Similarities and Differences between Labor Organizations

Initially a fraternal organization providing social events, sporting competitions, and education for working men and their families, the Knights of Labor soon advocated for the creation of cooperatives where members would serve as worker-owners who have input on the running of factories in hopes of making changes for the better of the working man. The Knights of Labor believed that the “alarming development and aggression of aggregated wealth, which, unless checked, will inevitably lead to the pauperization and hopeless degradation of the toiling masses” could only be stopped “through the unification of labor”. The Knights were open to all “producers” including skilled and unskilled workers and owners as well as women and African-Americans. Bankers, doctors, liquor manufacturers, lawyers, and stockholders were excluded because of their supposed lack in productive contribution to society. The union advocated for a national eight hour workday, the expulsion of Asian workers, the prohibition of immigration from the Far East, and an end to child labor. The Knights worked to make changes for all workers, regardless of affiliation with the group, and opposed strikes and boycotts. As the Knights of Labor began to fade away, another organization arose called the American Federation of

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.

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

Unions were formed to protect and improve the rights of workers. Their first order of business was to establish the eight-hour workday and in 1866, the national labor union was formed. Labor movements were around before 1866, but few organized up until this point. Unions created an environment for workers with difficult tasks, creating better pay, safer work conditions, and sanitary work conditions. Unions made life better for many Americans in the private sector. Collective bargaining became the way in which employers and a group of employees reached agreements, coming to a common consensus. From 1866 to the early 1900’s Unions continued to make headways increasing membership and power. The real gains started in 1933 after several pieces of legislature, which saved banks, plantations, and farmers. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) proposed an important, and controversial, amendment to the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933. It insisted that language from the pro-labor Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 be added to the simple declaration of the right to collective bargaining. The setbacks the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) suffered in Little Steel and textiles in the latter half of 1937, and in Congress from 1938 to 1940, despite the gains made by the AFL, by 1940 the amendment had stalled. WWII created a rapid buildup within the industrial complex, creating more work for women and African Americans, overshadowing the union’s inability to project their power

Because of this, the Colored National Labor Union was created by blacks themselves but the differences did not allow them to work together. The National Labor union strongly advocated for eight hour workdays. Another union called the Knights of Labor emerged that first began as a secret society. Their purpose was to include all workers in “one big union.” They allowed everyone: blacks, whites, men, women, the skilled and unskilled. Terence V. Powderly led this union to win several strikes for an eight- hour day. Unfortunately, the Knights of Labor were involved in a violent protest called Haymarket Square. They were mistaken to be associated with anarchists and this brought them to their downfall. Finally, a successful union shows up called the American Federation of Labor (AFL), founded by Samuel Gompers, which only allowed skilled workers. In the end, usually the management won with the strikers having little improvement.

Labor unions are a gathering of people for a united cause. People within a labor union fight for common goals such as better pay and fair working conditions. In most cases when a union attacks a certain aspect it is so they can all acquire the same out come, such as raising the minimum wage to twelve dollars an hour for all. The primary reason unions were created was because workers weren’t always treated appropriately throughout history. Industrial leaders would make maximum profit by making their employees work twelve to fifteen hour workdays for seven days a week and they would only earn pennies for each hour of work. The conditions in which employees conducted work was unsafe and unhealthy yet no one could complain because they could not afford to lose their job. This is when labor unions were introduced, at first they started off small only pertaining to a specific geological area in regards to a specific craft such as shoe making in Philadelphia. The smaller unions are known as locals, an employee affiliated with the union is then appointed as a liaison between their fellow workers and the corporation making them the shop steward. However, people realized they held power in numbers and ultimately national unions were established such as the, Knights of Labor.

Macdonald, Allen Ch. 15: This chapter covers the events from 1865-1877, known as the era of reconstruction; when major changes in the sociological and economical standards occurred. Equality was a forefront of the national agenda; however, during this time many lines were blurred and shaded. Certain stigmas and social complexes remained, some blacks seized property, and black codes were established to minimize their social standing. Black codes certainly were established to restrict the rights of black people, essentially hindering their social position.

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

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

57). In December 1886, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was formed in Columbus, Ohio. The AFL was originally named the Federated Organization of Trades and Labor Union back in 1881. The AFL was a “national union made up of affiliated, individual craft unions” (Boone, 1996, p. 288). The first president of the AFL was Samuel Gompers. On the contrary to the Knights of Labor, Gompers’ focus was to raise day-to-day wages, and continue to improve the working conditions (Dessler, 1997). After the formation of the AFL, the period included significant developments. In the early 1890’s, the United Mine Workers was formed, becoming the first major United States industrialized union (Robinson, 1985). In addition, a significant defeat occurred in organized labor. The defeat is known as the strike at Homestead, Pennsylvania. The “Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers was eliminated from the steel industry” (Robinson, 1985, p. 58). History from 1905 to 1920. In 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) challenged the AFL, prior to the depression of the 1930’s. The IWW invited the unskilled and semiskilled workers that the AFL had denied and was a success from 1910 to 1915 (Encyclopedia, 1996). The results of this had decreased the AFL membership for a short period of time, but they fought back by bringing

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

To make their voices known, Progressives had to rely on developing unions. The American Federation of Labor was one labor union that was very successful in helping workers make their voices heard. The downside was that they only focused on skilled laborers and they wanted the government to stay out of it. They focused on the employees and the employers working things out on their own. Years later, the Industrial Workers of the World, otherwise known as the Wobblies, were ready to fight for all workers, no matter their skill or ethnicity. This group was striving to make nationwide changes. Even with their differences, they both had the same goals. The labor unions wanted to make the workplace a safe environment, shorten the workdays and ensure that workers received fair wages.

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

The relationship between unions and organization is a touchy one. Dating back to the start of unionization in the 19th century, the two bodies have held opposing viewpoints. Unionization was formed from the opinion that organizations took advantage of workers and some form of a negotiating agreement was needed. There were documented events of workers working long taxing hours for insignificant pay; no healthcare coverage; dangerous working conditions; and gender and or racial discrimination. Companies believed that unionization caused less productivity which endangered profits. Companies also believed that unions interfere in daily processes, and limits the employer’s say over compensation and benefits. The