June 13, 1900
By: Jenny Coulter, Alyssa Herington,
Callie Kolb, Haley Wilson, Annaleigh Yahata
$.25
This Day in History
By: Haley Wilson
By: Annaleigh Yahata
As 1900 rolls around the bend, we
see many changes in the world of
Labor. Strikes have been going on
non-stop for the past nine years,
money has been lost, new holidays
established, and views have been
changed. All for the unions.
To understand what is going
on in the United States right now,
you must know about three major
unions:
National Labor Union,
Knights of Labor, and American
Federation of Labor.
The National Labor Union ,
organized in 1866, lasted about six
years and contained about 600,000
members total.
They included
skilled workers, unskilled workers,
and farmers. The only group of
people they excluded were the
Chinese, but who really wants to be
associated with them anyways? The
National Labor Union, or NLU, also
encouraged women and blacks to
join. However, the blacks were not
officially part of the NLU, but of
their own Colored National Labor
Union. The thing that kept them
apart was the Colored National
Labor Union's support of the
Republican Party and the persistent
racism of white unionists. The NLU
tried for the arbitration of industrial
disputes and for an eight-hour work
day. They were able to achieve this
eight-hour work day for government
workers which gained them ground.
Wage reductions during
years of depression triggered
disruptive strikes including the Great
Railroad Strike of 1877, the 1892
Homestead Strike, and the 1894
Pullman Strike. The strikes during
this time got extremely violent and
had to be put down by the federal
army. Also, these strikes were never
successful.
As the National Labor Union
lost its power, the Knights of Labor
took up the reigns. Officially known
as “The Noble and Holy Order of the
Knights of Labor,” this union started
out as a secret society complete with
passwords, handshakes, and private
rituals. Coming out of its secrecy in
1881, this union, like the NLU,
sought to include everyone in one big
labor union.
Some
ninety
thousand men and women, white and
black alike, joined the Knights of
Labor in campaigning for economic
and social reform.
They were
successful in a series of strikes for
the eight-hour day. When they won
a strike against Jay Gould's Wabash
Railroad in 1885, the membership of
the union blossomed to about threequarters of a million workers.
The Knights of Labor
became involved in the May Day
strikes in 1886. The worst strike
ended with the Haymarket Square
Bombing. An anonymous person
threw a bomb into a large crowd of
protesters that killed and injured
many people.
Since nobody
confessed or knew who the bomber
was, the authorities immediately
turned to the anarchists who had
been advocating a violent overthrow
of the American government. Eight
anarchists were arrested: five were
sentenced to death and the other
three were given stiff prison terms.
Another thing that put a bad
name to the Knights of Labor was
the fact that they included both
skilled
and
unskilled
laborers…continued
“Labor
Unions” page 3
This June, the United
By
States Steel Corporation
was founded by J.P.
Morgan. So far, it has
been the most successful
corporation in all of
American
history.
Industry is on the incline
and huge corporations
are making big bucks.
Only a few years ago,
the whole of the U.S.
was in a state of
complete financial chaos,
with the Panic of 1873,
where over speculation
and inflation caused a
run on the bank. And yet
now, the big dogs are
thriving in business and
the U.S. is a center of
financial stability and
industry
Visit Hawaii!
The newly-acquired US
territory is the perfect
place getaway from the
crowded cities and your
hectic lifestyle.
Inquire about tickets for
the USS Herington at your
nearest port city.
By: Haley Wilson
Recent reports of labor strikes
have been on the incline, as
workers are becoming more and
more dissatisfied with their poor
working conditions and low
wages.
Workers,
unskilled
especially, claim to be treated
more as slaves then valued
laborers. They assert that they are
the ones who are supporting the
big dogs on top of the industry
like Carnegie and Rockefeller,
with their sweat and labor, and
yet they gain nothing from it.
In light of this, workers
involved in a union recently went
on strike in hopes of gaining
ground with regards to achieving
better wages and working
conditions. In response, factory
owners have implemented a
lockout, certain that if they do not
allow workers in, they can starve
them into submission. Also
various labor strike organizers
have been reported dead or
missing, and the general public is
certain that the corporations have
put their “scabs” back to work
with
containing
rebellious
workers. One such corporation
issued a blacklist to other factory
owners with the names of
rebellious leading workers-such
an action will ensure that these
leaders won’t be working
anywhere around here for quite
sometime.
So far, both laborer and
employer are holding fast, but if
the workers don’t give in soon,
more drastic measures will be
taken. Carnegie claims that he
will not hesitate to bring in Irish
laborers to replace those who are
currently rebelling, and he
assuredly stated that he would do
all in his power to protect those
Irish laborers from the starving
mobs of those on strike. One can
only hope that the situation will
be resolved before the violence
and desperation increases.
