & Conditions -Real Wages -Triangle Shirtwaist Fire -12 hours days/laws ignored by both
sides/maiming/disease/poison Social & Racial Issues -diverse ethnicities in diverse occupations (Brinkley pg 491) Italians – garments Greeks – tenant farming, mines, self business Poles – meat packing, mines, textiles Jews – restricted, textiles, radio, movies Japanese – fishing, canning, agriculture -creation of ghettos
The Immigrant Work Force
Women & Child Labor -Women at Work – 17% of labor
force/chided by men -Gibson girls – self driven, dealt with social
issues of the masses -1.7 million kids under 16 are working -cold water thrown at kids -pay discrepancies - $597 for men, $314 for
women -more jobs that “catered” to women
Unions…..Why can’t we all just get
along?
Struggle to Organize
-Language/Customs/Racism/Nativists
-Goals
-Support
-Communism and Socialism (Anarchial)
-Yellow Dog Contracts, Balcklists,
Lockouts
Unions…..Why can’t we all just get
along? Skilled vs. Unskilled Labor
Molly Maguires
-Irish Militants at Anthracite Coal Mine
-Took name from woman in Ireland who wouldn’t vacate property
-Cross-dressed to support her
Government Involvement - Injunctions
National Labor Union and Sexism
-no Chinese allowed
-8 hour day, but paid less too
-women drove down wages
-ILGWU – International Ladies Garment Workers Union
-Effective Union, won concessions, “Uprising of the 20,000”
Unions…..Why can’t we all just get
along? Knights of Labor
-goals – collective bargaining
-started by Terrence Powderly
-too big, too many issues
American Federation of Labor (AF of L)
-goals – “Bread & Butter”
-started by Samuel Gompers
-Only skilled workers, no women, racist
International Workers of the World (Wobblies)
-1912
-started by Big Bill Haywood
-socialists & anarchists
3 Strikes and yer out! (Plus 2 more
to Remember)
• Homestead Strike
-Carnegie is away, Frick is in charge
-workers are locked out
-Frick calls in Pinkerton’s – starts war
-Governor calls in Militia
-public opinion against strikers after assassination attempt on Frick
-all issues blamed on strikers (WHY?)
3 Strikes and yer out! (Plus 2 more
to Remember)
• Haymarket Square Riot
-public gathering outside McCormick Plant
-bomb goes off
-police blame strikers
-ends Knights of Labor (WHY?)
3 Strikes and yer out! (Plus 2 more
to Remember)
• Pullman Strike – injunction by Cleveland,
sides with company (In Re Debs)
• Anthracite Coal Strike – injunction by T.
Roosevelt, sides with labor
• Danbury Hatters Strike – government
strikes down workers claiming “restraint of
trade” (WHERE HAVE WE HEARD THIS
BEFORE AND WHAT DOES IT IMPLY?)