Labor Unions

Era 7

Ending the Gilded Age/Beginning Progressivism

**As ordinary Americans grew tired of the corruption in politics and business of the Gilded Age, a new spirit of reform sweeps the nation. People from all walks of life begin to call for improvements and progress in America.

**Labor unions had worked to gain power in the era of big business.

United We Stand; Divided We Fall

Labor Union- -an organization that represents the worker’s rights in the workplace.-work hours-child labor-wages-safety/working conditions**Labor unions were usually local until the National Labor Union was formed. It disbandedwhen a depression hit in 1873.

Big Business Fights Back

**Owners of big business feared labor unions and took steps to stop them.–Blacklisting – preventing workers from getting a job in an industry.–Sent spies among workers–Used the Pinkerton National Detective Agency•private security that would break up labor protests

–Sent spies to encourage trouble in union meetings–Scabs- replacement workers for workers on strike

Labor Has Their Own Tactics

• Boycotts – get people not to buy the company’s product• Informational picketing – to let public know conditions• Closed shop – all workers must belong to union• Organized strikes (work stoppages)

• Molly Maguries• Great Railroad strike 1877• Haymarket Riot• Homestead strike• Pullman strike

Famous Labor Disputes of the Era

• -most famous -Irish coal miners form a secret union against coal mine owned by Reading Railroad

After a fire in the mine killed over 100 miners due to no second entrance, the miners decided to strike.

The mine boss had had enough and used violence against the miners. -miners decided to fight violence with violence and begin to threaten management -The mine management hired a Pinkerton agent who infiltrates group and testifies against 24 miners. Members of the "Mollies" were accused of murder, arson, kidnapping and other crimes, in part based on the testimony of a Pinkerton detective, James McParland -Many hanged and imprisoned.

The Molly Maguires (Pennsylvania)

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877-Baltimore and Ohio Railroad cuts wages 10%-W. Virginia railroad workers strike-Spread to all railroads in east and mid-west-2/3 of nation’s railroads come to a stop-violence between strikers and police break out in many major cities across the nation-federal troops sent in to stop destruction-increased anti-labor feelings because of fear

*When prosperity returns in the 1880’s, unions again attempt to gain power for the workers.

• The Knights of Labor -secret from 1869-1878 until it went national -all workers, skilled, unskilled, men, women, different races and ethnicities -excluded liquor dealers, professional gamblers, bankers, lawyers -called for an end to child labor, convict labor -wanted equal pay for women, safety codes 8 hour days, public ownership of railroads -numbers rose to 800,000 until Haymarket Riots

• Haymarket Riot -at McCormick Harvester Works, Chicago, IL -trouble between workers and police -rally gathers in Haymarket Square to support workers. -bomb thrown at police, police fire on crowd -6 civilians and 4 police die -Knights of Labor wrongly blamed and numbers fall to about 100,000 then fades away.

**The decline in the Knights of Labor did not mean an end to labor-management violence. Two of the biggest and bloodiest strikes took place in 1890.

• Homestead Strike (Pennsylvania) -at Carnegie’s Homestead steelworks -boss Henry Frick cut wages and demanded union end -workers are locked out -3,000 workers fight 300 police -anarchist, a person who rebels against any authority, established order, or ruling power, tries to kill Frick -popular support turns against workers -Carnegie has gov’t on his side. -Union is broken up

**For the next 20 years, the gov’t will use injunctions as a powerful tool against the union movement.

• Pullman Strike

-Pullman Palace Car Co. in Pullman, Illinois - When his company laid off workers and lowered wages, it did not reduce rents, and the workers called for a strike. -workers strike and strike spreads cross-country

The strike and boycott shut down much of the nation‘s freight and passenger traffic west of Detroit, Michigan. -President Grover Cleveland sends troops -federal court issues an injunction to end strike on the basis it is interfering with mail delivery. -union refuses and leaders go to jail -leader Eugene Debs becomes a socialist in jail after reading about Karl Marx’s ideas on Socialism -gov’t again sides with big business

**It was decided that the unskilled worker was the weak link in the labor movement.

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) labor organization of skilled workers (craft unionism)---no attempt to organize unskilled workersheaded by Samuel Gompersconcerned only with labor issues, not interested in social reform

o(wages, hours, working conditions, etc) grew to 1.7 million members by 1904

accepted Capitalism but just wanted workers to get a “piece of the pie”

Capitalism - privately owned businesses and goods and services are produced for profit in a market economy.

From the 1900s to Today

• Unlike the National Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, the AFL represented only skilled white male craftsmen in the cities.

• Despite this limitation, however, the AFL survived the Gilded Age and would become one of the most powerful labor unions in the new century.

• In 1955 it joined with the Congress of Industrial Organizations to become the (AFL–CIO)