The Birth of Unions

By Brad Harris,

Grand Prairie HSSE: US 3B

What is a Labor Union?

A labor union is an organization of workers who

unite to protect the rights of the workers from

abusive practices of the employer

What is a Labor Strike?

A labor strike is when a labor union refuses to

go to work in order to shut down a business

because of poor working conditions or poor pay

Early UnionsThe free enterprise system meant that businesses

made their own rules

Without government interference, business

owners could pay their workers what they wanted

and make them work as long as they wanted

Industrialization during the late 1800s

contributed to the development of organized labor

because it created low-wage, low-skill jobs that

made employees easy to replace.

Suppressing the Unions

• Union organizers were blacklisted, making it impossible

for them to get a job

• Businesses locked workers out and refused to pay them

• Workers were forced to sign contracts saying they

would not join a union

Karl Marx

Marx argued that free market capitalism, like previous

socio-economic systems, will inevitably produce

internal tensions which will lead to its destruction

Karl Marx was

the German

philosopher,

whose ideas

are credited as

the foundation

of modern

communism.

Marx believed that workers would eventually revolt,

take control of factories, and overthrow the

government. Once the workers did this, the new

workers-led government would take all private property

and distribute wealth evenly among every citizen.

Marxism

Marxism greatly influenced European unions and led

to numerous revolutions in Europe in the mid-1800s.

When immigrants came to the U.S. from Europe, many

feared they would bring their ideas of workers

revolutions with them, leading to a distrust of many

Americans of immigrant workers.

Mary Harris “Mother” JonesMother Jones was the nation’s most

prominent woman union leader during

the American Industrial Revolution

Jones became

an organizer for

the United Mine

Workers

She traveled to numerous mining

camps to see conditions miners had

to endure. She gave fiery speeches

for miners to unite to fight for better

working conditions and better pay.

Eugene V. DebsEugene V. Debs

was the powerful

leader of the

American

Railway Union.

Debs would run for president

four times as a candidate for

the Socialist Party

American Federation of LaborThe American Federation

of Labor was the union of

over 20 trade unions

Samuel

Gompers was

the union’s

first leader.

Gompers believed unions should stay

out of politics and that they should

negotiate rather than go on strike.

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

In 1877, an economic recession led to some railroads

cutting wages, triggering the first nationwide labor

strike. It became known as the Great Railroad Strike.

Great Railroad Strike of 1877

Some workers turned violent and numerous

states had to call out their state militias to

stop the violence.

Knights of LaborIn response to the Great

Railroad Strike of 1877, labor

organizers formed the first

nationwide industrial union –

the Knights of Labor.

The Knights called for an

eight-hour workday, supported

the use of arbitration AND

began to organize strikes.

Haymarket Riot

The Haymarket Riot was the disturbance that took

place on May 4, 1886, in Chicago, and began as a rally

in support of striking workers.

Haymarket Riot

A bomb was thrown during the rally, which started a

riot. Eight men were convicted and four of them were

executed. One was a member of the Knights of Labor.

Homestead Strike

The Homestead Strike occurred in 1892 when workers

of Andrew Carnegie’s U.S. Steel went on strike after a

tense labor dispute led to a lockout.

The Homestead Strike one of the most violent strikes

in U.S. history and was a major setback for unions.

Homestead Strike

Pullman Strike

The Pullman Strike

refers to a nationwide

conflict between labor

unions and railroads

that occurred near

Chicago in 1894.

Pullman Strike

Following the firing of union

workers, Debs organized a

strike that shut down the

nation’s railroads and

threatened the economy.

Union membership declined as many people saw

unions as being Un-American and violent

Impact of union strikes

IWW (Wobblies)The International Workers of

the World (IWW) is the union

created in Chicago in 1905

that was made up primarily of

socialists and anarchists

The IWW

called for all

workers to be

united as a

class and no

wage system

Women’s Trade Union LeagueIn the early 1900s, women were

paid less than men, and most

unions did not include women.

As a result,

in 1903 the

Women’s

Trade Union

League was

formed

This was the first union organized

to address women’s labor issues.

Summary• The free enterprise system is based on the laissez-faire

theory, meaning that the government should not

interfere with or regulate business

• Industrialization contributed to the development of

labor unions because it created low-wage, low-skill

jobs that made employees easy to replace

• The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 led to the first

nationwide industrial union – the Knights of Labor

• Samuel Gompers formed the American Federation of

Labor, the largest trade union in the nation

Coming up

Next…

Politics and

Reform

during the

Gilded Age