Advanced Placement U.S. History
Review - Labor Movement
1865-1905
1.
The National Labor Union – 1866 – First attempt at labor organization
Founder – William H. Sylvis
All skilled craftsmen eligible
Goals: eliminate monopoly in industry, establishes a federal department of labor, abolish contract labor,
arbitrate labor conflicts, & an 8-hour workday in factories
Sponsors 3rd Party > National Labor Reform Party; run a candidate for president in 1872, did poorly
2.
Knights of Labor – 1869 (an industrial union)
Founder – Uriah S. Stephens
BUT real history & significance dates from 1879 under Terence V. Powderly
Broad social & economic outlook, open to all workingmen—skilled, unskilled, farmers, mill
hands, anarchists, socialists, etc.
Goals: (radical, but wide reaching) 8-hour day, abolish child labor, public ownership of utilities,
income & inheritance tax, and land reform
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3.
Ill-planned strike for 8-hour day > Chicago, Haymarket Square- unknown anarchist throws a bomb, kills many
policemen, leads to groups demise
American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) – 1886 (craft union)
Significant Leader- Samuel Gompers
Limited membership – Skilled workers ONLY! – (The aristocracy of labor)
Goals: Bread & Butter issues > higher wages, shorter hours, safer and more sanitary working conditions, worked to
restrict immigrants
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Use mass meeting, boycotts, & strikes
Stays out of politics, works with “the system”, conservative for a labor union, perhaps why is most accepted.
Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W. or “Wobblies”)– 1905 (radical and revolutionary type of union)
Leader – William “Big Bill” Haywood
All workers were eligible
Goals: overthrow the capitalist system and replace it with socialism
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Never any real #s - its hostility to First World War in 1917-1918 put it out of business
Conflicts
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1877 – Railroad strikes paralyze nation – introduces 1st large-scale industrial violence to US
1886 - McCormick Harvester, culminates in the above mentioned Haymarket riot
1892 – Homestead Strike: Carnegie Steel Company – Homestead, Pennsylvania - Pinkerton detectives come in to
protect “scabs” – strikers fire on detectives - state militia called in
1894 – Pullman strike: Pullman Palace Car Company – Chicago - ties up ½ the railroads in the nation
American Railway Union – Leader Eugene V. Debs – strikes found in violation of
Sherman Anti-trust Act (“A conspiracy in restraint of trade”) – President G. Cleveland, under
advise of his Attorney General, Richard Olney (a former R.R. attorney) issues an injunction
against all strike activities - sends federal troops to Chicago – Debs refuses to obey the injunction –
Debs sentenced to 6 months in prison - **1st effective use of injunction against a union.
1905 – anthracite-coal strike – Teddy Roosevelt intervenes and settles strike
Other significant items related to labor 1865-1905:
- Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842) Massachusetts law supporting a union’s right to organize (Does not immediately
open a new era for labor unions; many judges continued to consider unions illegal)
- In re Debs (1889) Court sustained Pres. Cleveland’s injunction and issuance of troops to Chicago to deal with the
Pullman Strike
- Department of Commerce and Labor established (1903)
- Lochner v. New York (1905) Court invalidates a N.Y. law establishing a 10-hour day for bakers.
- Muller v. Oregon (1908) Sets maximum working hours for women
- Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (1911) Fire kills 146 women garment workers—result of poor & unsafe working conditions
1915-1935
1.
War Labor Board - 1918 - Wilson President - Regulates labor and arbitration disputes during WWI
2.
Red Scare - 1919-20
Economic depression, 4 million + workers on strike at various times. (includes coal, steel workers, Boston police)
Strikes generally unsuccessful. Union membership declines.
3.
Frances Perkins - Sec. of Labor - First woman cabinet member
NIRA - guarantees right to organize AND bargain collectively (*Section 7a); outlaws child labor, establishes a 40 hour work
week and minimum wage. (NIRA declared unconstitutional ) Schechter v. U.S.
4.
NLRA ( Wagner Act ) 1935 >Workers rights to organize/collective bargaining held constitutional - CIO formed (John
L. Lewis) - All workers, skilled and unskilled. Welcomes blacks. Wants to organize workers industrially, not by craft
as AF of L does - AFL orders CIO to disband. CIO refuses and is expelled from AFL.
1935-1950
1.
First sit-down strike - 1936 (Rubber workers). Effective technique prevents management form bringing in strike
breakers. (Held unconstitutional in 1940)
2.
Fair Labor Standards Act - 1938. Minimum wage, maximum workweek for many workers.
3.
National Labor Board - 1942 - established by FDR -Determines procedures for settling disputes. President can
stabilize wages/salaries.
4.
Massive march - 1943 - threatened by Blacks (A. Philip Randolph) - March on Washington. FDR creates
Committee on Fair Labor Standards - eliminates discrimination (theoretically)
5.
Massive Strikes - 1946
4.6 million on strike at various times.
Truman ends RR strike by threatening to draft strikers into army.
Federal government seizes coal mines during strikes
Taft-Hartley Act - passed over Truman’s veto. Anti-labor legislation.
Reduced power of labor…brings back use of injunctions to break
strikes; allows law suits against union leaders; forbids closed shops
6.
1949 - Direct prohibition of child labor for first time.
1950-1981
1.
1952 - Federal government seizes steel industry
Supreme Court rules President exceed his authority by ordering seizure
2.
AFL-CIO – merge >represents 16 million workers; over 85% of all union members in U.S.
3.
1962 - Collective Bargaining. Federal employees gain right
4.
Civil Rights Act - 1964.
Bars discrimination in employment - based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin.
Establishes Equal Employment Opportunity.
5.
1966 - Minimum wage protection. Extended to include 10 million workers previously
excluded.
6.
1970 - First massive work stoppage of Post Office. Nixon declares state of Emergency.
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) passed.
7.
1973 - Washington first state to allow closed shops for civil servants
8.
1981 - 13,000 Federal air traffic controllers (PATCO) strike (wages and job stress issues).
Fired by Reagan.
1981-present
1.
Amidst globalization of the economy union membership, & labor union power has declined steadily since 1983.
2.
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – (1994)
3.
Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) – (2004)
a. Labor Unions oppose above treaties, but to some extent pushed for the incorporation of basic labor standards
in the agreement if one were to pass … & they did.
4.
Recently unions have made some attempts to organize across borders. Transnational organizing has been facilitated by
technological change. Unions, however, still act largely in their national self-interest.
5.
In 2007, the labor department reported the first increase in union memberships in 25 years and the largest increase
since 1979.