1865-1914 Flashcards
What is a trade union?
-an association of workers formed to represent their interests and improve their pay and working conditions and protect their rights in the workplace
What are the benefits of being in a trade union?
- Union members often earn higher wages and earn better benefits such as health insurance compared to non union members.
-you get provided with a sense of solidarity and mutual support amongst workers which makes it more easier to address workplace concerns as a collective
What is the Gilded age and what happened during it?
- from 1870s to late 1890s
-there was significant industrialisation and economic expansion
-During this time the US turned into a industrial powerhouse - Industries such as steel, oil and railroads boomed significantly as they were driven by a growing labour force
-mass migration of people to urban areas such as New York and Chicago - Labour unions began to form such as the KOL and the AFL to help organise workers to demand for better pay
-Labour conflicts such as Haymarket riot and Pullman strike. - a lot of migration from europe and Asia for better opportunities and these immigrants often worked in factories and significantly contributed to the industrial boom.
What were the labour rights like in 1865?
- They were limited because the unions that existed were small and were only for skilled workers
-Between 1860 and 1900 the number of industrial workers jumped from 885,000 to 3.2 million
-small craft unions that existed in 1865, opposed employers attempts to reduce wages and to provide sickness benefits for its members
-average workday was 10-16 hours a day 6 days a week - Unskilled workers were paid very little
-Factories were unsafe and injuries often occurred and there was also child labour
-former enslaved black workers faced discrimination and were forced into low paid jobs
Who was William H Sylvis?
- Was a labor leader
-was first to promote the idea of working class solidarity from his position of president of iron moulders union - was a key figure in the formation of the national labor union (NLU) which campaigned for 8 hour a day, so that workers had more time for rest and with family
-by 1868 the NLU has 300,000 members
-His sudden death prevented any further change
What was the KOL?
- The Knights of Labor was founded in 1869 by Uriah Smith Stephens
-it had some success after attracting former members of the NLU after its demise
-grew rapidly after 1879 when Terence Powderly became its leader - his intention was to unite skilled and unskilled labor and remove barriers of racial origin
- demanded for 8 hour day and equal pay for women and abolition of child labor
- by 1881 its membership was at 20,000
-in 1885 Powderly took action against one of its members working at Wabash Railroad as he was a threat, and this success boosted the membership to 700,000 in 1886 making them the largest labor organisation in the US at that time.
-its reputation was heavily affected by the Haymarket Affair in 1886
-by 1890s people began to break away and join other unions such as the AFL
-What was the American Federation of Labor?
- Effectively replaced the KOL in 1886 and was one of the first successful national labor federations.
- Leader was Samuel Gompers who argued that to stand up to large corporations, that labor unions had to control the bargaining power of skilled workers who were not easily replaced and concentrate on practical goals of raising wages and reducing hours
- Gompers supported the use of strikes and boycotts
- Influential Men like Marcus Hanna and JP Morgan were prepared to work with him
- By 1914, it had over 2 million members
What was the impact of industrialisation on the position of workers?
- By 1880, traditional skills were disappearing and both Men and Women were becoming more unskilled
-by 1890 unskilled women made up 35% of the workforce
-Both unskilled and skilled workers worked 12 hour days
What was the Teamsters union?
- Founded in 1903, and became one of the most largest unions in the US
-Initially was a team of horse team drivers who delivered goods - Played significant role in securing higher wages and better working conditions.
What was the Haymarket Affair?
-in 1886
-was a pivotal moment that highlighted the struggles of workers fighting for 8 hour days
- strikers were from a harvest plant in Chicago
- during the strike violence occurred and 4 workers were killed by police who opened fire on them, this portrays how far the FG were willing to go
-this as a result to protests in Haymarket Square to protest against the police violence against the workers.
- during this, a bomb was thrown killing 7 officers and 4 workers
- violence was blamed on German anarchists
- deepened the division between the labour activists and the authorities
What did the Haymarket Affair lead to?
- Authorities becoming more harsh
-Greater solidarity amongst workers
Who were the Molly Maguires?
- A group of Irish Immigrants and minors
-were very violent
-they caused workers to be reluctant in joining unions because they disapproved of their methods.
What was Laissez-faire?
- The belief that there should be no government interference in the organisation and operation of businesses
What was a weakness of organised labour and how did it gain strength?
- A weakness is the power of the employers
- They gained strength through laissez-faire policy that was pursued by the government
- It empowered capitalists to form powerful business corporations and make huge fortunes
- it also meant the government refrained from placing laws that protected workers rights so this allowed employers to fire workers for any union efforts
- allowed employers to have significant power over wages, working conditions and hours
How were labour unions further limited?
- Because the courts also supported the employers, and this further limited their development
- there was a series of supreme court decisions further hindered attempts to give workers their rights
- For example in Lochner V New York , the SC made the decision to invoke the 14th amendment to declare unconstitutional a law imposing a 10 hour day claiming it violated the rights of workers
What is the background of the homestead strike?
- 1892
- took place and Homestead Steel Works
- involved a strike that began on 30th of June and lasted 143 days
- it ended in a battle with the strikers and the pinkerton national detective agency
- dispute between Carnegie Steel company and the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel workers
- The strike was organised and purposeful
What actually happened in the Homestead strike?
– Carnegies had placed Henry Frick in charge of his company in 1881 and he was determined to break the union at homestead that Carnegie supported
- He started by in 1882 when the collective bargaining agreement was due to expire so he started negotiations with AA leaders and they asked for a wage increase and Frick countered with a 22% wage decrease
- He announced he would only negotiate for 29 more days and that if no agreement was made Carnegie steel would no longer recognise the union
- When no agreement was made he locked the union out of the rest of the plant with barbered wire
- the AA announced that they had broken the contract by locking workers out before their contract expired , so an agreement was made to walk out with the AA skilled workers and strike to keep the plant closed
- Frick requested for pinkerton agents who then opened fire on the crowd and the crowd responded by retaliating
-Frick was later killed by Berkman and the strike collapsed
What was result of Homestead strike and how did it impact labor rights?
- The union almost went bankrupt
- Many employers refused to sign contracts with the AA unions which broke them as a force in labor movements
-Carnegie steel remained un unionised for 40 years - Impacted labor rights as it exposed the harsh working conditions and economic inequalities faced by industrial workers.
- led to laws protecting union organizing, collective bargaining, and workplace safety.
- The Homestead Strike marked a turning point in American labor history, symbolizing the intense struggle between capital and labor during the Gilded Age. While it resulted in a temporary setback for unions, it exposed the need for labor protections
What happened in Pullman Strike?
- in 1894, workers at Pullman Palace Car company went on strike
- George Pullman claimed his workers were well paid and happy
- However during 1893 when there was an economic depression he cut wages by 25% and let go of 1/3 of his workforce
- The workforce was angry due to the fact that the reduction in wages did not match the reduction in cost of living
- There was a meeting organised to come to a consensus however it was rejected and 3 representatives of the workers were sacked and these fuelled for a strike
- 2 years later the American Railway Union ARU formed by Eugene Debs united all railway workers all over the country to start a strike
- All ARU members refused to operate trains using Pullman carriages,
- Railroad companies seeked FG help and President Cleveland sent in FG troops to break the strike killing 30 workers
What is significance of Pullman strike and how did it impact LR?
- Portrays the lengths of which the employers and FG were willing to go in order to deny labor rights
- shows how the federal government is siding with business owners rather than workers.
-the strike exposed the need for stronger unions and legal protections for workers, inspiring future efforts to secure workers’ rights - reveals how far the Fg were willing to go to suppress any assertion of labor rights
