The Causes And Consequences Of The General Strike In 1926 Essays

Because of the rising change of social and industry they kind of caused friction towards political views. Miners and steelworkers were the first workers to use the strike ad a bargaining tool against their business owners.

The miners continued working diligently, even though they were paid with little money that would just be given back to the company when they bought their necessities at the local company store. The miners were left with nothing other than a sense of desperation. That is, until they begin trying to form a labor union to fight their oppressors. The novel continues by walking you through the fights the miners are subject to. However, their annoyance to the companies only brings more troublesome times. The companies were too strong and the miners were brought down. Many of them were killed and the companies’ greed for industrialization only grey. However, this was a historical novel, so we know that such occurrences were availing. Later in history, changes were made to better the lives of miners thanks to the ones that were like was we saw in Storming Heaven.

In dealing with the economic depression of the 1930s, it is my opinion that the recovery of Britain was mainly due to the stages of rearmament in the run-up to the Second World War. This is not to say, however, that the National Government failed to combat the rises in unemployment, reaching a peak of three million, and the ruined staple industries, they implemented several policies to reboot the economy and lessen the impact on the people.

The lack of unions that actually took part in the strike also contributed to its failure to both have an impact and to live up to its name as being a ‘General Strike’. The printers, gas and electricity, transport and railway workers were only some of a limited number of unions that went on strike. This meant that the strike could not have its effect that it was meant to. The fact that the general public didn’t give their support to the strike meant that there was a feeling around the country that what the strikers were doing was pointless. Indeed the way in which the TUC didn’t want to be

Although the 19th century brought about many injunctions and antitrust laws prohibiting union activity, the early 20th century would bring hope to laborers and ultimately be known as the labor’s greatest strides toward unification and legal protection. One of the first examples of progress was during World War I. Due to so much unrest between the managers and laborers, a widespread of fear engulfed the United States. Most were afraid that a shutdown of the railroads was imminent which would create a threat to national security. In 1916, the government decided to intervene and take control of the railroads (Federal Possession and Control Act) in the event a strike was initiated. This action would allow soldiers to step in and replace any striking workers. This became one of the first legislation to construct some sort of union but ended in 1920 and the railroads were handed back to their owners

This happen in October of 1902, in eastern Pennsylvania. This happened because there was a conflict between labor and capital. President Roosevelt invited the coal miners' union representatives and the mine owners to meet at the White House to settle the Coal Strike of 1902. Roosevelt want to end the strike because the nation needed coal to provide heat for the coming winter. When the two sides refused to negotiate, he threatened to use soldiers to man the mines during the strike. The loss of money scared both sides making them come up with a compromise. The coal miners knew they would lose wages while the soldiers were operating the mines. The owner of the coal mine knew that they also would not make any money, and so they agreed on a

the miners’ strike was caused by the massive pit closure programme that was introduced by

After the war, Canadian factories that manufactured war supplies were permanently closed. This produced a lot of unemployment and bankruptcy. The cost to live was increasing dramatically and many people (who were still employed) could not compete with the inflation.(CBC, N/A, 1). WW1 veterans who had returned home after the war found that the wages were far too low.(School Work Helpers, 2016, 1). Some people wished to be employed, while others wished for better working conditions.(CBC, N/A, 2). On May 15, 1919, metal and building workers and the trades and labor council declared a strike. In a few hours, 30,000 left their jobs to participate in the strike.(Reilly, 2006, 3). One Big Union (OBG) was designed to speak for the workers.(School Work Helpers, 2016, 1). The House Of Commons had modified the Immigration Act so that any individual who was not born in Canada would be deported.(School Work Helpers, 2016, 2). The government feared that this strike would create a revolution, so they interfered. Workers were told to either go back to work or be fired.(Reilly, 2006, 6). On June 21, 1919, otherwise known as Bloody Saturday many people engaged in a silent protest. 2 people were killed that day and many sustained injuries. Several of the union leaders were arrested.(School Work Helpers, 2016, 2). Strike leaders were afraid that more people would be killed so on June 25, they went back to work.(Reilly, 2006, 3).

