The Gilded Age

The Organization of Labor

Essential QuestionEssential Question:How did workers & the U.S. government respond to the

rapid changes of industrialization during the

Gilded Age?

Changes of the Gilded Age• During the Gilded Age (1870-1900), the

U.S. industrialized rapidly:• New technology led to a boom in

railroads, oil, steel, electricity• Trusts, corporate mergers, & new

business leaders led to monopolies• Mass immigration from Southern &

Eastern Europe increased the size of American cities

• But, problems during the Gilded Age led to demands for change

The Changing American Labor Force

Group Activity:Gilded Age Theme Analysis

• Students will examine a series of three primary sources from the Gilded Age:• For each image, provide a one

sentence summary of the image

• Once all three images are revealed, determine how the images are related—What’s the theme?

Theme #1—Image A

Theme #1—Image B

Theme #1—Image C

Theme #1: Labor Unions• Industrial work was hard:

• 12 hour days, 6 days per week • Received low wages; No sick leave or

injury compensation• Industrial work was unskilled,

dangerous, & monotonous • These bad conditions led to the growth of

labor unions -- groups that demanded better pay & conditions through collective bargaining

Theme #1: Labor UnionsTwo Labor Union (types)1) Trade Unions (skilled)

Limited to people with similar skills

Vs.

2) Common Laborers (unskilled)

workers w/ little to no skills (paid less)

Theme #1: Labor Unions

Industrial Unions

The unification of all trade unions and common laborers.

Opposed by business interests.

Knights of Labor• first major union

founded in 1869 • demanded sweeping

reforms:• Equal pay for women • An end to child

labor• 8 hour work day

• claimed a substantial membership• Women• African Americans• immigrants

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Samuel Gompers, creates union catered exclusively to skilled laborers and focused on smaller, more practical issues: • Increasing wages• Reducing hours• Imposing safety measures.• Pushed for closed shops

• Company could only hire union workers

Theme #1: Labor Unions

• Some people turned to socialism: government control of business and property, equal distribution of wealth• Industrial Workers of the World (IWW,

called the “Wobblies”) formed in 1905• Socialism seemed appealing to some

Americans, but never became a major option for workers

• By 1900, only 4% of all workers were unionized

Theme #2—Image A

Theme #2 —Image B

Theme #2—Image C

Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest

• One of the tactics used by unions to gain better pay was to strike:

• Strikes were designed to stop production in order to gain pay

Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest

Business Opposition Blacklists

union organizers put on do not hire lists

Lockouts when union formed, business locks out workers

Strikebreakers (scabs) replacement workers

The Corporate “Bully-Boys”: Pinkerton

Agents

Some business firms hired private police companies to deal w/ strikersIn some cases, violence broke out

Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest

During the Chicago Haymarket Strike (1886), unionists demanded an 8-hr day; When violence broke out, public opinion turned against unions,

viewing them as violent & “un-American”

Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest

Violence erupted during the Homestead Strike (1892) at one of Carnegie’s steel plants;

Federal troops were called to re-open the place with replacement workers

Steelworkers did not form a new union for 40 years

Theme #2: Strikes & Labor Unrest

In 1894, Eugene Debs led railroad workers on a national strike when the Pullman Palace Car

Company cut wages by 50%

President Cleveland sent the army to end the strike; Strikers in 27 states resisted U.S. troops & dozens died

Management vs. Labor

Management vs. Labor

““ToolsTools”” of of ManagementManagement

““ToolsTools”” of of LaborLabor

““scabsscabs””

P. R. campaignP. R. campaign

PinkertonsPinkertons

lockoutlockout

BlacklistingBlacklisting

open shopopen shop

boycottsboycotts

sympathy sympathy demonstrationsdemonstrations

informational informational picketingpicketing

closed shopsclosed shops

organized organized strikesstrikes

““wildcatwildcat”” strikes strikes

The Great U.S. FEAR: The Hand That Will

Rule the World One Big Union

The Great U.S. FEAR: The Hand That Will

Rule the World One Big Union

A “CompanyTown”:

Pullman, IL

Child Labor

Child Labor

After viewing the photos of child labor, why do you think this image

is called “Galley Labor?”

Organized Labor Loses Strength

• The Supreme Court later upheld the use of injunctions against labor unions, giving businesses a powerful new weapon to suppress strikes.

Organized Labor Loses Strength

• Lochner v. New York (1905)

Supreme Court ruled 60-hour work week limit unconstitutional

• Freedom of Contract

• Organized labor began to fade in strength, and did not resurge until the 1930s