Labor Unions Form
Knights of Labor AFL- American Federation of Labor
Better PayBetter Working Conditions
Terrence V. Powderly
Shorter Hours
·men·women·African-Americans·unskilled laborers
·pushed for collective bargaining
·by 1904 over 1.6 Million members
Samuel Gompers
Child Labor
Cause: By 1900 Thousands of children under 16 are working
Effect: Child Labor Laws are Created
Had to be at least 12 years
old
Could not work more than 10 hours a day
Owners often ignore these laws!
Women Workers
by 1900- over 1,000,000 worked in
factories
received 1/2 the pay as
men
ILGWU- Internattional Ladies' Garment Workers Union·formed after a sweatshop fire in NYC killed 150 women
Mary Harris Jones " Mother Jones"- fought for labor rights for 50
years
Working Conditions Before Labor Unions
10- 12 Hour Workdays- 6 Days a
Week
Workers Easily FiredImmigrants would replace fired workers- they would
work for less $$
Unsafe & Unhealthy
steel workers were burned
coal miners died in "cave-ins"
textile workers damaged lungs- lint in the air
sweatshops- crowded factories that became firetraps
Results of Strikes in the late 1800's/ early 1900's
Strike Breakers Replace Striking Workers
Violence occurs
Injunctions are ordered
The government intervenes and brings in replacement workers
Major Strikes of the late 1800's
RR Strike of 1877- Workers were forced to take pay cuts and strike breakers were brought in to replace striking workers
Haymarket Riot of 1886- A bomb exploded after strikers were protesting the killing of 4 strikers-A police Officer is killed
Homestead Strike of 1892- Wages are cut and while on strike the replacement workers were protected by the state government.
Pullman Strike of 1894- Wages are cut and workers go on strike but the owners get an injunction to stop the strike.