There was a clear divide between bosses and workers which led to a certain level of disdain between the two; a disdain that could be set off very easily by the actions of one another. Businesses were booming and economy was expanding, so business owners had to find a way to stay in business and not let other companies take over. To do this, they often resorted to cutting wages or even lockouts. The lockouts forced workers to either quit or agree to a pay cut, but only cutting wages gave workers reason to strike. This greed from both sides caused conflict which sometimes led to violence. As strikes went on, strikers and bosses became more desperate. Strikers resorted to violence and bosses called in higher authorities-strikes were declared illegal, militias were sent in, and people got hurt. As a result of The Great Upheaval, 100 people died and 1,000 others were imprisoned (37a. The Great Upheaval). Although strikes almost never turned out the way they

The two major Railroad Strikes were the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and Railroad Shop workers Strike of 1922. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, was due to workers not being happy about the pay cuts that were being made by their employer so often. Northern Railroads began cutting salaries and wages. Because of various railroads cutting wages by 10% back to back, workers were not willing to continue working under those conditions. Not only were the wages of the workers being cut, the amount work of work given to the employees increased and the employer did not hire additional workers. This then caused railroad employees to respond by taking control of the rail yard switches, and blocking movement of trains. Throughout various cities such as Baltimore, Pittsburg, St. Louise, and Chicago, Violent acts began to occur. Many people died throughout the cities. The strike cause the country’s commerce to become paralyzed and pushed governors in different states to utilize militia members to reopen rail traffic. This action also helped set the stage for violence that would occur later in the 1880s and 1890s.

During World War I, an increase in strikes allowed employees to get higher wages and better conditions. However, after the war, unions started to weaken due to the unexpectedly high wages. The workers were expecting the low wages they had before the war. In addition, there was a decrease in unions because many soldiers who returned from the war wanted their old jobs back. While many of the soldiers did not get their jobs back, some individuals did because employers fired the workers who were trying to create a union. Also, the decline in unions in the 20s was caused by the cost of living as people were living a wealthy lifestyle, therefore, needing all the money they can get. If workers rebelled they would be fired from their jobs and lose

The Great Depression is the time when Americans changed their viewpoints toward unions. During that time, Americans were suffering from economic hardship. The government passed several laws to resolve the economic problems such as the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Miller). The National Labor Relations Act ensured that workers could join unions and protect their rights as employees. Workers can also bargain about their wages through union representatives. It effectively prevented workers from unfair labor practices.

The 1930's was a hard time for blacks. Blacks were hit harder hit than whites in the Great Depression. During the 1930s almost half of black Americans were out of work. Blacks really did not have a lot of rights, they could not vote, they could not sit in the same parts of restaurants or buses as white people. Blacks even had separate drinking fountains and bathrooms. Blacks had to use the back door of many building and not allowed to enter from the front. The civil rights movement of the 1930s changed a lot of things for blacks. The civil rights movement stopped most of the segregation in the south and gave blacks more rights.

The main reason of the rise of labor unions was the quick industrialization of the US economy. During the post-Civil War period, the US economy became extremely industrialized. This meant that more and more people were working in factories owned by large companies rather than working in small shops for themselves or for small businesses. In addition, large numbers of immigrants were coming to the US. They created a huge pool of labor that made labor prices go down and the quality of working conditions.

In return they were promised that the old arrangements would be resumed after the war. It was only a voluntary agreement, but in July 1915 the Munitions of War Act legally banded unions and the government and it outlawed strikes. In many ways, trade unionists made important gains during the war. The fact that government controlled so much of the industry led to a national, as opposed to local, wage agreements. However, after the war had ended, privatization was introduced again, and the staple industries were the ones who suffered more. This was followed by a wave of strikes. This industrial unrest worried the government which a feared a Bolshevik-type revolution.