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,
The labor unions have
caused chaos throughout the cities
and, your newspaper should not
help advocate better working
conditions for them. The knights
of Labor have only caused trouble
for regular citizens, and ruined
themselves. Haymarket Square on
May 4, is just one example of
why your newspaper should not
help the workers out. The Knights
of labor were probably involved
in the riot and helped kill people.
If they wanted to gain better
working conditions and pay, they
should try to obtain their goal
peacefully. If the Haymarket
Square incident had never
happened the Knights of Labor
would still have public support,
but instead they lost, much
needed, support. Personally, I
would like to see the view of the
people or the business men in
your newspaper. I feel like it
would be interesting to see how
other people, not just the laborers,
react with all the strikes and
advocating for better hours, pay
and conditions. Please take my
advice with adding new opinions;
I would greatly appreciate to
know other non union laborers
feel. My opinion is only meant to
help your newspaper thrive.
Sincerely, Jenny C.
Dear Editor,
Every morning I
read your newspaper and
I greatly enjoy all the
articles about the strikes
and
unions.
It
is
admirable that there is a
newspaper dedicated to
getting better pay and
conditions for workers. I
don’t think everyone
understands how hard it
is to be a worker. We
rarely get time off or
even time to go to the
bathroom. Plus if we get
hurt we lose our job. We
don’t have any insurance
or anything to help us.
Conditions within the
factories are horrible and
dangerous, no one else
would want to work for a
factory, so shouldn’t we
get at least decent
amount of pay? I hope
that the hours and pay
and
conditions
will
approve
with
your
newspaper
advocating
with us. One day
workers will gain more
support and it will all get
better. Thank you for
your
newspaper’s
support. Sincerely, Ms.
Coulter
“The Two Blind
Men”
Produced by George
Méliès
with Alyssa Herington
See it at your local
cinema now
Labor Unions (continued
from page 1)
The unskilled laborers were being
replaced by “scabs,” or foreigners
who would work regardless of the
bad conditions or low pay, when they
went on strikes. However, it was
easier for the skilled workers to get
their jobs back since they were
valuable to the company.
This is how the American
Federation of Labor began. When
the skilled laborers left, the Knights
of Labor suffered a huge loss in
strength and gradually died as
workers fused with other protest
groups of the decade.
The American Federation of
Labor is born in 1886 with Samuel
Gompers at the head of it all. The
AF of L consisted of an association
of self-governing national unions,
that were kept independent of each
other, but unified as a whole.
The demands of the AF of L
was to have a fairer share for labor.
In other words, Gompers fought for
better wages, hours, and working
conditions.
The major goal,
however, was authorizing the “closed
shop,”
or
all-union
labor.
Companies hate the “closed shop”
agreements, but when the unions are
made up of all skilled workers, it is
pretty hard to turn down when
negotiating with them.
In order to achieve the policy
of “closed shop,” the AF of L had to
put limitations on who they brought
in. It was only skilled workers that
were allowed in the union. They
outcasted blacks, women, and
unskilled laborers to fend for
themselves. Today, the AF of L
holds about 500,000 members under
their strict requirements and continue
to strive in their ways.
Over the past nineteen years,
there has been over 23,000 strikes
that have involved 6,610,000
workers and have cost employers and
employees about $450 million. The
workers lost about half of their
strikes. Now, the public is just
starting to accept unions and their
rights to organize, to bargain
collectively, and to strike.
To
hightlight this, Labor Day was made
a legal holiday by an act of Congress
in 1894. All in all, the unions are
finally making their impact on
American society and are finally
starting to fit in.
Pity for the Laborers
By: Jenny Coulter
Workers for years have
been mistreated, disregarded and
dismissed. Business men like
Carnegie, Pullman and others
have conceived themselves as
higher
men,
constantly
mistreating workers in their
factories, never thinking of how it
affects us. The big business men
deserve for us to strike back at
them,
Pullman
especially
deserved what his workers
brought against him. The Pullman
Strike should inspire us to act in
the same manner. George
Pullman deliberately, reduced
only the workers’ wages, never
intending to reduce anyone else’s
wage.
Reducing the workers
wage but not reducing the rent he
required from his workers that
were forced to live in his is house
is an abomination against his
workers. Federal troops were
brought against the workers on
strike, when they were only
advocating
for
equal
rights. How
is this fair?
Stopping
the railroad
track was
only fair if
the workers
were
not
getting fair
treatment.
