CH. 6 SECTION 3 CONT

Labor Unions Emerge

Sherman Antitrust Act

1890- Made it illegal to form a trust that interfered with free trade between states or with other countries

Was very hard to enforce because the act was not well written and companies found loop holes Eventually the government gave up

Business Boom Bypasses the South

The South was still recovering from the civil war and had no capital to invest

The North controlled most of the industry and the railroads

South remained agricultural an suffered from high transportation costs and high tariffs on raw materials

Labor Unions

Workers joined together to try to improve their lot

Workers had long hours in very dangerous conditions No sick pay, compensation for injury, etc In 1882 an average of 675 were killed at work a week

Number of women and children working in factories increased (Sweat shops)

Early Organization

First national organization was National Labor Union (NLU) 1866 by William H. Sylvis Persuaded congress to legalize and 8 hour work day for

government workersColored National Labor Union (CNLU) was

created because some NLU chapters would not accept African Americans

Knights of Labor 1869- open to all workers no matter race, gender, or skill. “an injury to one is the concern of all” Advocated 8 hour work days and equal pay for men and

women

Craft Unionism

Included workers form one or more tradesAmerican Federation of Labor (AFL)

Focused on collective bargaining, or negotiation between representatives of labor and management

Used strikes as a major tactic

Industrial Unionism

Felt that unions should include all laborers in an industry- skilled or unskilled

American Railway Union (ARU) Included unskilled laborers as well as engineers Used strikes to gain higher wages

Socialism and the IWW

Socialism: an economic and political system based on government control of business and property and equal distribution of wealth

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)- Wobblies Included miners, lumberers, and cannery and dock

workers Welcomed African American workers

Other Unions

Sugar Beet and Farm Laborers’ Union of Oxnard- Japanese and Mexican workers of Ventura county

State Federation of Labor- Chinese and Japanese miners who wanted the same wages and treatment as other miners

Strikes Turn Violent

Great Strike of 1877: Worker of B&O railroad protested wage cuts. Strike spread and all railroad traffic for 50,000 miles was stopped. President Hayes sent troops in to end the strike

Haymarket Affair: May 4, 1877 3,000 people gathered at Haymarket Square in Chicago to protest police brutality. Someone threw a bomb into the police line, and police opened fire. Caused some to turn against the labor movement

Violent Strikes Cont.

Homestead Strike: Carnegie Steel workers called a strike after wages were cut. “Scabs” were hired, but workers forced them out and kept the plant closed. 3 detectives and 9 workers died.

Pullman Company Strike: with the economic depression Pullman laid off 3,000 workers and cut wages in half without decreasing workers rent. ARU boycotted Pullman’s trains when he would not negotiate. Turned violent when strikebreakers were hired President Cleveland sent in federal troops to end strike Many strikers were fired or blacklisted

Women Organize

Mary Harris Jones (Mother Jones)- organized the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) Led 80 mill children with hideous injuries on a march

to the home of President Roosevelt. Led to the passage of child labor laws

Pauline Newman (16 years old) organized International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) Organized a strike of 20,000 seamstresses

Pressure Against Unions

Employers forbade union meetings Forced employees to sign “yellow-dog contracts”

swearing they would not join a unionTurned Sherman Act against labor, saying

strikes would harm interstate trade