Industrialization and the Labor Movement

Question 1

Working conditions

Answer 1

noisy, unsanitary, dangerous, fatal
working hours are long
working style- regimented, repetitive, “on the clock”

Question 2

taylorism

Answer 2

scientific management system for labor
frederick taylor
bring someone in factory who is taylorist expert
watch employees work and find best way for them to do their job
essentially turns you into a robot
movement that increases production and product

Question 3

deskilling of labor

Answer 3

artisans’ skills become irrelevant
quality of products going down
becoming a victim of history
anyone can make a product now, don’t need a skill

Question 4

union of artisans called national labor union

Answer 4

1866
not very successful
not let just any worker join- have to be skilled

Question 5

1877- great RR strike

Answer 5

not unionized but still have strike
RR no longer functions- big deal
national guard comes- gun battle in streets, shooting at each other
scabs- bring in workers to run trains, very poor people, usually black
very dangerous to be a scab because strikers would come after them
not successful- 20% pay cut

Question 6

1870s to 1880s- knights of labor

Answer 6

150000 local chapters

Question 7

KOL- open in terms of membership for the period

Answer 7

you could be an unskilled worker
anyone could join if they were a laborer
allowed women, irish, and black people
chinese were excluded
wouldn’t allow unproductive members of society
didn’t like beggers
emphasis on hard work

Question 8

KOL wants…8 hour movement

Answer 8

increased wages- fewer hours
the eight hour movement, 1886
"8 hours for work, 8 hours for sleep, 8 hours for what we will
call for a big rally in chicago
80000 people show up

Question 9

Hay market square

Answer 9

want to have another rally, this time to protest
run to hay market square
small group of people
someone set off bomb and threw it at police
police fire
people start to think Knights are bomb throwers

Question 10

Samuel Gompers and the AFL

Answer 10

more conservative response
influence from marxism
tougher the job, more likely to find intense union organizers- like mining
odds are you will be killed
coal cos had absolute control of your life
getting paid in form of rent and grocery money- called script
paid in coupons
only redeemable in co store
ludlow massacre
need revolution

Question 11

Homestead Steel Act

Answer 11

1892
carnegie
left henry frick in charge 
hired pinkertons to lock down steel mills so workers
couldn't get out/in
frick had no intention of negotiating seriously with the union on a new contract
called it ft. frick
caused battles with pinkertons
costly for union
alexander berkman shot him

Question 12

Pullman strike

Answer 12

1893
economic depression prompted pullman to cut wages without correspondingly reducing the rents that his employees paid for living in the co houses
fierce strike
American railway union- eugene debs
broken by fed government
olney said strikers were interfering with delivery
sherman antitrust act to punish unions