Rise of Labor Unions

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Rise of Labor Unions

• Objective 5.03

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Why were they developed?

• Working conditionsunsanitary, dangerous
• Wagestoo low
• Hourstoo long, 12 hour days
• Child Laborno school, cruelty (low pay, long
  hours)

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Types of Unions

• Trade Uniongroup of workers organized
  principally for the purpose of increasing wages
  and improving conditions
• Craft Unionunion that admits only workers of a
  particular trade, skill, or occupation

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Knights of Labor

• Founded secretly in 1869 by Uriah Stephens
• Grouped workers by industry, not by trade or
  skill
• Women and African Americans allowed membership
• Chinese excluded

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• Goals
• 8 hour workday
• End child labor
• Equal pay for equal work
• Use arbitration instead of strikes
• Labor Day can be traced back to two of the groups
  parades in NYC

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American Federation of Labor (AFL)

• Rival of Knights of Labor
• Founded in 1886 by Samuel Gompers
• Made of coalition of craft labor unions

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• Goals
• Improve conditions
• Increase pay
• Increase job security
• Pursue workers immediate demands
• Stay out of the politics

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Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

• International union founded in 1905
• Formed by Socialists, Anarchists, and radical
  trade unionists that opposed the AFL
• Anyone can join regardless of race and gender

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• Goals
• Promote worker solidarity
• Deny contractstook away right to strike
• Improve conditions
• MottoAn injury to one is an injury to all

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Important People

• Samuel Gompers (1850-1924)
• Began as a cigar maker
• Founded the AFL
• Promoted harmony amongst craft unions
• Fought against socialism and the Socialist Party

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• Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926)
• One of the leaders of the IWW
• 5 time Socialist Party candidate for President of
  the U.S.
• Socialists believe that the means of production
  should be owned by the workers, not the rich
  minority

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• Debs believed that workers should have smaller
  private ownership of their own means of production