The Gilded Age
The Organization of Labor
Essential QuestionEssential Question:How did workers & the U.S. government respond to the
rapid changes of industrialization during the
Gilded Age?
Changes of the Gilded Age• During the Gilded Age (1870-1900), the
U.S. industrialized rapidly:• New technology led to a boom in
railroads, oil, steel, electricity• Trusts, corporate mergers, & new
business leaders led to monopolies• Mass immigration from Southern &
Eastern Europe increased the size of American cities
• But, problems during the Gilded Age led to demands for change
The Changing American Labor Force
Group Activity:Gilded Age Theme Analysis
• Students will examine a series of three primary sources from the Gilded Age:• For each image, provide a one
sentence summary of the image
• Once all three images are revealed, determine how the images are related—What’s the theme?
Theme #1—Image A
Theme #1—Image B
Theme #1—Image C
Theme #1: Labor Unions• Industrial work was hard:
• 12 hour days, 6 days per week • Received low wages; No sick leave or
injury compensation• Industrial work was unskilled,
dangerous, & monotonous • These bad conditions led to the growth of
labor unions -- groups that demanded better pay & conditions through collective bargaining
Theme #1: Labor UnionsTwo Labor Union (types)1) Trade Unions (skilled)
Limited to people with similar skills
Vs.
2) Common Laborers (unskilled)
workers w/ little to no skills (paid less)
Theme #1: Labor Unions
Industrial Unions
The unification of all trade unions and common laborers.
Opposed by business interests.
Knights of Labor• first major union
founded in 1869 • demanded sweeping
reforms:• Equal pay for women • An end to child
labor• 8 hour work day
• claimed a substantial membership• Women• African Americans• immigrants
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
Samuel Gompers, creates union catered exclusively to skilled laborers and focused on smaller, more practical issues: • Increasing wages• Reducing hours• Imposing safety measures.• Pushed for closed shops
• Company could only hire union workers
Theme #1: Labor Unions
• Some people turned to socialism: government control of business and property, equal distribution of wealth• Industrial Workers of the World (IWW,
called the “Wobblies”) formed in 1905• Socialism seemed appealing to some
Americans, but never became a major option for workers
• By 1900, only 4% of all workers were unionized
Theme #2—Image A
Theme #2 —Image B
Theme #2—Image C
Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest
• One of the tactics used by unions to gain better pay was to strike:
• Strikes were designed to stop production in order to gain pay
Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest
Business Opposition Blacklists
union organizers put on do not hire lists
Lockouts when union formed, business locks out workers
Strikebreakers (scabs) replacement workers
The Corporate “Bully-Boys”: Pinkerton
Agents
Some business firms hired private police companies to deal w/ strikersIn some cases, violence broke out
Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest
During the Chicago Haymarket Strike (1886), unionists demanded an 8-hr day; When violence broke out, public opinion turned against unions,
viewing them as violent & “un-American”
Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest
Violence erupted during the Homestead Strike (1892) at one of Carnegie’s steel plants;
Federal troops were called to re-open the place with replacement workers
Steelworkers did not form a new union for 40 years
Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest
In 1894, Eugene Debs led railroad workers on a national strike when the Pullman Palace Car
Company cut wages by 50%
President Cleveland sent the army to end the strike; Strikers in 27 states resisted U.S. troops & dozens died
Management vs. Labor
Management vs. Labor
““ToolsTools”” of of ManagementManagement
““ToolsTools”” of of LaborLabor
““scabsscabs””
P. R. campaignP. R. campaign
PinkertonsPinkertons
lockoutlockout
BlacklistingBlacklisting
open shopopen shop
boycottsboycotts
sympathy sympathy demonstrationsdemonstrations
informational informational picketingpicketing
closed shopsclosed shops
organized organized strikesstrikes
““wildcatwildcat”” strikes strikes
The Great U.S. FEAR: The Hand That Will
Rule the World One Big Union
The Great U.S. FEAR: The Hand That Will
Rule the World One Big Union
A “CompanyTown”:
Pullman, IL
Child Labor
Child Labor
After viewing the photos of child labor, why do you think this image
is called “Galley Labor?”
Organized Labor Loses Strength
• The Supreme Court later upheld the use of injunctions against labor unions, giving businesses a powerful new weapon to suppress strikes.
Organized Labor Loses Strength
• Lochner v. New York (1905)
Supreme Court ruled 60-hour work week limit unconstitutional
• Freedom of Contract
• Organized labor began to fade in strength, and did not resurge until the 1930s