Labor Unions & Big Business

the Knights of Labor
a. Identification-A labor union founded by garment cutters in 1860 but opened to others in the 1870's. Its grandmaster was Terrence V. Powderly.
b. Significance-It was the only labor union to survive the depression. They welcomed everyone from different races and of different craftsmenships. They opposed strikes because they were believed to be a loss more often than a win and they divereted attention from the long time goal of a cooperative society. Although they did participate in a few strikes. In the early 1880's they joined in the campaign for 8 hour a day shifts. The first day went by smoothly but there was a riot two days later that required police to break up. This resulted in the death of two unionists. This led to the Haymarket Riot which caused people, especially employers, to turn against workers' strikes.

the Haymarket riot
a. Identification- It was a result of the evening before at the McCormick plant in Chicago, in which two unionists were killed and more others wouned, by police because of a riot. At the Haymarket Riot they were rioting against police brutality. Ironically this also ended in violence when a bomb exploded killing seven and injuring sixty-seven. This led to many arrests of anarchists and unionists.
b. Significance- After this event people strongly disliked workers' strikes. They did everything in their power to prevent them. This included buying strike insurance and agreeing to resist strike. These strikes also revived the fear of radicalism within the middle-class.

the American Federation of Labor
a. Identification- It was a major workers' organization, which emerged in 1886. It was an allliance between national craft unions made up of mostly American-born skilled workers. Samuel Gompers, an immigrant, ran it. Some goals were to recieve higher wages, shorter hours, and the right to bargain collectively.
b. Significance- In July 1892 workers and members of the AFL and Amalgated Association of Iron and Steelworkers refused to accept cuts to their already low wages. This resulted in a strike in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The plant was closed due to the strike. Later gaurds were positoned but attacked by the strikers. After five months of continuous striking they gave up and quit. By now people were very upset and greatly disliked strikers.

Samuel Gompers
a. Identification- He was a pragmatic and oppurtunistic immigrant who headed the Cigar Makers' Union. He also led the AFL. Under his leadership the AFL grew to 1 million members by 1901 and 2.5 million by 1917.
b. Significance- The AFL grew quickly under his rule. They tried to recruit unskilled laborers so their group could grow. This would allow their ideas to be spread throughout a larger group of people.

the Homestead strike
a. Identification-In July 1892 workers and members of the AFL and Amalgated Association of Iron and Steelworkers refused to accept cuts to their already low wages. This resulted in a strike in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The plant was closed due to the strike. Later gaurds were positoned but attacked by the strikers. After five months of continuous striking they quit.
b. Significance- The public became disgusted with strikers. They did not like them at all especially because Henry C. Frick's life was at danger. (Frick was the president of Carnegie Steel Company that needed to be closed because of the strikers.)

the Pullman strike
a. Identification- The year of 1894 at the Pullman company town near Chicago, people protested against its policies. The whole town was run by Pullman. This meant they were not allowed to argue their rights and had to live a Pullman life by shopping at Pullman shops, living in Pullman homees, atttending Pullman schools, and etc. The town paid its' people the wages, had fixed rents, anf even spied on them.
b. Significance- Because workers were not allowed to argue their rights, they were outraged when he cut wages by 25 to 40 percent. This was the cause to the strike. When President Cleveland sent troops to disassemble the strike it showed how these workers were vital in everyday life. Without them the railway and mail systen would become backed up.

Eugene V. Debs
a. Identification- A leader in organizing the union strike on the Pullman wage cuts. He aided strikers by refusing to handle all Pullman cars but Pullman stood his ground and gave in. Only months after Cleveland's troops arrived the strike ended. Debbs was jailed for not following the order to stop striking.
b. Significance- Even though the strike was unsuccessful there was some light on the subject. Now the government had the attention of the laborers. They saw how important these workers were to the foundation of America. Without them supporting the big businesses and companies that helped America run, the country would be in chaos with backups such as the railway system and mail did.

the Industrial Workers of the World
a. Identification- A labor organization formed in 1905 by Colorado miners. They believed in violent strikes but they also tried to include all those of different levels of skills unlike the AFL.
b. Significance- The Knights of Labor and AFL greatly influenced unions like the IWW. With modernization of these unions they became more and more violent, which inevitably resulted in more deaths, throughout this century.