DIRECTIONS:
A. Read Chapter 37 a-e at http://www.ushistory.org/us/37.asp (Click "next" on the bottom of the website
to advance through each section. There 6 pages to read through.)
B. Read the outline of those chapters to review. (below)
C. Answer the questions below. (Avoid copy and paste, use your own words)
QUESTIONS:
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6.
7.
What are labor unions and how did they try to improve working conditions?
Where did the Railroad Strike of 1877 begin and what was the impact?
How did business and government respond to strikes and unions initially?
Who were members of the Knights of Labor and how did the Haymarket Affair lead to their failure?
Who were members of the AFL and what made them a successful union?
What was the Pullman Strike and how did the federal government respond to it?
BONUS: Find a video for one of the following events - Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Haymarket Affair,
or Pullman Strike.
ORGANIZED LABOR outline
ushistory.org
Chapter 37
Labor:
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Long shifts (10 hours a day / 6 days a week)
Child Labor (8 years old and up)
No Benefits (retirement, medical, injury, at will employee: let go if pregnant, disability/injury)
Unions:
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organized labor that pressured employers to provide better working conditions
8 hour work day (diverse range of demands made it difficult to agree on goals: Marxism to just a nickel
more per hour)
Members tended to be white men
(nativism/racism/gender roles often excluded immigrants, blacks and women)
Unions grew slowly and led to improvements (higher wages, shorter hours, safer conditions)
Labor organized starting in the Gilded ages
Chapter 37a
The Great Upheaval or Railroad Strike of 1877- 1st nationwide strike
Strike: Martinsburg, WV July 16, 1877
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Workers received 2 pay cuts within 8 mos., railroad workers prevented trains from leaving until there
pay was restored (drove engines into roundhouse)
Local (mayor) and state (Governor) authorities were unable to get the strikers to stand down
After 2 fatalities, the National Guard joined the strikers as a majority were railroad workers
President Hayes ordered federal troops to Martinsburg, trains left but sabotage allowed only 1 train to
get to its destination
Great Upheaval:
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July - August 1877
Martinsburg strike reached other B&O units, then Pittsburg (Penn. and Reading Railroad), and out to
the Midwest
Labor revolution was feared, but workers really wanted basic rights not to change the government
(shorter work hours, higher wages)
1st mass strike ended with police force and strikers who simply gave up
Staved off some pay cuts, spontaneous nature due to a widespread shared concern for quality of life
from workers across the US
Results: 100,000 workers strike, 1/2 of nations rail systems shut down, 100 died, 1000 imprisoned
Chapter 37b
Labor vs Management
Labor vs Bosses:
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As small business diminished, large factories came to dominate business, a great divide grew between
labor and bosses
Strikes, Boycotts, Sabotage:
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Tools used by laborers to get demands of better working conditions and higher pay met
Strikes - lack of labor would financially hurt a company and force them to meet demands
Boycott of products
Worker Sabotage also employed (break equipment in factory)
Management Strikes Back:
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Lockout: reverse strike, employees told not to show up if won't accept pay cut (need high enough
inventory of product to achieve)
Yellowdog Contracts: worker agree not to join a union
Scabs: strikebreakers who if crossed the picket line would often be intimidated or even beaten to
death in some cases
Government: Prior to 20th Century , they sided with business
 Courts give company an injunction to declare strike illegal
 Strikers are imprisoned
 National Guard and federal troops sometimes used to end strikes
Perspectives:
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Business - keep cost down to stay competitive
Workers - gain better working conditions and higher wages
Chapter 37c.
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Early National Organizations
Business would divide and conquer strikes, preventing larger demonstrations
Blacklists - names of workers who were involved in union activity, companies would share these as to
prevent them from employment and prevent union organization
NLU: National Labor Union
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1866, William Sylvis, 200,000 workers
Members - skilled, unskilled, farmers, Not African Americans (racism)
Goals: higher wages, shorter hours, Political: ban prison labor, currency to improve farm prices
Failure: represent to many types of workers (demands vary), Panic of 1873
Knights of Labor
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1869, Uriah Stephens began as a secret society
1886, 750,000 worker members
Members: all wage earners, even Women and African Americans
(fight for class dispute override gender / racial differences)
Goals: higher wages, shorter hours, limit immigration, child labor, government ownership of
railroads/telegraphs/telephones
Haymarket Square, Chicago, May 4, 1886
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May 1, 1886, International Workers Day
Knights of Labor organized a strike for an 8 hour workday
Demonstration grew violent when a bomb was thrown into the crowd
1 policeman died, injuries in crowd
Terence Powderly, leader , condemned the bombing
Anarchism and Mob violence became associated with demonstration --> membership dropped
Chapter 37d
American Federation of Labor - AFL
Samuel Gompers:
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Born - 1850, London, Jewish cigarmakers
Move to Manhattan during Civil War, cigarmakers
27 years old, organize local cigarmakers' union
Simple Demands - higher wages, better working conditions
NLA and Knight of Labor were too diverse in goals = failure
President of AFL 1886-1924
Unofficial leader of labor world because successfully got demands met and survived as a union
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Skilled Workers: group of varied craft unions (masons, hatmakers, cigarmakers)
Formed Dec. 1886 (same year of Haymarket Square)
Tradespeople had higher wages than unskilled and had more political/economic power
Strikes and Boycotts employed successfully (larger power of AFL carry influence over business)
Supported by government/public because avoided political issues - stayed simple not radical
1900 - 500,000 trades people become members
AFL
Unions Grow
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20,000 strikes between 1880-1900
Workers lose 1/2 of strikes, demands often met if partially
AFL organize labor national until Great Depression when unskilled laborers will organize
Chapter 37e
Eugene V. Debs and American Socialism
Marxism and Labor:
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Radicalism grew as division between producers and nonproducers grew
Gap between rich and poor ever present
Capitalism exploit working class while a few got rich
Socialism - means of production owned by government, distribute wealth evenly to producers
Eugene V. Debs - Pullman Strike:
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Born 1855, Indiana, parents were French immigrants
1892, formed American Railway Union which organized Pullman strike
1894 - Pullman Strike: Pullman Car Company fired 5,000 employees who refused to take a pay cut
Debs jailed after court injunction deemed the strike illegal
President Grover Cleveland sent federal troops to end strike and arrest Debs
Presidential Candidate - 6 mos. jail term led Debs to run for President as a Socialist
1900 - 87,000 votes (ran 4 times, even from jail after anti-war actions during WWI)
1912 - 900,000 votes (never won an election, but Socialism grew)
Socialism: 1,000+ Socialist Party members fill city/state governments
Industrial Workers of the World - I.W.W. or Wobblies
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Founded 1905, William "Big Bill" Haywood
Radical group, led antiwar movement in WWI
Encouraged violence against employers, Goal to overthrow capitalism
Membership small, led strikes across US
Success in message that workers are being mistreated - awareness
Decline post WWI, but began radical American activism