Labor movements concise notes

Overview of Labor Unions

• Labor unions emerged after the Civil War to advocate for workers' rights and improve conditions.

• Aimed to address poor treatment of workers in industries like steel mills, cotton mills, and mining.

Key Objectives of Labor Unions

• Influence: Labor unions sought to become more influential politically and socially to gain better rights for workers.

• Organization: Unions aimed to unite workers, believing collective action would lend them more power.

• Legislation Goals: To push for laws against child labor and improve working conditions.

Membership Challenges

• Low Participation: Less than 5% of workers actually joined unions due to fears and the violent nature of many strikes.

• Strikes: Between 1881 and 1905, there were nearly 37,000 strikes, often perceived negatively by the public and government.

Major Labor Unions

National Labor Union (1866)

• Founder: William Silvis.

• Goals: Establish an eight-hour workday, abolish convict labor, create a federal department of labor, end immigration of Chinese workers.

• Tactics: Used strikes but was largely ineffective in achieving their goals.

Knights of Labor (1869)

• Founders: Uriah Stevens and Terrence Powderly.

• Inclusive Membership: Allowed all workers regardless of race or gender, excluding certain professions seen as exploitative.

• Goals: Equal pay for women, ending child labor, cooperative ownership of businesses, and progressive tax.

• Approach: Focused on political action rather than strikes; discouraged strikes due to potential violence.

American Federation of Labor (AFL) (1886)

• Founder: Samuel Gompers.

• Focus: Skilled trades, primarily white male craftsman.

• Goals: Higher wages, eight-hour workday, liability laws for employers.

• Strategy: Utilized collective bargaining, becoming one of the most powerful labor organizations.

Major Strikes

Great Railroad Strike (1877)

• Cause: Wage reductions leading to nationwide strikes.

• Response: State and federal governments intervened using militia and federal troops to suppress the strike.

McCormick Harvester Strike (1886)

• Cause: Wage cuts despite company profits; escalated into violence during a protest in Haymarket Square.

• Outcome: Violent confrontation and arrests of anarchist leaders led to deep mistrust of unions.

Homestead Strike (1892)

• Cause: Wage reductions at Carnegie Steel led to conflict between workers and management.

• Outcome: Violent clashes with Pinkerton detectives and state militia; unions remained weak afterward.

Impact of Strikes and Public Perception

• Ineffectiveness: Striker demands frequently unmet due to government siding with business owners.

• Violence and Xenophobia: Strikes often resulted in violence; public associated strikes with immigrants and anarchists, leading to negative perceptions.

Employer Tactics Against Unions

• Yellow Dog Contracts: Required workers to promise not to join or support a union.

• Strike Breakers: Employers often hired replacements to undermine strikers.

• Blacklisting: Strikers could be fired and denied future employment.

Sociopolitical Context

• Social Darwinism: Favored minimal government intervention and survival of the fittest ideology.

• Marxism: Popularized the idea that class struggle is the root of societal conflict, advocating for a revolution of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie.

Key Figures

• Mother Jones: An influential activist focused on child labor reform and rallying support from families for union efforts.