Should Workers Be Allowed To Strike? - Argumentative Essay

The Pullman Strike of 1894 was the first national strike in American history and it came about during a period of unrest with labor unions and controversy regarding the role of government in business.5 The strike officially started when employees organized and went to their supervisors to ask for a lowered rent and were refused.5 The strike had many different causes. For example, workers wanted higher wages and fewer working hours, but the companies would not give it to them; and the workers wanted better, more affordable living quarters, but the companies would not offer that to them either. These different causes created an interesting and controversial end to the Pullman strike. Because of this, questions were raised about the strike

The general strike of May 1926 was not a success for those attempting to force the government to act to prevent wage reductions and worsening conditions for coal miners. Had the TUC been more prepared to strike and followed through with what the miners wanted them to do, the government would have been faced with a much tougher challenge. Despite this, even if the conservative government were faced with a tougher challenge, the preparations and subsequence actions taken by them were more than enough and the main reason for the failure of the strike.

I will fight this to the bitter end. I will never recognize the union, never, never.” (Document D.) Henry Clay Frick, the person from whom this quote is taken from, was the president of Carnegie Steel. He was making his workers work much harder, long, strenuous hours with poor conditions and little pay. “Exhaustion from overwork. In consequences of the long hours of labor, the great speed the machinery is run at… So much exhaustion is produced. (Document F.) This definitely needed to be addressed and it wasn’t. Unions were forming to try and help workers get more fair jobs, safer and better pay, but they often could not come to an agreement with the company. Then the workers would strike. When workers went on strike, profits and production stopped. If the company did not want to come on a consensus, often, strikes would become violent. The owners could have hired perhaps two shifts of workers, one to work during the earlier part of the day and another to work the later part of the day. This would have reduced exhaustion in workers, which also meant they would work faster if not

Anyone in the United States can go on strike if they believe they are being treated unfairly. In this case, the Boston Police had the right to go on strike in 1919 as they were being mistreated concerning wages and what they had. Some may argue that the Boston Police had no right to go on strike as many people vandalized and stole from stores as a result of these policemen going on strike, but they had the right to as they were getting paid a very low amount for their great amounts of dedication. First, policemen were overworked to the max and sometimes they had to sleep in stations just in case they were needed and in these stations, there was a lack of sanitation, baths and more. Next, to go along with the extreme hours worked, policemen

If the government would have stepped in and made laws protecting these people, then the relationship between employees and employers would have been pleasing to both sides. Improving the economy, this would have prevented many strikes, riots, and disputes. Such as the Pullman Strike, it was a nasty act of violence that affected the economy by creating negative views on large companies (Document E). Strikers wrote strong letters using statements like, “We struck at Pullman because we were without hope” (Document E). They did this to convey that it was their last resort to convince upper management for realistic hours, work conditions, and wages. The relationship between the two sides influenced economy in a negative way that could have been averted with a government that took action instead of letting it get out of

As seen in the Pullman Strike, Ludlow Massacre, etc, the federal government took the side of the employers and sent in federal troops to break up strikes. This all changed in 1902 when Roosevelt took the side of the United Mine Workers in the Anthracite Coal Strike. Wilson knew that something had to be done since the coal supplies for winter were being threatened, and so he proposed both the operators and miners to accept an arbitration. The operators rejected but willingly gave in when Roosevelt threatened to seize the mines. This awarded the workers with a wage increase and lower working hours. Although the union didn’t achieve to earn the recognition they wanted, they were pleased with the government siding with them. He didn't stop there,

The article “What Is a Strike?” tells the reader about the disadvantages for the worker of going on strike: there is no grantee the employer will meet their demands, workers are not paid during a strike, and workers run the risk of losing their jobs if their employer decides to hire a replacement worker. Not only are there disadvantages for the worker but also for the employer. An example of one disadvantage is in the passage about New York, the passage talks about how the city was forced to accommodate families who had to send their students on the metro, drive their students to school, or call a

The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease,

In 1919 Boston police workers went on strike and allowed criminals to rampage through the city. A strike is when workers stop working on something they want to change is changed. The main reason people go on strike can be based on salary, benefits, unsafe working conditions, unpaid overtime, and many more. Some people believe that public service workers should be allowed to go on strike legally, but I, on the other hand, do not. I think public service workers shouldn’t be able to strike because if public service workers strike it may ruin other schedules not related to their problem, that there are other ways to negotiate the problem, and that they may not get what they want and already have more benefits than other jobs.

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was America’s first nationwide strike. The strike was a result of a 10 percent pay deduction by four of the largest railroads. “Nearly 100,000 workers were idled and approximately two-thirds of the railroad mileage across the Unites States was shut down with over 14 states and ten railroads involved” (AP Study Notes: Rise of Unions). President Hayes eventually sent troops to coral the strikers but they were so unorganized that they eventually stopped and went back to work.

adamantly opposed any recognition of the union. Thus, the union members decided to strike over wages, safety

The trigger for Britain's most bitter industrial dispute of recent times was the announcement that one Yorkshire pit, Cortonwood near Barnsley, was to close, all over Yorkshire walked out, not realising that it would be a year before they returned. Whereas previous coal strikes had been over in a matter of weeks, this time both union and government dug in for a lengthy battle. In the end, the biggest losers were ordinary miners.

With all the debate over the controversy of whether or not these public servants should be given the right to strike revolves around three main points which are if the lives of civilians are affected or put at risk, whether they receive sufficient pay and benefits for their work done, and having long and inflexible work schedules. The right to protest is not a matter of balance but it is a matter of ideology for the government. The topic of public worker strike can honestly go both ways. It is based upon how you look at this problem and which side you reside with since both sides have good

Second, I think the major concern of the workers is, if the strike will repeat that it may cause many deaths in the small community. Over all, the people opposed to the strike are the older citizens, who claim to have much more knowledge than the younger generation so in turn in they understand the repercussion and consequences of a strike. Meanwhile the younger generation is in favor of the strike because they are fired up and in the moment and only want to act out of their anger. Both sides have valid points, and this argument reflects underlying divisions between young and old. “The older generation is more concerned with

The General Strike was An Attempted Revolution During the General strike there was true governmental concern about what seemed to be a revolutionary threat in the form of workers and TUC members who went on strike as part of their efforts to improve working conditions, reduce working hours and increase wages. Much evidence is available from around this time giving us a clear insight into the reasons for this concern and how it came about. Source 1, an article from the British Gazette (controlled by the Government) produced very early on in the strike highlights the key concern felt by the Government at the time supporting both the statement and introduction: 'The General strike is a