Labor UnionsLabor UnionsHow can we help the workers?How can we help the workers?
Today’s Objectives Identify ways in which the working conditions
were poor in the factories
Identify and explain what a labor union is
Explain how labor unions addressed the needs and concerns of the workers
What were the working conditions like?
Spider Map Activity
What is a labor union? Labor Union- A group of workers that tries to
help its members
They decided that the best way to improve the conditions was to work together
They worked together to improve the poor working conditions
They sought higher pay and better working conditions
Two Major Unions Knights of Labor (KOL)
Founded in 1869
Made up of skilled and unskilled workers
They fought for rights of all workers
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
Founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers
Skilled workers ex: Carpenters, cigar makers
Do labor unions and workers always agree?
Not always
When there are disagreements, union members may strike
Strike: to stop working until demands are met
Workers did not get paid during a strike
Company owners would not make money
At times, it turned violent
The Haymarket Square Riot
1886 union workers met in Chicago to protest a company that made farm machines
Members were striking to support an 8 hour day
Strikers attacked workers leaving the factory
Two people were killed
The next day, workers met to protest the police action
Violence broke out and more than 60 people were hurt
Seven people died
The Homestead Strike 1892, a manager at a Carnegie steel mill
demanded union members accept lower wages
Workers went on strike
Company brought in private guards to fight the strikers
Strikers fired on the guards
People on both sides were killed
The Pullman Strike 1894, George Pullman owned a railroad company
He cut his workers’ pay, but did not lower the rents and high prices in the town he set up for his workers
Workers became angry and went on strike
Other railroad workers joined them on strike, railroads stopped working
Railroads asked for help, the President sent the troops in
Violence happened, people were hurt and killed. Railroad cars were burned
Did this violence help or hurt the unions?
It did not help the unions
Many workers felt it was dangerous to be a union member
By 1900, the unions lost much of their power