The American Labor Movement originated in the 19th century when disgruntled workers formed urban associations to fight for their rights and privileges as citizens in a free nation. They vehemently opposed being treated as slaves and enduring unbearable working conditions any longer.
Workers united and acknowledged the power of collective action in protesting oppressive companies. Unions, which are groups of workers with common objectives, started to form advocating for a shorter work day of ten hours instead of twelve. The workers recognized the necessity for economic and legal protections against exploitative employers who were exploiting them. (Source: AFL-CIO American Federalist, 1) The Industrial Revolution marked the inception of the American Labor Movement, with textile mills being the first factories established in the United States.
Once factory systems started expanding, the need for workers surged. These factories recruited considerable numbers of young women and children who were tasked with performing the same duties as men but for lower wages. Additionally, new immigrants, being unskilled, were also brought in as “free workers.” These immigrants flocked to urban areas, desperately seeking employment. (Working People, 1) In factories, child labor was not only prevalent but vital for a family’s income. Children as young as five or six operated machinery or undertook tasks like floor sweeping in order to earn wages.
Unsafe conditions prevailed in the factories, where children were frequently injured by the massive machinery. The absence of any legislation against employing child labor allowed the factories to persist in their practices. (AACTchrNET, 1) Additionally, “sweatshops” emerged in cramped and unsanitary tenements. These temporary structures were filthy and excessively hot, primarily utilized for garment manufacturing.
The wages in factories were significantly low, with workers being compensated based on their daily productivity. (1)Furthermore, these workers faced unreasonable expectations while providing for their families. The United States had the highest number of occupational fatalities compared to other industrialized nations globally. Both genders endured over eighty hours of work per week for meager salaries, earning twenty to forty percent below the amount necessary for a satisfactory quality of life.
According to the Department of Humanities Computing (2), both adults and children faced dire circumstances in their work. Workers frequently had to take unfinished products home and continue working on them after a tiring day, with no time for rest as they had to return the items to the factory the next morning. There was never an end in sight for these jobs, and little chance for relaxation. Men, women, and children all lived together in rundown tenements, enduring unhealthy conditions while struggling with poverty and hunger.
According to (Working People, 1), despite the country’s economic growth, people were dissatisfied because advancements in technology reduced the demand for skilled labor. However, from 1880 to 1910, there was a significant influx of eighteen million immigrants seeking employment. Regrettably, without any worker protection laws in place, businesses neglected their employees’ welfare. (Department of Humanities, 1) Nonetheless, this scenario started to shift with the rise of National Unions—coalitions of trade unions aimed at achieving greater effectiveness than local unions.
(Working People, 1) The National Trades’ Union, established in 1834, aimed to improve working conditions but was unsuccessful due to the financial panic three years later. (AFL-CIO American Federationalist, 1) The National Labor Union, formed in 1866, successfully implemented an eight-hour workday in 1868 for federal employees but disbanded after the death of its leader in 1873 and a nationwide economic depression. (1) The Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, founded in Philadelphia by garment workers in 1869, sought to create a single union for both skilled and unskilled workers.
The Knights of Labor started in secrecy but later expanded their membership to include workers from various backgrounds, such as blacks, women, and farmers. They managed to attract 500,000 workers within a year. Their goals included an eight-hour workday, minimum wage, arbitration instead of strikes, health and safety regulations, equal pay for equal work, elimination of child labor for those under fourteen years old, and government control over railroads, telegraphs, and telephones. Despite these ambitions, the Knights of Labor eventually disintegrated. In 1886, the American Federation of Labor (AF of L), led by Samuel Gompers who was a former cigar union official took over from the Knights of Labor. The AF of L focused solely on addressing the concerns of skilled workers unlike its predecessor (source: www.planetpapers.com/Assets/306.shtml).
(www.planetpapers.com/Assets/306.shtml, 2) According to the founders, the introduction of machinery, the division of labor, the employment of women and children, and the absence of an apprentice system were negatively impacting various trades and causing skilled labor to decline. This led to the establishment of trade unions in America, with the goal of safeguarding skilled labor and maintaining American workmanship and skill. The AF of L, a union consisting of twenty-five unions and three hundred thousand workers, aimed to increase wages, reduce work hours, and improve working conditions. (AFL-CIO American Federationalist, 2) Gompers advocated for equal pay for equal work and the protection of everyone’s rights. He believed that unions should primarily focus on members’ day-to-day welfare rather than getting involved in politics.
According to the source on www.planetpapers.com/Assets/306.shtml, he did not think socialism would be successful in the United States. His philosophies, referred to as “bread and butter” unionism, supported higher wages and shorter working hours to better the lives of workers. This led to various labor disputes and strikes due to the goals of workers and opposition from capitalists. The first notable example was the Great Rail Strike of 1877 when railroad workers across the country went on strike following a ten percent reduction in their salaries.
Rioting and destruction occurred in multiple cities as efforts were made to stop the strike, according to a source (www.planetpapers.com/Assets/306.shtml, 2). To end the strike, federal troops were deployed in Baltimore, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Buffalo, New York; and San Francisco, California (Department of Humanities, 2). The Haymarket Square incident happened nine years later in 1886 when workers went on strike on May 1st to demand shorter working hours. Radical groups and anarchists got involved during this campaign. Two days after the strike started at the McCormick Harvester plant in Chicago, a riot broke out resulting in a shooting incident and one fatality as police tried to regain control amidst the chaos.
