chapter 3 lesson 4

trade union

organization of workers with the same trade or skill (made up craft workers, merchants iron modlers etc.)

Pauline Newman

organized international ladies garment workers union

American Railway Union

Led by Eugene Debs, they started the Pullman strike, composed mostly of railroad workers.

Deflation

-a rise in the value of money, added to tensions. -between 1865 and 1897 delfation caused prices to fall, which increased the buying power of workers wages -led to resignment among workers

Triangle Shritwaist Factory

-new york city -factory was full of coth and caught fire -doors were locked from the outside -no escape, no sprinklers -appx 141 died in the fire -public outrage led to building and factory laws

techniques companies used to stop unions

-required workers to sign oaths promising not to join a union - hired detectives to indentify union organizers - black list- workers who were fired that were trying to start an union or trying to join one

Factory working conditions

-were difficult and often dangerous -many workers preformed dull repetitive task in dangerous unhealthy working conditions -workers breathed in lint, dust and toxic chemicals -heaving machines lacking saftey devices led to injuries -with no regulations governing work place safety or training, workers had no source when they were poorly treated than to quit or look for other jobs. -average worker made 22 per hour/ 59 hour weeks

Haymarket Riot

100,000 workers rioted in Chicago. After the police fired into the crowd, the workers met and rallied in Haymarket Square to protest police brutality. A bomb exploded, killing or injuring many of the police. The Chicago workers and the man who set the bomb were immigrants, so the incident promoted anti-immigrant feelings.

American Federation of Labor

1886; founded by Samuel Gompers; sought better wages, hrs, working conditions; skilled laborers, arose out of dissatisfaction with the Knights of Labor, rejected socialist and communist ideas, non-violent.

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

A large number of railroad workers went on strike because of wage cuts. After a month of strikes, President Hayes sent troops to stop the strike (example of how government always sided with employers over workers in the Gilded Age). The worst railroad violence was in Pittsburgh, with over 40 people killed by militia men

Eugene V. Debs

Leader of the American Railway Union, he voted to aid workers in the Pullman strike. He was jailed for six months for disobeying a court order after the strike was over.

Women's Trade Union League (WTUL)

Founded in 1903, this group worked to organize women into trade unions. It also lobbied for laws to safeguard female workers and backed strikes, especially in the garment industry. While it never attracted many members, its leaders were influential enough to give the union considerable power.

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

Founded in 1905, this radical union, also known as the Wobblies aimed to unite the American working class into one union to promote labor's interests. It worked to organize unskilled and foreign-born laborers, advocated social revolution, and led several major strikes. Stressed solidarity.

Samuel Gompers

He was the creator of the American Federation of Labor. He provided a stable and unified union for skilled workers.

Mother Jones

Labor activist who was a member of the Knights of Labor union and who used publicity techniques to create awareness of the plight of mine workers and child laborers.

Knights of Labor

Led by Terence V. Powderly; open-membership policy extending to unskilled, semiskilled, women, African-Americans, immigrants; goal was to create a cooperative society between in which labors owned the industries in which they worked

Goals of the American Federation of Labor

Reach written agreements on wages, hours, and working conditions

Pullman Strike (1894)

Workers rebelled because the Pullman Palace Car Company cut wages by 1/3 and the American Federation of Labor refused to support the strikers. Military action was needed in order to keep mail delivery on track.

Homestead Strike

Strike at Andrew Carnegie's steel plant in which Pinkerton detectives clashed with steel workers

industrial union

an organization of common laborers and craft workers in a particular industry

International Ladies Garment Workers Union

an organization of people that make ladies' garments. Their members went on strike in the years just before to the Triangle Factory Fire. Shorter hours better pay.Women workers worked to gain shorter hours and better pay in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

women and organized labor

by 1900 women made up more than 18% of labor force. 1/3 of women wage earners worked as domestic servants. another 3rd worked as teachers nurses and sales clerks, the remaining third were indistrial workers often in the garment or food industry

Did the techniques to stop unions work?

yes they were often successful because there were no laws giving workers the right to form unions or requring owners to negotiate with them