The Organized Labor Movement

Chapter 13.3

Impact of Industrialization
Better standard of living for Americans Huge sums of wealth for entrepreneurs Wider availability of cheap goods Wider access to institutions (Museums, libraries, etc.)

Working Conditions
HORRIBLE! Long Hours and low wages (12 hours per day, 6 days per week) Unsafe working conditions

Working Conditions
Sweatshops
Factories where thousands of people, usually women, worked long hours on machines making mass produced items.

Working Conditions
Factory work
Poorly lit, overheated, and badly ventilated. Loss of hearing

Child Labor
Work alongside parents and bring in an additional wage.

Company Towns
Owned by the Company Company Store
Deceptive practices wage slavery

Labor Unions Form

1820 workers begin attempting to collectively bargain. 1834 National Trades Union est.

Labor Movements
Socialism Spreads through Europe in the 1830s. Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels - 1848

Knights of Labor
Union was open to all, regardless of trade (skilled or unskilled). The Knights actively recruited African Americans. The Knights reached their peak with 700,000 members The union largely disappeared by the 1890s.

The Formation of the AFL

American Federation of Labor (AFL)
Founded by Samuel Gompers Craft union made up skilled workers from 100 local unions. AFL had union dues that were set aside to help striking workers. AFL focused on wages, hours, and safety in the workplace.

America on Strike
Haymarket Square Riot
Strikers were protesting for an 8 hour work day. Radicals were in the group of protesters. Bomb thrown at Police Officers Dozens, including police were killed. Knights of Labor were blamed by the Public for the incident and their membership declined.

America on Strike
Strike at Homestead
Workers were protesting a wage cut at a Carnegie steel plant. A private police force, the Pinkertons, were called in to break the strike. The Pinkertons killed several strikers and wounded many others. The militia was called in to restore order.

America on Strike
The Pullman Strike
Pullman Train Car Company reduced workers wages by 25 percent. Workers protested the move by striking. The owner responded to workers demands by closing the plant and firing three workers.

America on Strike
The Pullman Strike cont
The strike escalated and railroad workers across the nation joined the strike. The result was a disruption in rail traffic and mail delivery. The Sherman AntiTrust Act was cited as a reason for the Federal Government to step in. President Cleveland sent in Federal troops, ending the strike.

Effects on the Labor Movement

Sherman Antitrust Act regularly cited by industrialists to stifle unionization. The union movement splintered into various factions, some influenced by socialism.

Importance
The booming economy relied heavily on workers to fuel its success. The struggle between business owner and employee intensified. Workers were upset over horrible working conditions and low wages.