Summary Of Carol Quirke's Eyes On Labor

Life in the early 1900’s wasn’t easy. Competition for jobs was at an all time high, especially in New York City. Immigrants were flooding in and needed to find work fast, even if that meant in the hot, overcrowded conditions of garment factories. Conditions were horrid and disaster was inevitable, and disaster did strike in March, 1911. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York set on fire, killing 146 workers. This is an important event in US history because it helped accomplish the tasks unions and strikes had tried to accomplish years earlier, It improved working conditions in factories nationwide and set new safety laws and regulations so that nothing as catastrophic would happen again. The workplace struggles became public after

The words chosen by the writer suggests that they do not agree with the actions of the labor unions. Other times, the newspapers would associate them with violence. During the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Charles M. Dollar Along with seeing labor movements as radical, many labor movements were labeled socialist by the media. In the cartoon in Document C, the labor movement is shown to be influenced by socialist controls. Considering the generally negative connotation that came with communism in the United States, when newspapers like Harper’s Weekly labeled organized labor as socialist, many people developed a negative attitude towards organized labor. The disapproval of organized labor was not exclusive to the American public but also the federal government. During the late 20th century, the Supreme Court became increasingly conservative on the issue of organized labor. In the Supreme Court case In re Debs, the court ruled that federal government controlled interstate commerce and was obligated to keep the railroads from obstructions and in that specific case, strikes or protests. The fact that a good portion of the American public and the federal government saw organized labor as a detriment; it was no surprise that organized labor

In the late 1800s and the early 1900s, labor was anything but easy. Factory workers faced long hours, low pay, high unemployment fears, and poor working conditions during this time. Life today is much easier in comparison to the late 1800s. Americans have shorter days, bigger pay and easier working conditions. Not comparable to how life is today, many riots sparked, and citizens began to fight for equal treatment. Along with other important events, the Haymarket Riot, the Pullman Strike, and the Homestead strike all play a vital role in illustrating labor’s struggle to gain fair and equitable treatment during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

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.

Between the years 1870-1900, Americans began to respond to the effects fostered by these corporations. From urban factory workers to rural farmers, Americans began to organize against these big businesses. With mass industrialization, more job’s were made available to women, these jobs were often in factories with terrible conditions, sweatshops. There was a sameness about working in mass production factories. Thus, working in these modern mass production factories created a homogenous environment that diminished individualism and the need for skilled workers. (Doc. C) Strikers were common during this era, workers participated in strikes and joined labor unions, such as The American Federation of Labor and the Knights of Labor, due to the terrible working conditions. The American Federation of Labor, headed by Samuel Gompers, was specifically for skilled workers and argued for better wages and a reduction in working hours. (Doc. G) Although urban workers were greatly impacted by the growth of these corporations, they were not the ones. Farmers, suffered

Paul E. Johnson’s 2004 book Sam Patch: The Famous Jumper uses a mill worker’s personal background to relay a series of socio-economic changes that occurred during the 1800’s. The Industrial Revolution, for many, was the beginning of something new. Due to the development and proliferation of technology, the economic gain from the Industrial Revolution was formidable. Unfortunately, the working class was forced to endure hazardous working conditions. For Sam Patch— a nineteenth century daredevil exhibitionist with nothing to his name— leaping from tall cliffs was a form of visual oppression designed to challenge the authority of well-respected political leaders of the upper class. The ideology that a simple man rose to fame by performing acts that, by many, was considered foolish, contradicted the beliefs of the upper class. This publication highlights several broad changes that occurred during this time period. Society’s perception of fame changed dramatically. Sam Patch went from being a simple mill worker to being a celebrity overnight. This work also highlights issues regarding domestic textile industries, including poor working conditions and child labor. Sam Patch began working at the age of seven; that was not entirely uncommon during this time period. Children were subjected to dust-filled rooms that were either “hot in the summer or cold in the winter.” Furthermore, this book also emphathizes the growing hostility between the Whig Party and the Jacksonian Party.

