Early Labor Unions Research Paper

Everyone was frustrated with work conditions and this led to the formations of unions around the country. The Knights of Labor was a very popular union that led the first major strike in the United States. The year was 1885 and Jay Gould’s Missouri Pacific Railroad was the target. The owner, Jay Gould, had recently cut wages drastically and fired union members. The Knights led the strike and eventually succeeded to improve wages for the railroad workers. With this great accomplishment the Knights gained

The Knights of Labor was a standard labor union comprised of individual workers across the nation. They were inclusive in terms, employing both skilled workers in crafts industries as well as unskilled laborers such as coalminers. (Rayback, 1966, p. 168). They had limited political objectives such as the eight-hour workday and the prohibition of child and convict labor. Their broader objectives were social: to improve the image and social status of the working man.

In the period immediately following World War I, American workers struggled to earn a living as prices rose and wages stagnated, forcing them to seek union support. Labor unions endeavored to represent the working class against their employers and corporations, who refused to increase wages or improve working conditions. In order to combat the capitalist’s immense political clout, unions made their voice heard through strikes. After the war, capitalists linked unions to the mounting communist threat, stressing that strikes undermined capitalism and threatened a republican form of government. As a result, government sided with capital against labor unions and the struggle of the American workers, who had no voice against corporations. This struggle can be exemplified in a correspondence between union leader, Samuel Gompers and bishop William Quayle, published in “The Twenties in Contemporary Commentary: Labor & Capital”. The letters demonstrate that in the 1920’s, labor unions were necessary as a means to overcome capitalist greed and enhanced the ideals of democracy by empowering the working class.

The employers declared their opposition to these Boycotts by saying that were “un-american and anti-american”, and then they went turned to courts against the Unions. The most successful labor union, Knights of Labor was established in 1869 in Philadelphia. The Knights believed in a government determined by the people and production determined by the workers. Labor reform was one of the key objectives of the Knights of Labor. To the Gilded age labor reformers the debasement of politics and society rested in part on the capacity of the rich to corrupt governments in their own self interests. They Knights said that, “We declare an inevitable and irresistible conflict between the wage system of labor and republican system of government” (Rosenzweig,Pg 95-96). Knights of Labor extended their memberships to all of the working-class instead of just limiting to “skilled workers”. They broke the norm from other labor movements by including women, African Americans, Mexicans in their movements, who were previously shut out of the labor movement. While in some states, the Knights held combined assemblies where the Black and the White workers joined forces in demonstrations, some other places held separate assemblies and this garnered criticizm from some the skilled African American laborers(Rosenzweig, Pg 97). The knights excluded non producers such as lawyers, bankers, speculators, and

This federation was named the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The creation of the American Federation of Labor was caused by the weakness of a labor union at the time called the Knights of Labor. Because the Knights of Labor had internal conflicts such as competition among the labor unions. Members of the AFL were required to pay 6 cents per year as a due for being within the union and under the protection of the union. The president of the union was paid $1000 per year for a full-time job of guiding the union. The American Federation of Labor spread rumours about the Knights of Labor, causing them to collapse. Despite this, the labor union’s growth was not fast, even though they had taken out their biggest rival. It wasn’t until 1892 that they hit the 250,000 member mark. A possible reason for the slow growth of the union were their beliefs against immigration. During that point in time, there were still many immigrants coming to America mainly from the European countries and some Asian countries. The American Federation of Labor were against the immigrants because they took away jobs from the already citizens of the United States, a situation much like the present day. One thing the American Federation of Labor did do was play a big role in the creation of labor laws in the United States. With the creation of worker’s rights, the workplace became safer and they were able to have influence over laws concerning immigration. During World War 1, the United States government encouraged industries and companies to compromise with the labor unions rather than face strike, otherwise it would stunt the production of supplies needed for the war in Europe. The American Federation of Labor signed an agreement to help with the war and to eliminate socialist and communist labor unions in the United States. They did this because it was in both

Labor unions have existed in one way or another since the birth of our country in 1776. They were created in an effort to protect the working population from abuses such as sweatshops and unsafe working conditions. From the start of our Nation there were a few unions organized unions in a scattered fashion, but many were disbanded after they had achieved their goals, such as when the printers and shoemakers briefly unionized in Philadelphia and New York City in 1778 to conduct the first recorded strike for higher wages. Three years later in 1971 the first successful strike happened, when Philadelphia carpenters campaigned for a ten-hour workday. This caused the need for skilled and unskilled laborers to skyrocket during the Industrial Revolution and the Civil War and also got the ball rolling with Labor unions. At this point in our Country, there had been nothing done yet for workers’ rights, conditions, pay, and so on. People at this time saw that they could come together and do something to make their lives better for themselves and their families. Many of these dates were important in shaping our country’s labor policies into what they are today. In 1847 New Hampshire enacts as the first state to enforce a 10-hour workday law. In 1909 the International Ladies’ Garment workers’ Union calls a strike in New York, demanding a 20-percent raise and a 52-hour workweek. Within two days, more than 20,000 workers from 500 factories walk off the job. This largely successful uprising

