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... All that the factory owners needed was a dependable
supply of labor to tend the machines. ...
Labor in America faced a long, uphill struggle to win fair treatment. In that struggle, more
and more workers would turn to labor unions to help their cause. ...
GROWTH OF THE FACTORY
In colonial America, most manufacturing was done by hand in the home. ... He was concerned less with their welfare than with the
cost of their labor. ...
As the factory system grew, many workers began to form labor unions to protect their
interests. ... These
decisions destroyed the effectiveness of the nations early labor unions. ... But
an appeal to a higher court resulted in a victory for labor unions generally. ...
UNION STRUGGLES
In the next two decades, unions campaigned for a 10-hour working day and against child
labor. ... For this reason, the majority did not join labor unions. ...
Probably the most violent confrontation between labor and employers was the Great Railway
Strike of 1877. ... Legislatures in many states passed new
conspiracy laws aimed at suppressing labor. ... It gave labor an awareness
of its strength and solidarity.
KNIGHTS OF LABOR
The Railway Strike led many workers to join a growing national labor organization. It had a grand
name--the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor. ...
Labor organizations would fail if they were divided into separate craft unions. Instead, labor should
be organized in one big union of both skilled and unskilled workers.
Membership in the Knights of Labor was open to wage earners over 18 years of age regardless of
race, sex or skill. ...
The program of the Knights of Labor called for: an eight-hour working day, laws establishing a
minimum weekly wage, the use of arbitration rather than strikes to settle disputes, laws to protect
the health and safety of industrial workers, equal pay for equal work, an end to child labor under
14 years of age and government ownership of railroads, telegraphs and telephones. ... But
that year workers led by Knights of Labor organizers went on strike against two big railroad
companies. ... Within 10 years of its greatest victories,
the Knights of Labor collapsed.
"BREAD AND BUTTER" UNIONISM
As the Knights declined, a new labor organization began to challenge it for supremacy. This was
the American Federation of Labor (AFL). ... Gompers had
no use for the Knights of Labor, which combined all workers in one big union.
The American Federation of Labor began with a core of six craft unions. ... 75 million members
and was the nations dominant labor organization.
At this time, many workers in Europe were joining revolutionary labor movements which advocated
the abolition of capitalism and the establishment of a new socialist economic system. Most American
workers, however, followed the lead of Gompers, with his highly pragmatic approach to problems of
labor. ...
There was one outstanding exception to the pragmatic "bread and butter" approach to unionism
which characterized most of American labor. This was the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW),
a revolutionary labor union launched in Chicago in 1905 under the leadership of Eugene V. ...
The alliance of Progressives and the AFL also campaigned for federal laws to aid labor. ... It established a Department
of Labor in the presidents Cabinet. ...
During World War I, organized labor made great advances. The federal government created the War
Labor Board to settle disputes by arbitration. ...
RED SCARES AND DEPRESSION
As the 1920s began, organized labor seemed stronger than ever. ... Unions believed that a scarcity of labor
would keep wages high. ... During the Progressive era, the public had
sympathized with labor. ... To help labor, Congress
passed the Wagner Act. ... The law
created a powerful National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). ... But
the drive was delayed at first by a dispute within the American Federation of Labor. ... Some labor leaders believed that a single union should
represent all the workers, skilled and unskilled. ... They formed a new labor
organization that became the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). ...
During the 1930s, Congress enacted other reforms that benefited labor:
The Social Security Act of 1935 created a system of government-sponsored unemployment insurance
and old-age pensions.
The Fair Labor Standards Act regulated wages and hours. ...
The law also forbade the labor of children under 16 in most occupations. ... By 1943, unemployment
ended and industry was faced with a shortage of labor. ...
During World War II, labor cooperated with government and industry. ... They
said that the Wagner Act had given labor too much power. ... It contained a number of provisions to limit
organized labor. ...
Labor leaders bitterly denounced the Taft-Hartley Act. ...
LABOR TODAY
In recent years there has been a steady decline in the percentage of workers who belong to labor unions. ... In 1988, less than 17 percent of the labor force--or
17 million workers--were unionized. ...
Despite the decline in members, organized labor in the United States remains strong and conditions of Americas
labor force have steadily improved. ... And, second, the composition of the labor force was different, consisting of a larger percentage of
minorities and women than before. ...
As the work force has changed, so have some--but not all--labor-management issues.
Approximate Word count = 4897
Approximate Pages = 19.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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