Persuasive Functions Of John L. LewisSpeech

The labor movement in the United States grew out of the need to protect the interest of workers. For those in the industrial area, organized labor unions struggled fighting for better wages, reasonable hours and much safer working conditions. The labor movement fought to stop child labor, give better health benefits and provide help to workers who were injured and/or retired.

(http://www.history.com/topics/labor). There were multiple people that helped with the creation and progress of labor unions through the United States such as Samuel Gompers, John L Lewis, Walter Reuther, Philip Randolph and Caesar Chavez they all had a big contribution to the labor unions in the United States. Besides the people big groups also made a great contribution to the labor unions a big one at the time was the Knights of Labor.

He would be associated with this union for the next 18 years. By 1875 he had built a reputation as an outstanding citizen and was named the secretary of the Vigo County BLF, this would be his entry into the field of labor organization. During this time he was closely associated with the railroad workers and saw their consistent oppression by their capitalist employers. Despite this he was dedicated to maintaining a union comprised of sober outstanding laborers who could best serve their employers. By 1879 he was elected grand secretary of the BLF and editor of the magazine. In this role he gained crucial experience in labor organizing on a larger scale and elevated his status as a effective leader in the labor movement. During this time he saw consistent wage cuts forced on these upstanding citizens and workers which began to galvanize the idea within him that the corporations were not interested in the quality of labor of their employees. Instead they were interested in only creating a profit for themselves at any cost and reducing the value of a man to his work.

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.

The Labor Movement’s number one concern is to address problems associated with social inequality. The labor movement was created in order to fight for the rights of labor workers. The goal was to have better wages, safe working conditions, and reasonable working hours. Unions were formed in order to achieve this. However, this was always enough. Workers reached a point where they came together and participated in strikes which the main goal was to have their employers listen to them and come to an agreement.

The labor movement in the United States began due to the need of the common interest of workers to protect themselves from their employers. Those who worked in the industrial sector, organized labor unions were formed to fight for better wages, reasonable hours, and safer working conditions for the employees. Understanding the history of the labor movement in the United States from the Industrial Revolution will allow for a better understanding of the purpose of the labor movement. Incorporating how the following theories: The Mainstream Economics School, The Human Resource Management School, The Industrial Relations School, and The Critical Industrial Relations School the labor issues in the early periods will allow future organizations to address issues in a more precise manner.

The chief political issue of the late 1800s was working conditions for laborers. Big businesses, having sought to cut costs however possible, created horrible working conditions for laborers. In an effort to improve these conditions, workers waged strikes and formed labor unions, so that they might gain some semblance of bargaining power. However the fight to improve conditions for workers was largely ineffective thanks to public support of big business, disorganization amongst labor unions, and the negative connotation that came to be associated with labor unions.

Everyone in their life experiences a state of hopelessness. Whether it is a big or a small occurrence; it helps us shape up mentally or physically ready for the real world. In March, Lewis talks about the events in his life that we classify as his turning points which caused them to turn their life around. It is true that many events did not increase his will to protest. I think that John Lewis' life was changed by his turning points, there are four turning points what continues to affect him to this day. The four turning points that stand out are his first arrest, Lewis' trip to Buffalo with his Uncle Otis, Dr. King's speech, and when he decided to join the Freedom Riders.

The American Federation of Labor was an association of trade unions starting 1886, rising out of an earlier Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions founded in 1881. The AFL's president, Samuel Gompers, was convinced that unions open to workers of all types of skills within a given industry,called industrial unions,were too undisciplined to withstand the tactics that both government and management had used to break American unions in the past. The answer, was craft unions, each limited to the skilled workers in a single trade. According to Gompers's "pure and simple unionism," labor should not waste its energies fighting capitalism; I ts sole task was to hammer

The Organizations and the People that Influenced John Lewis’ Life “The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society” says African American Civil Rights leader, John Lewis. Lewis stood up for what he believed in during the discriminatory time of segregation. Thanks to John Lewis and his courageous actions he made a substantial impact on America by helping to end segregation. If it weren't for certain people and organizations influencing Lewis' life, the outcome would have been remarkably different. The two who influenced him the most were Jesus Christ, whose divine presence was with Lewis through his pleasant and unfortunate times, and The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which provided Lewis

According to John Lewis’s Speech he states, “While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in the Delta of Mississippi who are out in the fields working for less than three dollars a day, twelve hours a day. While we stand here there are students in jail on trumped-up charges.” This is in the introduction to his speech with in the first 5 lines. Therefore he is starting with very high energy and powerful tone. So this wakes up the demonstrators at the walk. Also in John Lewis’s speech he states, “They’re talking about slow down and stop. We will not stop. All of the forces of Eastland, Barnett, Wallace, and Thurmond will not stop this

Other than spreading culture, railroads had their own way of showing industrial power. In 1893 Eugene Debbs created the American Railway Union as a way to help railroad workers. Debbs wanted to push “living wages” and equal power sharing throughout the railways. As such his union even became as powerful as the American Federation of Labor. Another important specified union was the United Mine Workers created in 1890. In an attempt to make the work better for the employee Mary Harris AKA Mother Jones became an advocate for what she labeled as “her boys.” Like others she pushed for “living wages,” forty hour weeks, safety, and child labor laws. Mother Jones was one of those people who would not give up and always came back with results. As far as the United Mine Workers went, she was one of the most famous organizers. For instance when the union began it had 10,000 members but within only a few years it had a whopping 3000,000 men. Also, at one point she marched to the presidential home in a form of peaceful protest. In general, her ideals helped out many mine workers in the end.

After the civil war ended, America witnessed its rapid growth in industry, urbanization, and capitalism. When the price of living increased, workers desired for a better wage and working condition. Different types of worker unions appeared in the nation, representing different interests and different groups of workers. The Knight of Labor wanted to include all workers from different background, but it was difficult to organize such a diverse group of workers whose demands and bargaining power were different. The Socialist Party looked for a way to change society fundamentally and emphasized on a class struggle of the working class against the employer class. But they could not solve the problem of wages and working conditions that the workers

The Labor Movement was necessary to protect the common interest of workers. The state of working environments during the Industrial Revolution produced a mandate for this movement. The Industrial Revolution served as a turning point for all western nations because of the influx of businesses and factories. America generally benefited from the revolution; however, it was at the expense of the workers. Industries were only interested in profit so workers were generally underpaid, worked long hours, and in unsafe conditions. Working conditions during the revolution were generally dreadful. And since there were copious amounts of people willing to work for any compensation, employers could set wages as low as they wanted. Labor unions arose because there were many who disagreed with how big businesses ran. A prime objective of labor unions is to make sure its members are paid fairly. Labor activists believe that employees and the company share its successes and that they should be rewarded for its productivity. Labor unions want to improve working conditions for their members. They demand reasonable working days along with safe working environments. Also, labor unions provide more than just job security and safety services. These services include provision of education and training to inform union members of their employment rights and to improve their basic skills. Labor unions are a group of employees who organize to provide a balance in negotiations between management and the

Through these decades, the labor movement has constantly reached out to groups in the American society striving for their share of opportunity and rewards..... to the blacks, the Hispanics and other minorities..... to women striving for jobs and equal or comparable pay . . . to those who work for better schools, for the freedom of speech, press and assembly guaranteed by the Bill of Rights ... to those seeking to make our cities more livable or our rural recreation areas more available . . . to those seeking better health for infants and more secure status for the elderly.