labor organizing (1900s)

Flashcards covering the important vocabulary and concepts from the lecture.

Ludlow Massacre

A violent attack on April 20, 1914, in Southern Colorado involving the National Guard, local militia, and a private detective agency against striking homeowners and tent city dwellers, resulting in the deaths of twenty-six people.

Mexican Wage Scales

Practices used by employers in the twentieth-century Southwest to pay Mexican workers less than white workers for the same jobs, suppressing wages and using Mexican laborers to break unions.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

An early twentieth-century labor federation that restricted membership primarily to white laborers, limiting its influence and excluding many non-skilled and Mexican workers.

Income Disparity (early 1900s)

The vast difference in wealth between the labor class (including Mexican Americans) and the upper class, exemplified by the fact that in 1900, 1% of the population owned half the national wealth while the average laborer earned only $400-$500 per year.

International Workers of the World (IWW)

A radical labor organization formed in 1905, also known as the 'Wobblies,' aimed at uniting the working class to overthrow the capitalist system; advocated for industrial unionism and the improvement of working conditions.

Big Bill Haywood

Leader of the Western Federation of Miners who opened the IWW convention, advocating for the confederation of the working class and the seizure of the means of production.

Living Union

I really don't know what the person is referring to as a living union.

Lawrence Textile Strike (1912)

A strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, involving immigrant textile workers protesting wage cuts and poor working conditions; the IWW played a significant role in organizing and supporting the strikers.

Voluntarily Sent Away (children)

The act of sending children away in response the the tractor Mary Florence calling out local officials, and the color dispatch.

Ricardo Flores Magón

An anarcho-communist and key ideological leader of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, known for his writings and activism promoting equality and workers' rights; associated with the PLM (Partido Liberal Mexicano).

Partido Liberal Mexicano (PLM)

A Mexican political organization, associated with Ricardo Flores Magón, which advocated for radical reform, equality, and workers' rights; its ideas influenced labor movements on both sides of the US-Mexico border.