Labor Movements and Key Strikes in U.S. History

Iron Law of Wages

Economic theory stating that wages will always remain just high enough for workers to survive (subsistence level).

Wage Earners

Industrial workers paid by the hour or day, not salaried.

Working Conditions

10-12 hour days (6 days/week), dangerous machinery, no job security, child labor common.

Collective Bargaining

Workers negotiate with employers as a group, not individually.

Goals of Collective Bargaining

Higher wages, shorter hours (8-hour day), safer working conditions.

Methods of Collective Bargaining

Strikes, boycotts, union contracts.

Opposition to Collective Bargaining

Employers used lockouts, strikebreakers (scabs), court injunctions.

Railroad Strike of 1877

Strikes spread across multiple states due to wage cuts during an economic depression.

Government Response to Railroad Strike of 1877

Federal troops sent to restore order; over 100 people killed.

Craft Unions

Unions of skilled workers in a specific trade.

Strengths of Craft Unions

Skilled workers harder to replace, strong bargaining power.

Weaknesses of Craft Unions

Excluded unskilled workers, limited solidarity.

National Labor Union (NLU)

Founded in 1866, included skilled and unskilled workers, excluded women and African Americans (mostly).

Goals of National Labor Union (NLU)

8-hour workday, end child labor, labor law reform.

Knights of Labor

Founded in 1869, included skilled & unskilled workers, women, and African Americans.

Beliefs of Knights of Labor

Labor should be cooperative, not competitive; opposed monopolies, child labor, trusts.

Haymarket Bombing (1886)

Labor rally in Chicago for 8-hour workday; bomb thrown at police leading to deaths.

Impact of Haymarket Bombing

Massive backlash against labor unions; Knights of Labor lost credibility and members.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Founded in 1886, membership consisted of skilled workers only.

Goals of American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Higher wages, shorter hours, better conditions.

Samuel Gompers

Leader of AFL; believed capitalism should be improved, not destroyed.

Homestead Strike (1892)

Caused by Carnegie Steel cutting wages; resulted in violent conflict.

Pullman Strike (1894)

Caused by Pullman Company cutting wages but not rent; led to federal intervention.

Eugene V. Debs

Labor leader and socialist; believed workers needed political power.