The Solidarity Movement in Poland

The workers in the cities worked for very long hours in awful conditions, which stressed problems in the basic infrastructure of Russia and its underprivileged economic. Russia was in a mess: there was social unrest as workers grew increasingly angry with their atrocious working

In the 1800s and early 1900s working conditions were much harsher than now. Long hours and small wages made up a day in the life of someone living in the late 1800s to the early 1900s. The Haymarket Riot was the result of the bombing in Chicago. “In the summer 1886 the campaign for an eight-hour day, long a rallying cry that united American laborers, culminated in a national strike on May 1, 1886. Between 300,000 and 500,000 workers struck across the country. In Chicago, police forces killed several workers while breaking up protestors at the McCormick reaper works. Labor leaders and radicals called for a protest at Haymarket Square the following day, which police also proceeded to break up. But as they did, a bomb exploded and killed seven policemen. Police fired into the crowd, killing four. The deaths of the Chicago policemen sparked outrage across the nation and the sensationalization of the “Haymarket Riot” helped many Americans to associate unionism with radicalism” (Yawp). As a result of the Haymarket Riot was the loss of members of the Knight of Labor. “The national movement for an eight-hour day collapsed”(Yawp). The Haymarket Riot played an important role in illustrating how labor was in the late 1800s to the

The strikes in the 1890s were becoming more organised as 97,000 went on strike in 1897 but Nicholas refused to do anything about the situation. He wanted Russia to modernise as an industrial company admirably but was less concerned what impact it would have on the workers. Both the strikes and the growth of opposition were long terms effects on the revolution.

How far was the failure of the general strike due to the actions of the conservative government? (24)

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).

The plan was to replace these workers with machinery to reduce cost. This strike was more started by business leaders when they demanded a fence be built around the steel plant, and hired workers to keep constant watch over it. Previous workers along with unionists surrounded the plant in-order-to fight back resulting in a fourteen-hour war between unionists and pinker tons. The war left ten dead and hundreds wounded when the Picker tons surrendered. This caused the government to get involved. It ended in November of 1876 with a fifth of the workers being re-hired, while the rest were blacklisted from every steel-mill. The union was eliminated after this strike. This strike ended in a slight-victory because wages were still cut, but jobs were reinstated. However, it did lead four-fifths of previously employed laborers blacklisted with no way to regain employment or financially support themselves or their families. Shi and Tindall,

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

Labor unrest came to a head in 1919 when workers began to protest in response to the difficulties caused bydemobilization. Workers went on strike

|response to a rising tide of strikes and protests that were paralyzing the | |

It is seen that frequent disagreements between the workers and their employers usually results in strikes and protests. During World War II, it was no different, as there were many strikes and protests that took place during that time in war production factories. As the War started, the government needed more weapons, machineries, tanks and other military equipment’s in order to fight and win the war. In order to meet the increased demands of war, new war production factories had to be built, along with existing car manufacturing industries being transformed for war production as well. It was seen that during this time period war production changed the relationship between the Congress of Industrial organizations (CIO) and American Federation of Labor (AFL), with their employers and the national government. As organized labor

Some consequences of the strike were longer workdays. Days went from eight hour shifts to twelve hour shifts, six days a week. Wages were cut; all employees were working with a mandatory increase of hours and not making what they should have been making. People were not able to provide for their families. Conditions would continue this way until the steel industry unionized, but that would not be for about another forty-four years later. Because of the way the economy is today, unfortunately history seems to be repeating itself. There seems to be a big push to get the unions out of the work force again. Businesses cannot afford the hirer wages, benefits and security that unions afford. Businesses are being forced to downsize resulting in the layoff of workers. Cutting medical benefits and hiring more employees but only for part time positions, to keep costs down. Employees are

Analyse the factors that contributed to the emergence of a workers’ opposition movement in Communist Poland in the period 1956-1981.

The main factor contributing to the failure of labor unions was choices the unions made in their actions. Two newspapers called The Alarm, and The Arbeiter-Zeitung both published articles in 1886. In the article The Arbeiter-Zeitung it says “To arms!” “To arms!”. (Schwab). This showed that the workers needed to stand up for what they wanted, even if it meant becoming truculent. This fortifies that the failure of the labor unions was coming from their ideas and tactics. Violence was never necessary; they could have went about it in a much different manner that was more placid. Next is a piece of evidence that was published in the New York Times on July 08, 1892. In the document it states that it was “names of those killed yesterday” (New York Times). It was a list that was

The factory owner ended up being charged with manslaughter because of his neglect to protect and aid his workers from such harsh conditions. And I believe that anyone who realized that the factory owner faced charges and was aware of his buildings condition would be against the harsh aspects that came with the industrialization and all for the progressive movement. Therefore, the tragic fire must have had an effect on the movement, even if it was just the spark that started it

Start by narrowing the historical literature down into three main schools of thought so you can take a closer look at how social movements are born, why some succeed, and others fail. (Clearly, using a broad brush to paint a simplified scope of the topic, but this will help to centralize the data in a more digestible context.) The main schools of thought in this paper have been grouped in the following types of action: Collective Action, Economic/Political, and Leadership Centered.