The Labor Unions In Carl Degler's Out Of Our Past

There, he helped found the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (FOTLU), a loose alliance of unions that was later renamed and restructured into the American Federation of Labor. However, after Gompers assisted in organizing a failed campaign for an eight-hour workday, it quickly became clear to Gompers that a larger, stronger national organization of labor unions was needed in order to preserve the future of the labor movement. When the FOTLU met in 1886 for their annual convention, Gompers was instrumental in persuading the delegates to reorganize their confederation into the American Federation of Labor (AFL), a loose federation made up of multiple labor unions. He convinced the delegates that changes needed to be made. At the age of 37, Samuel Gompers was elected the first president of the newly created American Federation of

Unlike the Knights of Labor, the AFL only accepted white males who were skilled workers in similar trades into their ranks. Their focus was on economic gains including better wages, hours and working conditions; not over social reform or non-skilled workers plight. By using boycotts, strikes and collective bargaining the organization was able to win shorter working hours and better pay for its skilled workers. Gompers continued with these methods through out his reign, believing that by having a group of unions with only skilled laborers, he could have more influence by excluding the unskilled ones. He saw the higher wages earned by skilled individuals and wanted to capture their wealth and influence in with the AFLs own

Labor and the US Government from 1890-1945 A key aspect of this nation’s history lies in the ever-shifting relationship between its government and its common man, most specifically its labor workers. This relationship plays a crucial role in the understanding of the changes that took place in America between 1890 and 1945. The changing relationship between government and labor workers in the United States between 1890 and 1945 demonstrates a period of unrest and a transitional period in which the focus shifted towards the working class as a result of the greed and corruption of 19th century business elite , as can be seen in the labor strikes requiring government intervention of the late 19th century, the progressives of the early 20th century

By 1886 the Knights of Labor had over 700,000 members (United States History 3). Unlike any other labor union, the Knights of Labor encouraged blacks to join. So, by 1886 over 60,000 blacks had joined. The Knights of Labor participated in many famous riots to get what they wanted from the labor laws, which was reasonable hours and safer working conditions. The nights also carried out their own strikes and as time went on they ended up joining to form the American Federation of Labor.

In the journal article “ ‘A Wagner Act for Public Employees’: Labor’s Deferred Dream and the Rise of Conservatism”, author Joseph McCartin examined the failed pursuit of a new version of the Wagner Act in the 1970s. This new version, which was supported by pro-unionists and Democrats, would guarantee the rights of all workers in the public sector, to be able to organize, and do collective bargains with employers. This was not supported by conservatives or anti-unionists, who made it their mission to prevent any new pro-union legislation from being passed. This failed attempt led to a decline in the coalition of democrats and workers, and led to a shift towards conservatism.

The Industrial Revolution in the 1800s gave rise to harsh business practices and low-wage labor (Hillstrom). Large employers resisted unions through tactics such as hiring strikebreakers (typically recent immigrants who would work for any wage) whenever the normal employees would not show up (“National”). Unions were given the irrevocable right to collectively bargain with management in the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act (“National”). This right continues to allow union workers to present cases to their employers in modern times (“National”). Another issue unions tackled was the use of child labor (“Labor”).

It is a difficult task to challenge the social and economic policies of a country, especially one as patriotic as the United States during the post wartime Red scare era of the 1920 's. labor unions could account for this as they saw their membership fall from a high of 5 million in the 1920s to a mere 3.6 million by 1923(Rosenzweig 353). A combination of Supreme court decisions, Employer pressures and in many cases a lack of a strong leadership seen in previous individuals like Samuel Gompers contributed to this. Yet this trend surprisingly didn’t remain consistent as the great depression emerged around the 1930s. In fact they tripled there membership during the 1930s(Rosenzweig 429).They opened up, recruiting millions of women in their causes

The feeling, shown in Nast's illustration after the railroad strike of 1877, that amalgamations simply lead to more " communistic values" and general uniformity made it very arduous to genuinely get anything done. Samuel Gompers, progenitor of the American Federation of Labor, argued that the right to strike was absolutely obligatory if any reforms were going to be made and not even this right had been officially granted to the people by regime (Document I). Gompers made it very pellucid that not even the very substratum of organized labor had been established and so up until this point the advances that had been made, were virtually frivolous. In conclusion, from 1875-1900 very few advances were made through organized labor in achieving better working conditions for workers.

The AF of L wanted “unionism” and opposed socialism. TheKnights of Labor, another labor union, was created in 1869 and enlisted in their ranks not only alllaborers but also everyone who could be truly classified as a producer. Labor unions, the two major depressions and the three “robber barons” were three of theforemost reasons the Gilded Age got its name. The “robber barons” invested in things that wouldultimately lead to a “Golden Industrial Age” but they didn’t achieve it totally legitimately, and thecreation of the labor unions sided with the workers, but at times, grew violent in their methods.

In the beginning of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution caused a massive economic spike from small-scale production to large factories and mass production. Capitalism became the prevalent mode of the economy, which put all means of production in the hands of the bourgeoisie, or the upper class. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels argue that capitalism centralizes all the wealth and power in the bourgeoisie, despite the proletariat, or the working class, being the overwhelming majority of the population. The manufacturers would exploit the common proletariat and force them to would work in abysmal conditions and receive low wages, furthering the working class poverty. “The Communist Manifesto” predicts that as a result of the mistreatment

As industrial strength grew and technology advanced, labor in America changed. Machines replaced many of workers’ old duties and some skilled laborers who had been previously valued became easily replaced. Immigrants who were willing to work under poorer conditions flooded into the United States, big businesses grew, and political machines whose interests were not that of the people occupied the government. Laborers worked ten hour shifts, six-day workweeks, and started work as children. In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, he describes the painful and vigorous work in the meat-packing industry, saying, “The hands of these men would be criss-crossed with cuts, until you could no longer pretend to count them...

There are many simmaleritys and differences between the Knights of labor and the AFL this will explain only a few. The Knights were established in 1869 vs the AFL established in 1886 a few years later. This means the Knights are the predisesors of the AFL. Some made compromises others started boycotts, and the following explanes all. Both the AFL and the Knights had labor unions involved with them.

However, the economic crises in 1837 collapsed the labor unions because of economic hard times, and with immigrants coming in surplus willing to work for cheap, regular people could not compete and thus had to work at the beckon of the factories. Labor unions worked when the economy was resilient, but when the economy was shocked, everyone was too afraid of demanding more when there were those willing to work for

Farmers and Industrial Workers in the Gilded Age In a time when industrialization was booming, immigrants were racing towards the “American Dream”, and cities were growing towards the sky, the United States was thriving. As a country, the United States went from rural, to mostly urban, which made America “the world’s largest industrial power” as stated by John Green. Since the U.S. had become mostly urban, this left the very few rural workers (farmers), and even some of the industrial workers unhappy. This period of industrialization is called the Gilded Age than spans from 1865 to 1900.The farmers and industrial workers responded to the Gilded Age in significantly negative ways including unions against their authority, strikes and political

The AFL advocated for most of the same things as the Knights of Labor. The American Federation of Labor used strikes and boycotts against owners to try and get what they wanted. Two major strikes that occurred were the Pullman Strike and the Homestead Strike. Both strikes were very dangerous and had millions of dollars of damage. Some of the strikes and boycotts did work and wages were raised, however some backfired and many workers ended up losing their