Gilded Age Union Groups Flashcards
What was the situation for workers in the Gilded Age?
In 1865 employers did not even have to recognise the existence of unions. Industrialisation led to a rise in workers from 885,000 to 3.2 million by 1900. Production moved to factories. Craft unions dominated in 1865 only permitting skilled tradesmen and unskilled workers had no representation. Craft unions had closed shops.
What were limits for ordinary labourers?
In the 1880s 1/3 of people who worked on railroads were common labourers. Industrialists used the contract system to hire unskilled workers. In steel mills workers faced hazardous conditions with high accident rates while children worked in cotton mills and coal mines, susceptible to lung disease. In 1889 2000 workers died on railways due to accident.
Outline the National Labour Union
Key leaders; William H Sylvis
What they wanted; 8 hour day, currency and banking reform, end of convict labour, federal labour department, restricted immigration, promotion of women’s rights and encouragement of black men to join separate unions. What happened; Founded 1866 by Sylvis of Iron Moulders International Union. Failed strike 1866-7 didn’t deter membership, hit 300,000 by 1868. Sylvis realised political reform needed.
Effectiveness; Not effective, Sylvis died suddenly in 1869 marking NLU’s demise.
Who were the Knights of Labour and what did they want?
Key leaders; In 1869 Uriah Smith Stephens founded KOL and attracted National Labour Union members, but after 1879 when Terence V Powderly became leader it gained momentum.
What they wanted; End racial and skilled/unskilled barriers, 8 hour day, no more child labour, equal pay for women. 1881, membership hit 20,000.
What happened to the Knights of Labour and what was their effectiveness?
What happened; Powderly opposed striking but was made to in 1885 when Jay Gould took anti union action at Wabash railroad. Success boosted membership to 700,000 by 1886 including 10,000 women and 50,000 African Americans.
Effectiveness; In 1880s there was an economy slump leading to the Haymarket Affair violence in 1886. This destroyed the KOL’s reputation and workers broke away to join the AFL.
Who was the American Federation of Labour and what did they want?
Key leaders; Samuel Gompers set in Dec 1886.
What they wanted; Eight hour working day, reducing wages, using skilled workers to achieve bargaining power, utilising boycotts and strikes and passing legislation.
What happened; By 1914 the Federation had over 2 million members
What was effectiveness of the AFL?
Effectiveness; Membership was large but the AFL remained a minority proportion of the national industrial workforce. Gompers communicated with businessmen such as Marcus A Hanna. Unions retained independence within the AFL such as the Teamsters Union. AFL remained the major national federation of trade unions.
Outline Industrial Workers of the World.
What they wanted; Set in Chicago 1905, defended poor and illiterate workers including immigrants and had 100,000 members by 1923 including western miners, lumbermen, fruit pickets etc. Used violence and sabotage and faced harassment.
Effectiveness; Less effective, militancy meant that arrests and prosecutions were made and by 1924 the union was divided with strength broken.
What was the 1886 Haymarket Affair?
May 1886, police opened fire at strikers at McCormick Harvester Plant, Chicago. Next day, protest rally at Haymarket Square, bomb killed seven police so 4 strikers were killed. Violence blamed on German anarchists Johann Most and August Spies. Foreign conspiracy resulted with animosity to new immigration,
What were divides between old and new immigrants?
Old immigrants came in the early nineteenth century, willing to work 16 hour days to make ends meet. White workers hostile to competition. In late nineteenth century new immigrants arrived from Eastern Europe and China. Chinese immigration was stopped in 1882 and Japanese in 1907. Unions hostile.
Great Railroad Strike 1877: why were workers in a weak position?
The public saw unions as criminal. In 1873, unemployment hit 25% after the economic panic and in NYC union membership dropped from 45,000 workers to 5000 in 1876 with workers facing cuts.
Why did the Great Railroad Strike 1877 begin?
On 16 June 1877, wage cuts were announced of 10%. B&O workers in Martinsburg, West Virginia, refused to run trains until pay was restored. Rutherford Hayes urged public to not take part in the proceeds but the strike spread.
Why was the Great Railroad Strike 1877 different? How was it dealt with?
The public had sympathy for strikers, coming on strike. In Maryland, only 59 of 200 militiamen came arrived at the scene of one of the strikes with most defecting.President Hayes deployed federal troops to quell riots. After three weeks the strike ended with one hundred dead and $6 million in damage in Pittsburgh alone.
Did the 1877 Great Railroad Strike have a significant impact?
The strike was a turning point encouraging further labour upheaval. It highlighted the potency of a labor force and spread beyond the state. Terence Powderly was inspired and Eugene Debs recognised need for negotiation. Employers became increasingly wary of unions and would fire unionised workers but offered coverage for sickness and injury.