On May 4, during a meeting, there was an explosion in Haymarket Square. This led to the unfortunate death of nine individuals, including eight police officers. Around sixty people were also injured. As a consequence of these incidents, riots occurred at Carnegie’s steel works in Homestead, Pennsylvania in 1892. To suppress a strike organized by the Amalgamated Association of Iron, three hundred Pinkerton detectives were hired by the company.
Ten steel and tin workers were shot and killed leading to the intervention of the National Guard, which eventually ended the strike. The introduction of non-union workers resulted in the collapse of the strike, and unions were not allowed to return to the plant until 1937. Two years later, wage cuts in the Pullman Palace Car company led to another strike, with the American Railway union joining in. This resulted in major disruptions to the country’s rail system.
General Richard Olney assigned over three thousand men to ensure the smooth operation of the railroads, as their role in transportation was crucial. However, the federal court stepped in and forbade any union interference with the trains. This intervention ultimately led to the resolution of the strike.
The International Workers of the World (IWW), also known as “wobblies,” were a radical union that frequently went on strike. They originated in 1905 in Chicago and consisted of various unions dedicated to improving working conditions in the mining industry of Western United States. The IWW had a strong presence among textile workers, dock workers, migratory farmers, and lumberjacks. Eugene V. Debs held a prominent position within this organization.
Debs rose to prominence during the Colorado mine conflicts of 1903 and the subsequent brutal repression. The wobblies, who reached a membership high of one hundred thousand, gained significant notice following their triumph in the battle against textile mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912. However, their demand for work stoppages during World War I led to a government crackdown in 1917, causing their decline. The early years of the twentieth century saw Progressivism emerge as a potent reform movement that swept through the entire nation.
The purpose of various professionals, including college professors, ministers, journalists, physicians, and social workers, was to improve conditions for all Americans in order to democratize both the political and economic systems. They were disturbed by the presence of extreme wealth and poverty in America and advocated for those with control over the nation’s resources to share their riches with those in need. This movement gained support from farmers, small businessmen, women, and laborers (Source: www.planetpapers.com/Assets/306.shtml, 3). The progressives expressed concern about labor problems in the country.
The use of court rulings to halt strikes was a source of disagreement and disturbance. In 1890, Congress enacted the Sherman Antitrust Act, which aimed to penalize large business corporations that joined forces to limit competition. However, it appeared to be utilized predominantly as a weapon against unions. The implementation of federal troops and state militia against strikers also frustrated Progressives. Despite these concerns, factory conditions had not yet seen improvement.
The Progressives and the AFL supported state governments in passing laws to protect workers’ wages. Most states banned the employment of children under fourteen, while thirty-seven states had restrictions for children under sixteen, preventing them from working between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Additionally, nineteen states required an eight-hour workday for children under sixteen who worked in factories or stores. These measures also extended to protecting women’s job rights.
Forty-one states implemented new or enhanced legislation to safeguard female employees, explicitly restricting the workday to nine hours or the workweek to fifty-four hours. (3) Additionally, the issue of frequent industrial accidents, which could no longer be disregarded, had to be addressed. Reformers argued that employers should bear the cost of insurance to cover medical expenses. By 1917, thirteen states had enacted laws concerning workers’ compensation.
Several safety regulations laws were implemented by many states. To achieve labor improvement in America, an alliance was formed between Progressives and the AFL, as they shared common goals. Congress addressed a range of demands and requests by enacting laws to safeguard children, railroad workers, and seamen. Furthermore, a Department of Labor was created within the president’s Cabinet. In 1914, Congress passed the significant Clayton Act, which forbade the application of antitrust laws and court injunctions against unions.
During World War I, the federal government established the War Labor Board to settle disputes through arbitration. The board made significant progress in wages, implementing an eight-hour work day and supporting collective bargaining. These measures greatly benefited unions and resulted in a notable surge in union membership. By January 1917, the AFL had 2,370,000 members, a number that grew to 3,260,000 within two years. Union challenges fluctuated throughout the twentieth century.
In the 1920’s, there was an economic boom that brought prosperity to all Americans. However, in the 1930’s, the Great Depression occurred and resulted in economic hardship and poverty for many workers. It is interesting to note that unions thrived during this time because Franklin D. Roosevelt supported a “New Deal” that he promised to Americans.
The Wagner Act, also known as the National Labor Relations Act, was instrumental in safeguarding workers’ rights to form unions and engage in collective bargaining. The act created the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB), which facilitated union elections for worker representation. Additionally, the NRLB was empowered to tackle and prevent unfair employer practices that aimed to weaken unions. These significant progressions played a crucial role in shaping the present condition of America.
(4) The objective and ideology of a union, which prioritize group power over individual power, have remained constant over time. Since the establishment of the country, Americans have consistently supported their convictions, recognizing the significance of collaborating to accomplish their objectives.
In order to ensure the nation’s survival, it was necessary for individuals to compromise and share resources. Our history has shown how we can collectively address issues in a calm and rational manner, despite internal conflicts. Some Americans fail to recognize the importance of their job benefits and are unaware of the struggles our ancestors endured to secure their well-being and happiness. The Constitution ensures that every American has the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. In situations where workers experienced oppression and harsh treatment from employers, they essentially became akin to slaves serving masters.
In summary, American unions emerged as a response to the labor conditions that resembled slavery experienced by workers.
