The Labor Movement

1. The Labor Movement Chapter 5 Section 4

2. Seamstresses • 12 Hour Days, 6 days a week

3. Steel Mills • 7 Day work week, no sick leave, no vacation

4. Railroads • 1890: 1 in 300 workers would die

5. Women and Children • 1890: 4 million women working • 1920: 8 million • Children earned $.27 per day ($6.47) • Men made $498 per year ($7,100 today) • Women made $269 per year ($6,400 today)

6. Deflation • The value of the dollar increases • One dollar buys more products • Deflation in late 19th century resulted in employers cutting wages. • Workers began to unionize

7. National Labor Union • First large scale national labor union • Founded by iron worker William Sylvis • 300 Locals in 13 states • Sylvis wanted to admit women and African-Americans, but Locals refused

8. Knights of Labor Uriah Stevens: 1868 Focused on Industrial Labor Membership open to everyone Advocated arbitration as opposed to strikes-3rd party helps workers come to agreement with management

9. Craft Unionism and Samuel Gompers • Craft Unions included only skilled workers but often from many industries • American Federation of Labor • Founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers • Pushed for closed shops -all workers were in the union

10. Industrial Unionism and Eugene Debs • Industrial Unionism: all workers in one industry, skilled and unskilled, form a union • Eugene Debs formed the American Railway Union, the first true industrial union • They saw minor successes

11. Socialism and the IWW • Socialism: economic and political system based on government control of business and property and equal distribution of wealth • Industrial Workers of the World: Wobblies

12. The Great Strike of 1877 • Baltimore and Ohio RR workers strike in protest of wage cuts • The strike eventually spread to a national level • 50,000 miles of railroads stopped for a week • Resulted in nation wide riots • President Hayes sent troops in to stop the strike • RR strike that was very violent and spread nationwide

13. The Haymarket Affair • May 3, 1886: Police kill a striker at the McCormick Harvester factory • May 4, 1886: 1,200 people gather in Haymarket Square to protest • At 10 o’clock, the crowd was leaving due to rain

14. The Haymarket Affair Cont’d. 170 Policemen assemble at a nearby train station and marched into the square A bomb was thrown at the police and they opened fire

17. The Haymarket Aftermath • 7 Policemen killed • Several strikers killed (exact number unknown) • 3 speakers and 8 radicals arrested • 4 hanged, 1 killed himself in jail

18. The Homestead Strike • Carnegie Steel Plant in Homestead, PA • Henry Clay Frick: company president • Announced a wage cut on July 6, 1892 • A strike ensued

19. Pinkertons

20. The Homestead Strike Cont’d. • 3 detectives and 6 strikers killed • Strikers closed the plant until July 12 • The National Guard was called in and the violence stopped • The strike continued until November when the union caved in.

21. The Pullman Strike • Built train cars in Pullman, Illinois • Workers went on strike when he lowered wages but not rent

22. The Pullman Strike Cont’d. • Strike spread nationwide • ARU got involved, shut down train service • Military called in to break strike

23. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire • March 25, 1911-huge fire in factory in NYC • 145 workers died • New York set up a task force to inspect factories • established fire codes, 54 hour workweek for women and minors • no Sunday work and no one under 14 could work

26. Anti-union Actions • Owners refused to negotiate with strikers • forbade union meetings, fired members • Yellow dog contracts-said worker would not join a union or strike • Turned Sherman Anti-trust Act against unions • Lockout-refused to allow union members on their property