Was immigration the main obstacle to the development of trade union & labour rights before 1914? Flashcards
What were Trade Union & Labour Rights like in 1865? (6)
-Trade unions were small and limited to skilled workers
-No legal obligation to recognise unions and cooperate with them
-Numbers of workers increased from 885,000 to 3.2 million due to industrial revolution->many of these new, unskilled workers were excluded from trade unions
-These employers often wouldn’t introduce health and safety standards as would reduce profits->industrial injury risk employees had to take
-Contract system meant that workers could be laid off in slack times
-Mainly ‘closed shop’ unions->no strength in numbers
What rights did workers have to representation in 1865?
-they would have to fight for themselves if they weren’t happy->maybe result in more strikes and action because they would become desperate for change
-didn’t have many rights
-didn’t have anyone representing them
What were the issues for workers? (6)
-children working->some as young as 8 in mines
-working hours->largely 12 hour shifts
-dangerous conditions->in 1889 2,000 railway workers were killed at work
-lack of compensation following accidents
-health and safety was expensive and opposed by employers
-courts considered that employer negligence was one of the normal risks of an employee
What is a trade union?
an organisation that represents people at work->their job is to protect people’s pay and conditions of employment->they also campaign for laws and policies which will benefit working people
Why do employers potentially dislike trade unions?
-less money/less profit due to having to increase pay
-disruption to work
Give an example of a labour right that you have as a worker?
sick pay
Explain 3 barriers to progress affecting the development of trade unions:
-rely on word of mouth
-’closed shop’ unions->smaller unions can’t really do much
-legality
-only affected skilled workers
Suggest what trade unions need to be effective:
-support/unity->mass membership
-needs to be a legal organisation/legally recognised
What does wasp mean?
-white Anglo-Saxon protestant
What was the National Labor Union’s (NLU) aims? (5)
-8 hour day
-currency and banking reform
-end convict labour
-immigration restrictions (especially Chinese)
-promote working women
Who did the National Labor Union represent?
-cross craft lines
-draw a mass membership of workers
-wanted AAs to make separate unions
What was the impact of the National Labor Union?
-short lived->1866-1867
-Iron Founders strike failed
-1868->300,000 members
-1869->William Sylvis died (leader)-> union ended
What were the Knights of Labor’s aims? (4)
-8 hour day
-equal pay for women
-abolition of child labour
-wanted a legislative approach without strikes
Who did the Knights of Labor represent?
-women
-skilled and unskilled workers
(remove barriers of racial and cultural origin)
What was the impact of the Knights of Labor?
-1879->Powderly became leader
-1886->700,000 members (including women and AAs)
-success against Wabash Railroad via strike (he rejected unions)
When was the Knights of Labor founded? By who?
-founded in 1869 by Stephens
When was the American Federation of Labor started?
1886
What was the American Federation of Labor’s aims?
-link all unions and become the largest
-raise wages and reduce working hours by reforming legislation
-supported use of strikes and boycotts
Who did the American Federation of Labor represent?
-harness the power of skilled workers who were not easily replaced
What was the American Federation of Labor’s impact?
-1914-had over 2 million members
-by 1924 it was the only remaining major national federation of trade unions->continued until 1992
When was the Industrial Workers of the World set up?
1905
What was the Industrial Workers of the World’s aims?
-militant and used violence
-their ultimate goal was to call ‘One Big Strike’ which would overthrow the capitalist system
Who did the Industrial Workers of the World represent?
-defended poor and illiterate workers eg immigrants
What was the Industrial Workers of the World’s impact?
-1923 had 100,000 members eg fruit pickers and western miners
-known as the wobblies and used violence and sabotage->faced arrests
-by 1924 became divided and broke down
What factors hindered TU progress? (2)
-Haymarket Affair 1886
-Supreme Court and the partiality of the law
What happened with the Haymarket Affair? When?
-1886
-wanted improved working conditions
-violence broke out between striking workers and police
-a rally the next day led to deaths of police and workers
Who was the Haymarket Affair blamed on? What did this cause fear about?
-blamed on German Anarchists and Americans feared a foreign conspiracy undermining white capitalism
Why was the Haymarket Affair an important event?
-incident exposes the divide between white and immigrant workers and exacerbates existing tensions
How did the Haymarket Affair hinder TU progress?
-lack of union and labour rights
-lack of worker solidarity
What happened with the Supreme Court and the partiality of the law?
-not only the authorities but also the courts supported employers
->further limited the development of labour representation after court injunctions were used to break strikes after 1894
-first decade of the 20th century->a series of Supreme Court decisions further impeded attempts to give workers their rights
What was Lochner vs New York in terms of the Supreme Courts partiality of the law?
-Lochner vs. New York (1905) involved the Fourteenth Amendment to declare as unconstitutional a law imposing a ten-hour day, claiming that it violated the rights of workers to determine their hours of work
What was a result of Lochner vs New York?
-others placed federal injunctions on unions that organised strikes and attempted to boycott unfair employers or encouraged others to do so
