US Trade Unions (1865-1877) Flashcards
1
Q
The National Labour Union
(1866-1877)
A
- Before 1877, union organisations had been sporadic and largely local
- Small craft unions around local concerns
- NLU formed in 1866
- 77 delegates representing 60,00 workers gathered at Baltimore to launch this national organisation and adopt a platform focused on securing legislation protecting the 8-hour day
- Union was short-lived
- Economic depression of 1873 drove millions of workers into unemployment and out of unions
- 1877: nation’s total union membership fell from 300,000 to 50,000
2
Q
The National Railroad
Strike Causes
(1877)
A
- Owners of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad announced a pay cut (the 4th in as many years)
- Workers walked off the job and were joined by workers of different industries due to sympathy
- This growing mass of workers attacked railroad yards, burning trains, and tearing up tracks
- Violence was worst in Pittsburgh, 5000 workers fought 650 federal troops
3
Q
The National Railroad Strike
Consequences (1877)
A
- Military force eventually restored order along the nation’s railroad lines
- Strikers destroyed more than $10 million worth of property and terrified middle-class observers
- The event raised a horrible possibility of social warfare just a decade after the Civil War
- Strike persuaded workers workers to organise
- Burned more than 500 cars, 104 locomotives, 39 buildings
- 25 killed by federal troops
