1.3 the organized labor movement

sweatshop

A shop or factory where workers work long hours at low wages under unhealthy conditions

company town

community whose residents rely upon one company for jobs, housing, and shopping

collective bargaining

Process by which a union representing a group of workers negotiates with management for a contract

Socialism

A system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production.

Knights of Labor

1st effort to create National union. Open to everyone but lawyers and bankers. Vague program, no clear goals, weak leadership and organization. Failed

Terence Powderly

Leader of the Knights of Labor

Samuel Gompers

He was the creator of the American Federation of Labor. He provided a stable and unified union for skilled workers.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

1886
*Combination of national craft unions representing labor interests in wages, hours, and safety
*Individuals were members of their local unions, which in turn, were members of the AFL
*Rather than revolutionary changes, they sought a better working life; their philosophy was "pure and simple unionism"
*First president was Samuel Gompers

Haymarket Riot

1886 labor-related protest in Chicago which ended in deadly violence

Homestead strikes

In 1892, 13 men were killed in a battle between striking steelworkers and strikebreakers at Carnegie's steel plant in Pittsburgh

Eugene V. Debs

Leader of the American Railway Union, he voted to aid workers in the Pullman strike. He was jailed for six months for disobeying a court order after the strike was over.

Pullman Strike

in Chicago, Pullman cut wages but refused to lower rents in the "company town", Eugene Debs had American Railway Union refuse to use Pullman cars, Debs thrown in jail after being sued, strike achieved nothing