This deliberate attempt
to undermine workers
proves to us that it our
time to act. No other
worker should fear for
being fired or getting
hurt. We should have
stability and insurance,
we put our health and
even life on the line to
work in the dangerous
factories. It is our time to
demand for higher pay,
better
working
conditions and more
reasonable hours. We
should not be forced to
work 12 hours a day,
every single day of the
year. If we get hurt
doing our job, our bosses
should pay for the
hospital bill and make
sure our job is still there
when we return. The
time
of
mistreated
workers is over, the time
of tears and heartbreak
over losing jobs is over.
It is our duty to demand
better conditions, not
only for us but for our
families
which
so
desperately need us, to
support them and to
provide food and shelter.
By: Callie Kolb
Strikes: Just or Unjust?
By: Callie Kolb
Strikes are becoming a
very frequent problem in different
industries. A major example of
this was when the members of the
Amalgamated Association of
Iron, Steel and Tin Workers
forged a strike, with just reasons,
against
Andrew
Carnegie’s
Homestead Steel Works in 1892.
Workers at Carnegie’s
steel mill were angry over wage
cuts and working conditions,
which gave them appropriate
reasons to join a union. These
workers had been insufficiently
compensated, considering their
long workdays and limited time
off. The unions gave the workers
an opportunity to voice their
objections regarding their work
life.
Andrew Carnegie and
Henry
Clay
Frick
were
completely
against
the
involvement of their workers in
any union. If they had given
thought
to
their
workers’
opinions, there would not have
been any reason for it. Therefore,
it was unfair and unreasonable for
Carnegie and Frick to bring in
non-union workers and force a
lockout.
Because
of
this
unjustified act, the union workers
refused to leave the plant, which
marked the beginning of the
strike.
It was a poor choice on
Frick’s part when he brought in
300 armed Pinkerton Guards in
order to drive out the workers. If
Carnegie and Frick had even
considered the requests of the
workers, it would never have
resulted in a violent battle. The
workers had no choice but to
defend themselves by whatever
means necessary.
The outcome of the strike
was a distressing one. The
Governor of Pennsylvania sent in
8,000 militia guardsmen to put an
end to the conflict. Again, if
communication had been made
possible between the workers and
their
superiors,
government
involvement would not have been
required. Unfortunately, the union
collapsed and Carnegie prevailed.
Communication has to be
instituted within the workplace.
As with the Great Railroad Strike
and the Pullman Strike, there was
a
breakdown
in
this
communication. These strikes all
began with a common cause:
extraordinarily low wages. Sadly,
the government always became
involved and therefore, caused the
unions’ unsuccessful attempts at
improvement.
For workers and the men
they work for, communication is a
common issue that needs to be
addressed for change to take
place. In turn, there will be a
decrease in the number of strikes.
Because of the lack of
communication,
strikes
are
necessary in order to demonstrate
the workers’ discontent.
Obituaries
By: Alyssa Herington
Belle Boyd- (b.1844 d.1900)
Boyd, a former Confederate spy,
died of a heart attack on June 11
in Wisconsin. She was on her
speaking tour to lecture on her life
as a Civil War spy. For her
actions for the Confederate army,
she was awarded a Southern
Cross of Honor. She was also
imprisoned three times during her
life. After moving to England, she
became an actress. She is
survived by her three
former husbands and her
friends in both the US
and England.
Fitzwilliam Q. Dalton
IV- (b.1836 d.1900) A
very prominent socialite
and a generous man,
Dalton lived his life
giving money to many
organizations; his money
funded three libraries,
two hospital wings, and
an elementary school. He
is survived by his third
wife and twelve children.
James Harden- (b.1877
d.1900) Harden was one
of the miners working in
the mines in Utah on
May 1when the blasting
powder exploded and
killed 200. He was taken
to New York City to be
with his family, but died
of severe burns on
Tuesday. He is survived
by his wife and two
children.
Other factory deaths:
Samuel Grange, Eliza
Briggs, Mike Warren,
Harry Draken, John
Tolle, Amanda Rellers,
Julia Lassiter, Shawn
Guster, Emily Danes,
Stanley Bernard, Taylor
Davis, Will Turner VI,
Samantha
Baggins,
Scarlett Trethel, Barry
Totter.
Works Cited
Bailey, Thomas A., Lizabeth Cohen, and David M. Kennedy. The American Pageant. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 2002.
Bennett, Carl. The Top 100 Silent Era Films. Silent Era Information & News. 24 Jan 2010
<http://www.silentera.com/info/top100.html>
VandeCreek, Drew. 1878-1884: Immigration, Labor, and Politics. 2002. During the Gilded Age
Digitization Project. 23 Jan 2010 <http://dig.lib.niu.edu/gildedage/narr5.html>.