trade unions key words 1865-1900

craft industries

workers with specific high skills, trained in a specific industry

closed shop

craft industries would form these. a single union that must be joined to be a part of the industry

sickness clubs

mutual insurance workers would pay into to provide sick pay

gilded age

first time period, 1870s-1890s. term from mark twain

monopolies

one company controlling a good- harder to unionise in as a workers must work for that company to be employed in the industry

grover Cleveland

President who sent federal troops to break up the Pullman strike. felt bad and began Labor Day

state militia

used to break up strikes in the Pullman Strike as well as the Homestead Strike

Pullman strike

1894 strike. the attorney general and president Cleveland stepped in to break the strike as they were ‘interfering with mail carrying’

Sherman Anti-trust act

1890 act to give the government the power to bring action against monopolistic businesses

Holden v Hardy 1898

upheld Utah law giving mine workers an 8 hour day. however overall the supreme court was becoming more supportive of 14th amendment arguments workers should be able to chose to work in whatever conditions they wanted

National Labour Union (NLU)

union that attempted to create a single association across industries. 300000 members in 1869. started by William Sylvis

William Sylvis

created the NLU, first mass trade unionists

Knights of Labor (KoL)

unions aiming to unite skilled and unskilled labour. had 700000 members by 1886 but was weakened by the Haymarket Affair

AFL

union that replaced the KOL. sought to unite unions as a national federation of trade unions- more conservative negaotiation. by 1914 had 2 million members

National Negro Labor Union

union founded 1869 for black workers. started baby Frederick Douglass and Isaac Myers, they failed to affiliate with other unions