The History of the Labor Movement Since the beginnings of industrialization in the United States, a struggle between the rights of individuals working in industry and manufacturing and the desire of the ownership of these endeavors to maximize profits has raged. As various eras in history passed, labor movements in the United States met with varying degrees of success. The fortunes of labor movements in the United States has ebbed and flowed along with other key factors in American society. In times when human rights and the rights of the individual were national priorities, the labor movement prospered, in times where businesses and profitability were the priority, the labor movement faltered. In the post-civil war era, 1865-1876, the U.S. was just getting used to dealing with large numbers of unskilled manufacturing labor, which was derived from European Immigrants, and southern Blacks seeking a better life. (Lane, 1987) The bargaining position of such laborers was weak, since no legislation existed at the time to protect their rights, and any protests made about working conditions or other issues were met with termination and replacement, owing to the large pool of unskilled labor. (Lane, 1987) The time period also met with the rise of the "captains of industry", many of whom were instrumental in the success of the North during the Civil War. The government was friendlier to these big businesses and very unfriendly to individ(Lane, 1987) uals and organizations who sought to look into their activities and practices. Additionally, the War brought major incentive to businesses to develop time-saving mass-production technology. (Lane, 1987) The era between 1877-1920 saw the most dynamic ebb and flow of labor movements in the his... ... middle of paper ... ...e Association: Washington, DC. Galenson, W. (1960) The CIO Challenge to the AFL: A History of the American Labor Movement, 1935-1941. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA. Galenson, W. (1996) The American Labor Movement, 1955-1995. Greenwood Press: Westport, CT. Karson, Mark (1958) American Labor Unions and Politics, 1900-1918. Southern Illinois University Press: Carbondale, IL Lane, A. (1987) Solidarity or Survival? American Labor and European Immigrants, 1830-1924. Greenwood Press: New York, NY. Laslett, J. (1970) Labor and the Left: A Study of Socialist and Radical Influences in the American Labor Movement, 1881-1924. Basic Books: New York, NY. Marx, Jr. H. (1950) American Labor Unions: Organization, Aims, and Power. H. W. Wilson: New York, NY. Miller, S. & Cornford, D. (eds.) (1995) American Labor in the Era of World War II. Praeger: Westport, CT.
The paper will discuss minicases on ‘The White-Collar Union Organizer’ and ‘The Frustrated Labor Historians’ by Arthur A. Sloane and Fred Witney (2010), to understand the issues unions undergo in the marketplace. There is no predetermined statistical number reported of union memberships in this country. However, “the United Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) excludes almost 2 million U.S wages and salary employees, over half of whom are employed in the public sector, who are represented at their workplaces by a union but are not union members. Not being required to join a union as a condition of continued employment, these employees have for a variety of reasons chosen not to do so. Nor do the BLS estimates include union members who are currently unemployed” (Sloane & Witney, 2010, p.5). Given this important information, the examination of these minicases will provide answers to the problems unions face in organizational settings.
In the late nineteenth century, many European immigrants traveled to the United States in search of a better life and good fortune. The unskilled industries of the Eastern United States eagerly employed these men who were willing to work long hours for low wages just to earn their food and board. Among the most heavily recruiting industries were the railroads and the steel mills of Western Pennsylvania. Particularly in the steel mills, the working conditions for these immigrants were very dangerous. Many men lost their lives to these giant steel-making machines. The immigrants suffered the most and also worked the most hours for the least amount of money. Living conditions were also poor, and often these immigrants would barely have enough money and time to do anything but work, eat, and sleep. There was also a continuous struggle between the workers and the owners of the mills, the capitalists. The capitalists were a very small, elite group of rich men who held most of the wealth in their industries. Strikes broke out often, some ending in violence and death. Many workers had no political freedom or even a voice in the company that employed them. However, through all of these hardships, the immigrants continued their struggle for a better life.
