Knights Of Labor: A National Labor Organization

Labor union were crucial in the late 1800’s when the workers were working long hours, doing hard work, without any extra pay. Job security (could be fired at any given time) and safety precautions did not exist in this era, jobs in this day was typically a threat to the workers due to the bad working conditions. When the union was formed in 1866 it was not easy, but if the workers understood how it would benefit them it would have been a greater successes. Due to lack of education, the communication between the union and the works was broken. Some of the religious beliefs created a hardship on getting the union passed. One of the unions called the AFL (American Federation of Labor) was created in 1881 that would try to fight for workers’ rights.

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.

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

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

The Knights of Labor represented the pinnacle of the up lift labor movement. They, at one time, had membership that numbered in the hundreds of thousands and nearly hit a million members. This organization was unique in its time because it espoused many of the ideals we hold today as statutory for an ethical and equitable society as well as employee and employer relationships. The Knights of Labor did not begrudge industry or capitalism, moreover they were less of a concern than the organization’s larger goal to protect and promote social equity in labor and society, for the common man.

The Knights of Labor were founded in December of 1869. This was all because American workers began to start national labor unions in order to negotiate with big corporations.The Knights were unique in allowing women, farmers, and others usually not associated with organized labor to become members. All "toilers" except doctors, lawyers, bankers, liquor dealers, and professional gamblers were eligible to enroll. The Knights also welcomed African Americans, although most blacks, were in segregated local assemblies. One African American, David Black, served on the Knights' state executive board.

Followed directly on the heels of the National Labor Union was the Knights of Labor, founded in 1869, and the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in 1881. The Knights was an “all-embracing organization” whose membership included the “skilled or unskilled, black or white, male or female” (Miller). But inclusion of unskilled

However, many of the business leaders were not willing to give in to the demands of fewer work hours and days or higher wages. The first effective American union was founded in 1869 by Uriah Stephens and was called The Knights of Labor. The goal of the union was to bring in all workers to unite and fight for their rights. In 1879, Terence Powderly took over the leadership of the union and gained notability by accepting almost all workers, including farm hands, factory workers, women, African Americans, and immigrants were welcome in the union, However, the union excluded white-collared workers, such as doctors, lawyers, bankers, and liquor dealers.The Knights of Labor became the largest in the country for a short time, gaining notoriety in 1884 and 1885 when union members organized successful strikes against the Southwest railroad companies. After the strikes, membership increased to approximately 100,000 members in 1884 to over 750,000 by 1886. The success of the Knights of Labor quickly faded as the union was unable to coordinate it's members activities due to the members coming from a variety of regions, industries, and ethnic backgrounds. And, although the railroad strikes assisted in the success of the union, Powderly avoided strikes believing that they threatened the union's public standing. The collapse of the union came in 1886 when workers in Chicago went on strike against the McCormick Harvester Company demanding eight-hour workdays. On May 3, 1886, four of the strikers were killed in a confrontation with the police. A rally was held the next day at the Haymarket Square in protest of the police actions. While attempting to break up this protest, a stick of dynamite was thrown at the police and killing seven officers and wounding dozens more. The police response was to fire their weapons at the crowd, killing four

Erin Marie Magee The Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor were similar in a lot of ways, however the latter succeeded and the prior did not. These were both union organizations. They consisted of employees bound together for common goals. Some of these goals consisted of: eight hour work day, abolition of child labor, equal pay for equal work and income tax reforms. However, there are some major differences.

On May 1, 1886, Albert Parsons, leader of the labor organization "Knights of Labor of Chicago", led a demonstration of 80 thousand workers through the streets of Chicago, requesting the reduction of working hours to eight hours a day. In the following days, 350,000 workers from across the American Union joined this demand, which began a national strike that affected more than a thousand factories. The union of the workers caused much alarm among the industrialists and in the press, because they saw in the demonstrations the beginning of a "revolution".

Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor have many differences. The American Federation Labor was a approved federation of labor unions and the Knights of Labor was a silent labor. One of the important differences between the two labors was that the American Federation Labor was extensive. The Knights of Labor was the first organized labor union until the American Federation of Labor was created and they took over while the Knights of Labor vanished. The American Federation had well management and responsibility to take care of their facility, by the way they also had the capacity to take over and leave the Knights of Labor speechless. The Knights of Labor on the other hand lacked good management and they let the American Federation

The American Federation of Labor was successfully able to negotiate wage increases for its members and enhance workplace safety for all workers. American Federation of Labor was more successful than the Knights of Labor because they used new organizational methods to manage the combined attack of employers and government authorities. American Federation of Labor would also secure the loyalty of its 1.4 million members by providing sickness, unemployment, and strike benefits, and burial insurance. American Federation of Labor emphasized higher wages, shorter working hours, and better working conditions. Employers continued to resist the union’s negotiations by employing immigrants that they could give lower wages to and attempting to speed up labor processes with new forms of organization. The unions within the American Federation of Labor knew that if they had more control of the labor market they would have the power. So the unions decided that limiting the number of available workers would keep their wages high. In 1892, the supervisor of the Carnegie Steel’s huge homestead complex, locked out his employees and said he would operate the plant with nonunion workers. In retaliation the workers surrounded the plant, the supervisor called in 300 armed Pinkerton guards which cause a 24 hour battle outside the plant. The supervisor requested the state

As Napoleon Hill once said, “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit”. This holds true to the Knights of Labor in their endeavor to increase solidarity and unity, by encouraging opposing communities to work together, thus improving the lives of workers and their families during the diminutive period of time when the Knights of Labor were active. The Knight’s tackled the monopolists and fought for the justices they knew to be theirs, in strong efforts to improve societal inequalities – organizing groups of workers throughout different classes of sex, race, and skill. The major impacts that the Knights of Labor had on society during their peak, as well as in the future, can be illustrated by 3 principal criteria that this paper will be centralized around. Firstly, the Knights of Labor were dreamers – they encouraged people to look forward and take action against poor circumstances and lack of power; because of this, they were ahead of other labour organizations during this time as the Knights fought against what others said to be unalterable. Second, the Knights of Labor brought disparate groups together, forging the way to a progressive society in the height of an otherwise racist and sexist one. Lastly, the Knights of Labor drew a significant expansion of wage earnings across North America – providing many people with secure jobs and a culture in which they were protected by unity.

These pompous tycoons ignored the people who needed them most which led to the formation of numerous unions. William H. Sylvis founded the National Labor Union, which unified other labor organizations to fight against the harsh working conditions that men, women, and children faced. Factory laborers worked long hours and days. They were also forced to work in dangerous and unhealthy factories that caused frequent industrial accidents. Along with the National Labor Union, the Knights of Labor was another organization that worked towards improving the workforce for others. The Knights of Labor was created by Uriah S. Stephens and strived to improve the economy. Instead of having a “wage system,” supporters of this union hoped to establish a “cooperative system” that would allow workers to have more control in the economy. As seen through these two labor organizations, workers had no one else to defend them. They had to