With every able-bodied male of age subject to the draft, few remained at home to gather supplies. In response, the government launched a propaganda campaign to encourage women to join the workforce. As stated by Business Week, “Our entire manpower problem is most acutely a problem in womanpower” (Risjord). Two distinct images of women, Norman Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter and J. Howard Miller’s “We Can Do It” poster, have remained popular among viewers and historians through the years. The creation of Norman Rockwell’s iconic Rosie the Riveter cover of the Saturday Evening Post (May 1943) aided the government campaign, persuading millions of women to do their part by taking a job in one of the war industries. However, the extent to which J. Howard Miller’s famous “We Can Do It” poster affected this movement has been greatly exaggerated. Contrary to popular belief, Miller did not intend for his poster to encourage women to break free from traditional gender roles. This myth has spread because the image has been taken out of context and interpreted incorrectly to reflect the modern feminist

“ What will you strike for?” The interviewer asked, as the messenger boy replied, “For a raise from 3.50 cents -what we get now- to four dollars a week and pay for overtime. They make us pay thirteen dollars for a uniform, and one dollar for a hat , and 2.50 for rubber boots, and two dollars for a rubber coat...I only made 65 cents my first week.” Not only were the uniforms expensive by nature, but the the final ‘blow’ in a sorts was that Pulitzer and Hearst raised the price from 50 cents per one hundred bundles, to 60 cents where some even claim it was higher, up to 70 cents per

“ What will you strike for?” The interviewer asked, as the messenger boy replied, “For a raise from 3.50 cents -what we get now- to four dollars a week and pay for overtime. They make us pay thirteen dollars for a uniform, and one dollar for a hat , and 2.50 for rubber boots, and two dollars for a rubber coat...I only made 65 cents my first week.” Not only were the uniforms expensive by nature, but the the final ‘blow’ in a sorts was that Pulitzer and Hearst raised the price from 50 cents per one hundred bundles, to 60 cents where some even claim it was higher, up to 70 cents per bundle.

Just as one small spark can start a blazing wildfire, one simple bomb on the fateful day at Haymarket Square triggered an explosion in the labor movement that no one had expected. With tension growing exponentially in the workers’ rights area of United States reform in the 1800s, scattered riots inevitably broke out among restless workers, but no previous outbreak could compare to the impact of the notorious Haymarket Riot. The explosion in the crowd of workers battling police officers on that spring day in Chicago mirrored the explosion that occurred for laborers across the nation, with a combination of both beneficial and harmful outcomes to last the rest of history.

As the Progressive Era advanced rapidly into the 1920s, social tension and stigmas between upper class society and the working class continued to escalate. While class strain was not a new social issue, groups such as the muckrakers and drove the problem into a new realm of discrimination and humiliation for the lower class. As these journalists reported demeaning, and generally exaggerated, stories about poor living conditions in poverty stricken areas: “The so-called muckrakers were investigative journalists whose aggressive reporting played a crucial role in educating the upper and middle class about political and corporate wrongdoings as well as about ‘how the other half lives’ - the title of Jacob Riis’s pioneering work of photojournalism

Being a part of an independent worker’s union can risk one’s job; leading a union can often lead to losing that job, being threatened, or even murdered due to to the unpopular views. Unions arise when workers see that their jobs no longer meet their basic needs in order to protect their worker’s rights alongside their jobs. However, the social elite are opposed to unions because they do not wish to loosen their grip on the workers. When composing The Iron Heel, and expressed his socialist views through the various characters. In The Iron Heel, Jack London criticizes the rise of the oligarchy and its suppression of justice as well as individuals who questioned its supremacy and legitimacy.

The poem “The Mother” written by Gwendolyn Brooks in 1945, is a poem that focuses on the immeasurable losses a woman experiences after having an abortion. The poems free verse style has a mournful tone that captures the vast emotions a mother goes through trying to cope with the choices she has made. The author writes each stanza of the poem using a different style, and point of view, with subtle metaphors to express the speaker’s deep struggle as she copes with her abortions. The poem begins with, “Abortions will not let you forget” (Brooks 1), the first line of the poem uses personification to capture your attention. The title of the poem has the reader’s mindset centered around motherhood, but the author’s expertise with the opening line, immediately shifts your view to the actual theme of the poem. In this first line the speaker is telling you directly, you will never forget having an abortion. Brooks utilizes the speaker of the poem, to convey that this mother is pleading for forgiveness from the children she chose not to have.

In the film, the union’s strategy was to spread a positive image to a severely anti-union workforce. Throughout the campaign, the organizer depicted

Two years after the infamous Triangle fire, 20,000 workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts; angered over wage cuts and deplorable conditions went on strike, prompting the twin reactions of police brutality and press coverage (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008). “As a result of the strike, not only were wages raised and conditions improved in the textile industry as a whole, but important legislation was also enacted that restricted the exploitation of child and female labor” (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008, p. 132). It is doubtful that working conditions would have evolved to the level of equity we find today, without the sacrifice and activism of unions and their members.