Labor Organizations & Reform in the Gilded Age

Resulting from the rise of big business, periodic unemployment and poor working conditions remained
Immigrants struggled to make ends meet
- America wasn’t as glamorous as it sounded
Employers had a lot of power over workers
- could cut pay for no reason
- could fire employees for no reason
Children had to work instead of attending school

Poor immigrants aren’t happy
- decided to take matters into their own hands in order to make changes for the better
Labor unions → groups of people who bond together in order to make their jobs better
Still many labor unions exist today

English immigrant
- worked as a child, poor family
Fought for laws to keep children from working
Fought for 8 hour workday
Created the American Federation of Labor (AFL)
- skilled workers only
- fought for immediate goals like better wages, hours and working conditions
- appealed to workers, making it most powerful labor union
- women and minorities were excluded from this union

Women made up this union
Successful strike in 1910 made ILGWU as important as AFL
March 1911 → fire at Triangle Shirtwaist Company in NYC caused death of many immigrant women
- many women jumped from the burning building because doors were locked
- event gave further force to ILGWU

Unions derive their power through…
- collective bargaining - union members negotiated with managment
- organized strikes - all workers decide to stop working until they get what’s desired
These methods often forced a company to take action
Businesses would often counter the strikes
- got court orders which forced employees back to work
- big businesses used blacklists
  - blacklist = a list of striking workers so other businesses knew not to hire these people
- also used Yellow Dog Contracts= forcing workers to sign an agreement stating they would never participate in a strike
Businesses and government worked together to combat strikes

Great Railway Strike (1877)
- A series of paycuts for RR workers led to a strike across several states
- President sent federal troops to end the strike
- Over 40 people died and workers gained very little
Lawrence Textile Strike (1912)
- The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a radical union formed of skilled & unskilled workers led huge strike against textile mills in Lawrence, MA
- Owners were portrayed as starting the problem
- Strike was one of the most successful of the era
- Workers won most of their demands

Social Gospel Movement - religious social reform movement in US from 1870-1920
- advocated for betterment of society through bibilical principles of charity and justice
- “love thy neighbor” approach
- labor reforms, abolition of child labor, shorter work hours, living wage, better factory conditions were most prominent concerns

National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
- created in 1890
- initially headed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony
- strategy was to push for ratification of enough state suffrage amendments to force Congress to approve a federal amendment
Woman reformers also focused on inequality brought by industrialization
Settlement Houses
- neighborhood social welfare agency
- main purpose: development and improvement of a neighborhood or cluster of neighborhoods
- informal counceling and home visiting
- sponsered many clubs and classes
- safe haven for women who were in need