Assess the impact of labor unions
on industry and the lives of workers
NCSCOS 5.03
AP USH Unit 16
Michael Quiñones, NBCT
www.socialstudiesguy.com
Macro Concepts
Micro Concepts
Change-transformation of a
person, place or thing.
Industrialization-process of people
producing things using mass
production and machinery.
Power-authority of a
government to carry out
the law.
Immigration- process of mass entrance
into a new country to live
permanently.
Conflict-problem or issue that
is controversial and can
cause problems without
compromise.
Socialism-the process of citizens
collectively owning property.
Negotiation-the process of attempting
to settle disagreements by talking.
Mediation-the process of having a
neutral 3rd party help settle a
dispute.
Collective Bargaining-the process of
having a group of workers decide
employment terms [usually by a
union].
Arbitration-the process of having a 3rd
party settle a dispute between two
groups [like a judge].
The Workplace and workers





During the late 1800s and early 1900s places people worked were often
very dangerous.
The risk of serious injury and death was always present.
Poor and dangerous working conditions such as faulty equipment, long
work hours and low pay often made working in factories unbearable.
Very low wages [the amount of pay workers received] forced people to
work many hours which made them very tired, angry and ineffective.
Because many families in large cities were often poor they sent their
young children [age 3 to teenagers] to work. Their lack of strength and
experience put them at high risk of injury.
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/triangle/player/
Click or type in the link above to view the film called Triangle Fire
• Watch movie quietly without putting your head down or sleeping.
• Make a list of five [5] tactics the bosses of the factory did to workers
that was unfair [make sure you briefly state why the tactics are unfair].
• Write a letter [one complete side of a page] to the U.S. government
explaining why the bosses’ tactics need to stop immediately and what
the federal/state or local government should do about the workers’
situation.
or…
• Write a letter [one complete side of a page] to the editor of the New
York Times newspaper explaining your opinion about what happened
to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory workers [if you have criticisms be
sure to list and explain them; if you have suggestions for preventing
this type of incident from reoccurring make sure you list and explain
them].
Workers United





Eventually many workers got smart and
united together to fight for better
working conditions and higher wages.
The groups of workers called
themselves labor unions.
Unions usually organized themselves by
the type of work they did such as
carpenters and shoemakers.
Trade unions and craft unions were
types of unions that were specific to
types of industries to protect those
types of workers.
For example a carpenters’ trade union
would protect the rights of carpenters.
Conflicts and labor leaders





Even with labor unions there were still problems
between workers and business owners.
Businesses often forced workers, as a condition of
employment, to sign yellow dog contracts which
forbade them from joining labor unions.
Labor union leaders such as Eugene V. Debs
encouraged members to go out on strike [walk out of
work] when they believed they were being treated
unfairly by employers.
Debs led the Pullman Strike in 1894 which led to
over 100,000 workers walking out on their railroad
jobs.
Debs was jailed for his participation in the strike
because the effect of the strike was too negative.
Samuel Gompers

Gompers learned from the failures of other
unions.

Gompers led the American Federation of
Labor [A.F.L.] for over 40 years.

Federation=Group of separate entities [in
his case unions] that combines.

His most important strategy was to pool the
resources of different types of unions.

The funds were used to support workers
during prolonged strikes.

He also championed closed shops which
did not allow non-union workers to work in
union dominated jobs.
Labor Strife and Unrest





Business/Labor conflicts were not always peaceful.
On May 4, 1886 rioting in Chicago’s Haymarket Square led to
multiple deaths and a bad reputation for unions.
The greatest mistake by the Knights of Labor [labor union with
different types of workers] was including skilled and unskilled
workers under one unified group.
Unskilled workers could be replaced by strike breaking scabs while
craftsmen [skilled workers] were not.
Skilled workers believed their jobs were unprotected.
Sherman Anti-Trust Act





The U.S. Government in 1890 tried to rein in the power of business trusts.
The shrewdest of businessmen hired lawyers who were able to find
loopholes in the law and avoid compliance.
Trusts were sometimes forced to break up into separate companies.
The best example of a corporate break-up was the 1911 break up of
Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Corporation.
The U.S. Government was bent on Trust busting after passage of the law
Homestead Strike and Steel Company tactics





Workers at Carnegie’s steel company wanted better working conditions
and better pay.
The steel labor unions went on strike at the Homestead Steel Works.
Because the workers refused to agree to Carnegie’s terms they were
locked out [not allowed to work by the company].
Violence was threatened from both the Steel company and their workers.
After much negotiation, fighting and legal battles most of the striking
workers were blacklisted by U.S. Steel and not allowed to work in the
industry again.
Labor Union/Conflict Assignment

Join with 3-4 other students [no more than 4 students to a
group] and create a 2-3 minute skit/video describing a labor
conflict and solution from the list of topics we learned in
Objective 5.03. Must be at least 2 minutes in length.5
Image sources








http://historyplanet.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/luddite.jpg
http://www.owdna.org/graphics/millvill2/childlabor.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MorganWoodworking.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swanson_Shoe_Repair_18.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Knights_of_labor_seal.gif
http://www.tinytreasuresrescue.com/Yellow_dog_wonders.gif
http://www.socialistviewpoint.org/march_03/debs.jpg
http://brightcove.vo.llnwd.net/d5/unsecured/media/1119379849/1119379849_15763121
59_33589e53c214f8ff4a77a0de7cb0c07fcdb74a2c.jpg?pubId=1119379849