The Tournament of Today
Conditions
The average industrial worker D.I.E.S
Most workers no longer were their own bosses. Instead, they were paid for time on the job. Job and worker/boss relationship becomes more impersonal and detached
In the year 1900, Andrew Carnegie, owner of Carnegie Steel Corporation, earned $23 million dollars. At the turn of the century, when the average worker earned $957 for engineers (the aristocrats of the railroad)
Railroad work was one of the most dangerous jobs in America; 2,000 railroad workers were being killed each year, and 30,000 injured
Collective Action
Labor unions had a difficult time achieving their goals of higher pay, shorter hours, and improved working conditions. Factory owners were strongly against the formation of unions.
Commonwealth vs Hunt (1842)
Tools for Unions
Notable Labor Unions: Knights of Labor (1869) and American Federation of Labor (1886)
Conflicts of Note
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
Haymarket Riot (1886)
The Homestead Steel Strike (1892)
Consequences
How successful was organized labor in improving the position of workers in the period from 1875 to 1900? Analyze the factors that contributed to the level of success achieved?
SUCCESSES IN IMPROVING POSITION OF WORKERS 1875-1900
Workers' determination to fight back did at times make the employers "think twice" -- after the RR strike of 1877 for example, employers were slower to slash wages.
Congress did (to a very small extent) limit some immigration (Chinese, paupers, contract labor) - a demand of organized labor.
More workers were getting the pre Civil War demand of 10 hour days .
Some states gave unions legal recognition & passed health & safety laws to protect workers.
Some companies (the Baltimore & Ohio RR, for example) provided pension plans --Pittsburgh Steel pioneered profit sharing.
The AFL did survive the depression of the 1890's - by 1901 it had over 1 million members - almost 1/3 of all skilled workers.
FAILURES TO IMPROVE POSITION OF WORKERS 1875-1900
Most unions collapsed
Most strikes were crushed & achieved few goals -- Great RR Strike, Homestead, Pullman etc.
Many skilled/craft jobs were replaced with lower paying jobs due to new technology & reorganization of business.
Less than 10% of industrial workers were unionized by 1900. • Massive immigration made it easy to replace workers.
Regents Graphics
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/apc/ap09_us_history_q4.pdf
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.