The 1800s is characterized with the rise of industrial America. As technological advances were introduced to industry, unskilled labor also rose in accordance to the rise in factories. However, this rise also introduced several labor unions such as the Knights of Labor, which organized a series of protests and riots. The labor unions had good intentions, aiming to lower the average work hours for workers, as well as increase their wages. However, their methods which involved riots and protests, were altogether not effective, and ended up being detrimental to their cause. Between 1875 and 1900, labor unions surged and were temporarily successful; however, their methods would prove detrimental to their cause overtime, leading to their

Labor unions in the late 1800's set out to improve the lives of frequently abused workers. Volatile issues like the eight-hour workday, ridiculously low pay and unfair company town practices were often the fuses that lit explosive conflicts between unions and monopolistic industrialists. Some of the most violent and important conflicts of the time were the Haymarket Affair and the Pullman strike. Each set out to with similar goals and both ended with horrifying consequences.

Through what they wanted, they achieved and changed many aspects of life in the workforce. The Union Pacific Railroad cut wages and the workers wanted their original wages. “The executive board called for Knights to strike and trains were stopped and the cars uncoupled, engines were ‘killed,’ and widespread sabotage, in some cases leading to disorder and violence, spread throughout the Southwest”(Applby et al. 286). The Labor Union was successful here and the result was that the Union Pacific Railroad was forced to increase the wages to the original amount in order to run. This inspired many more people to join the Knights of Labor because they believe they could fight for what was right. They thought this, by seeing change committed and this is shown against Joseph R. Buchanan and his Union Pacific Railroad. People also started to want to join the Knights of Labor because they had a lot of money that was rumored and were affecting people in the railroads(Foner and Garraty). “Within a few years, the Knights of Labor expanded and allowed all workers to join. In 1878, they released this public statement about the goals of their society. No longer a secret society, the Knights of Labor grew into one of the largest labor unions in the United States. By 1886, the Knights of the Labor boasted 500,000 members”(Foner and Garrety). This helped the Knights of Labor by accepting all sorts

Numerous workers were able to come together and make changes to improve wages, working conditions, and much more. The National Labor Union, Nights of Labor, and The American Federation of Labor all had certain similarities and differences that made them alike and different from each other. Some of them failed, while the other was successful due to being smart and learning from the mistakes of the other two.

In the late 1800s/early 1900s, many men, woman and children were forced to work long hours for low pay in dangerous working conditions. With little to no education, many workers had few other options but too continue working in these conditions. During these times labor unions started to become more and more popular. Through bargaining tactics such as strikes, sit-ins, boycotts, etc., these labor unions were successful in bargaining for higher wages, shorter worker hours and better working conditions for many of their members. Had I have been a worker during these times, the Knights of Labor would

In order to protect and establish new rights, workers began to form unions. When workers joined together to form ions, it became easier for them to make demands to their employers as a group than alone. Two types of unions existed during the Gilded Age, trade unions which which were geared to specific lines of work and industrial unions which included all lines of work. (Perry 190) Both industrial and trade unions were part of national federations; the American Federation of Labor or AFL was founded in 1886 and was a federation of trade unions. Industrial unions were larger and could be part of larger federations including the Knights of Labor founded in 1869. Labor unions negotiated and used tactics including strikes and boycotts to gain necessary

The labor movement focuses on the history of organized labor and the creation of unions for the rights that the working class have today and are still fighting for. The growth and struggle of workers through strikes and boycotts have brought about a lot of change throughout a century but it is still an issue of social change in the U.S. Organizing unions, fighting for the right to representation, struggling against bias and discrimination etc. have affected both men and women from a range of ages and this movement shows that when groups of workers that is very diversified fight for the same cause no matter of gender, age, or race that they can make changes. This movement challenged the markets because there would be no benefits for companies and factories to fire them all and still have the ability to produce a

One of the major things to come out of the 19th century were the formation of labor unions as it was a response to social and economic changes of the industrial revolution. One of the major unions the books talked about was the Knights of Labor, an organization made to find fairness in the workplace. However, they only supported white fairness, which made them unliked. Furthermore, they were not the only unions formed during this time. The Western

Working unions all across the country give working opportunities to the people who want to work. Then the Knights of Labor came and brought help to the working-class people of America from improved wages and better working conditions. Millions of people America benefited by what the Knights of Labor brought to them. During the Industrial Revolution the Knights of Labor were prompted to bring justice to blue collar America. The Knights of Labor was unions formed to prevent unfair wages and working conditions.