The Rise and Fall of Labor Unions in the U.S
As a result, during the Gilded Age, unions staged a bid for more control of the workplace, along with higher wages and shorter hours. Unions conceived of the strike, or work stoppage, and used its power to attempt to win those concessions from business owners. This movement began with the Great Uprising of 1877 or Great Railroad Strike, a nationwide railway strike. Railroad workers found unity across craft and geographic lines, forming the first U.S. industrial union and deploying boycotts and sympathy strikes. The largest union of the 1870s and 1880s was the Knights of Labor, which was inclusive of most workers and had a utopian vision of a cooperative society. An alternate form of organizing, practiced by the American Federation of Labor after 1886, divided workers by their specific crafts and favored skilled, white, male, and, often, native-born laborers, because this gave the union greater bargaining power and organizational strength. Unions generally confronted hostile judges who issued injunctions to interrupt their activities.
One of the most horrific cases of worker neglect was the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Owners of the factory had locked the fire escape routes, and 146 workers, primarily young women, were killed. Accidents like this sparked widespread activism and protests against child labor and the disregard for low-class workers. Throughout the 1900s, whistleblowers exposed extreme and illegal practices. Over time, unions began to form. Employees were no longer allowing the abuse. The voice of one is faint, but the voices of many demand attention. With the help of union representatives, they started negotiating long-term contracts with the corporations. Unions helped ensure workers received superior benefits and guaranteed the safety and rights of every union member.
Great eruptions of industrial violence occurred during the Gilded Age. Governors and even presidents routinely called out troops to suppress strikes and prevent violence. Owners hired private armies such as agents of the Pinkerton Detective Agency to battle striking workers. But troops, workers, and private armies all contributed to these violent confrontations. During the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, hundreds were killed and injured by violence. A Chicago strike in May 1886 led to a few deaths near a McCormick agricultural machine factory and to an anarchist bombing and shoot-out with police officers. The Homestead Steel Lockout of 1892 resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries when strikers and Pinkerton guards battled before the state militia was called in (see Narrative). During the 1894 Pullman Strike, striking workers set buildings on fire and destroyed or derailed hundreds of railway cars. More than 14,000 state militia and federal troops were called to restore order after national guardsmen killed 34 strikers. During the strike, officials citing the anti-conspiracy properties of the Sherman Antitrust Act jailed the American Railway Union’s founder, the socialist Eugene Debs.
Scholarship essays focus on the rise of unions
Millions crossed the Mississippi River in the late nineteenth century, using rail transportation and claiming land under the 1862 Homestead Act to take advantage of celebrated opportunities in the West. This migration relieved some of the pressures of urban and town life in the East. Moreover, according to historian Frederick Jackson Turner, the pioneer experience epitomized and shaped what became the American ethos of individualism and self-reliance (see the Primary Source). Resourceful individualism and courage in the face of danger and hazards of the frontier had made America great, according to Turner’s thesis (see the Point-Counterpoint). In addition to the individual efforts of millions of settlers, the federal government played a pivotal role in smoothing the way for westward migration through policies aiding railroads and distributing public lands for development. Such policies stimulated the western economy in the late nineteenth century, particularly for newly established farmers, miners, and ranchers.
Companies without union representation continue offering their employees little to no benefits, with working environments barely meeting health standards. The difference between these corporations and those in the late 19th century is their keen ability to hide disagreeable business practices. Fortunately, unions have made significant progress in attaining the rights and safety of all workers. Unions like the International Brotherhood have provided safe and lucrative jobs to members like my father and continue to fight against cruel enterprises that have no care for the working class, on whose backs this country was and is being built.
During times of economic distress, labor has wielded the power of the strike to reckon with the corporate class to varying degrees of success. If we go back further than our 1949 start date, labor actions in the United States were even more severe, and so was the response to them. But rather than litigate the rise of organized labor from the mid 19th Century through the Depression, I think it’s more instructive to look at working class struggles in the postwar period when the United States emerged as the hegemonic power in the world.
The United States Senate had passed a joint resolution on April 8, 1864, calling for an amendment to the Constitution that ended slavery, but the House of Representatives had failed to pass it. Pressure on Republican leadership in the House to pass the resolution intensified, and the resolution finally succeeded on January 31, 1865. The proposed amendment stated that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction," and authorized Congress to enforce the amendment with appropriate legislation. Although not legally required to do so, Lincoln personally signed the joint resolution, signaling the importance he placed on the amendment. He also signed several of the resolution produced in honor of the occasion. The amendment was sent to the states for ratification on February 1, and Abraham Lincoln's home state of Illinois became the first state to ratify the proposed Thirteenth Amendment.
An Essay on the Essential Role of Labor Unions
This is great post. The AFL-CIO does represent those of us that work; I was one that they with an employer vs. employee issue and we won. It is important for workers to have an organization like the AFL-CIO to go to when they disagree with the actions of their employer. Moreover, worker need the union to have a fair playing field (Minchin, 2013). Due to the fact, that employers have labor lawyers that are paid to protect them- who is there to protect the workers– AFL-CIO (Minchin, 2013).
What is a good thesis statement for “A change in education system”?
Coming from a family that relies on unions has greatly influenced my outlook on life. I was raised believing that being in a union was the best option, and this is what I truly think. My father and step father are both union stewards. My dad works for AT&T and has belonged to IBEW Local 21 for almost 21 years now. My step dad has been a part of Laborers Local 477 for 11 years. About three years ago, he became a correctional officer where he joined FOP and AFSCME in addition to the Laborer’s. Growing up around these two men has empowered me to fight for what I believe in both in work, school, and in life.
A Brief Note On Summative Assessment Of Unions
The labor relations movement has been one of the most successful driving forces behind such efforts as: providing aid to workers who were injured or retired, better health benefits and to stop the practice of child labor in the workforce. Ostensibly, unions in the United States arose out of the need to better protect the “common interests” of laborers. Today, many of the social movements and alliances forged are created under the guise to better protect the employer from a plethora of interests made against the organization, rather than, increasing wages, improving reasonable employment hours and/or enhancing work conditions.
Chapter 9 Introductory Essay: 1877-1898
Individuals have been at work for thousands and thousands of years. Over the last century there have been many changes in the United States that protects workers in their positions and the duties they perform. There has been many changes for employers as well that protects companies and organization and offers beneficial information to keep them in compliance with changes and away from any from and form of discrimination. Over the last century there has been the organization of Unions (Bargaining Unit) in which are to protect workers in their positions, give them fair marketable pay and be the liaison between the employer and employee. Union organizations represent employees and negotiate contracts that