Chapter 14

Tenement

A building in which several families rent rooms or apartments with little sanitation or safety

Anarchist

A person who opposes all forms of government

Working Class

A social class broadly composed of people working in blue collar, or manual, occupations.

Labor Union

An organization of workers that tries to improve working conditions, wages, and benefits for its members

Child Labor

Children working in factories to make a living for their families

Division of Labor

Division of work into a number of separate tasks to be performed by different workers (management, workers, assembly line)

American Federation of Labor

Founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers, focused on recruiting skilled workers (higher wages, shorter hours, better conditions)

Collective Bargaining

Process by which a union representing a group of workers negotiates with management for a contract

Pullman Strike, Chicago 1894

Pullman cut wages, angry workers shut down railroads, president sent in federal troops to break the strike

Railroad Strike, West Virginia 1877

Railroad workers went on strike across the country, strikers burned and looted railroad property, police and militia could not control them so the army came and broke up the strike. 100 people dead, millions of dollars worth of property destroyed

Strike

Refusal to work in order to force an employer to meet certain demands

Sweatshop

Small factory where employees have to work long hours under poor conditions for little pay

Haymarket Riot, Chicago 1886

Strikers protested scabs, anarchists call meeting in Haymarket Square, 180 police break up gathering, bomb exploded near police. Four protesters dead, Several police dead

Socialism

a political theory advocating state ownership of industry

Bread and Butter Values

higher wages, shorter work day, better conditions