The political crucifiction of the early blue-collar industrial worker was directly caused by organized labor. Before such ‘organization, existed, workers flew under the political radar in the best of ways. They were allowed to live peaceful lives and given the unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In fact, the commodore Andrew Carnegie had achieved the American dream in his rags to riches advancement and he offered the same opportunity for each of his workers. However, the arrival of the ‘organized’ labor movement drowned the worker’s chance at mobility. A cursory run through central terms of the question begs us to answer what is considered “organized” and “labor”. Organized can be...
Chants Democratic, by Sean Wilentz examined the emergence of New York’s labor class during the Jacksonian era and in essence revealed Artisan Republicanism. Wilentz offered a unique perspective in his historical analysis of the social and political labor histories during 1788 through 1850. Wilentz stressed the importance of the republicanism ideology in the creation of a working class that was instrumental in a pre-industrial New York. The author stressed the significance in both the political histories and social histories of the early nineteenth century by incorporating political ideologies and labor union descriptions. He further integrated these insights by means of articulating the social working conditions and lives of small masters, journeymen, and artisans to show their respective importance to the creation of the working class scruples. Chants Democratic iterated not only on the formation of the labor class in America, but also illuminated the changes within this new social class by exploring how antebellum New York’s population began to live and think.
This book definitely gave an insight into American history which was I did not possess before reading it. I always had the idea in my head that the Socialist movement of the early 20th century was not very radical. This book radically changed my views on this point. After reading it I now see exactly how revolutionary the ideas were that Debs was promoting at this time. This book also conveyed to me the extreme importance of the unions and Labor movement in politics during this time period. Unions definitely played a primary role and I learned how politicians must court the labor unions very carefully in order to gain their massive amount of very crucial votes. Salvatore did an excellent job at conveying exactly how important unions were at this time in American history. Given Debs important role in unions at the time in this book his role in American History is emphasized and clearly conveyed. Until reading this I had not realized exactly how important Debs was as a figure in American history both as a Socialist leader and Labor leader.
Throughout the history of the United States of America the continuation of misfortunes for the workforce has aggravated people to their apex, eventually leading to the development of labor unions.
The time period from 1860 to 1914 is defined by the surfacing of the "mass societies." The social order practically ignored the industrial proletariat and the foundation for a reform was laid. The industrial proletariat refers to all the workers who desperately depended on their wages. These people had absolutely no role in politics or in society in general. Even as late as 1860, the workers had to depend on themselves only to improve their social conditions. During the Industrial Revolution, as the number of machines mu...
MacLaury, J. 1998. “A Brief History: The Department of Labor.” The United States Department of Labor.
The period in American history between 1900 and 1920 was a very turbulent one. Civil unrest was brewing as a result of many pressures placed upon the working class. Although wealth was accumulating at an astonishing rate in America, most people at the lower economic levels were not benefiting from any of it. Worst of all for them, the federal government seemed to be on the side of the corporations. Their helpless situation and limited options is why the coal strike of 1902 is so important.
The early 1900s was a time of many movements, from the cities to the rural farms; people were uniting for various causes. One of the most widespread was the labor movement, which affected people far and wide. Conditions in the nation’s workplaces were notoriously poor, but New York City fostered the worst. Factories had started out in the city’s tenements, which were extremely cramped, poorly ventilated, and thoroughly unsanitary. With the advent of skyscrapers, factories were moved out of the tenements and into slightly larger buildings, which still had terrible conditions. Workers were forced to work long hours (around 12 hours long) six hours a day, often for extremely low pay. The pay was also extremely lower for women, who made up a large portion of the shirtwaist industry. If a worker were to openly contest an employer’s rule, they would be promptly fired and replaced immediately. Also, strength in numbers did not always work. Managers often hired brutal strikebreakers to shut movements down. The local police and justice were often of no help to the workers, even when women were being beaten. At the time, the workers needs were not taken seriously and profit was placed ahead of human life. This was not just a struggle for workers’ rights; it was also a movement for the working class’ freedom.
Large corporations used this to their advantage. Profit oriented leaders did little to make suitable working conditions. With the aid of Muckrakers, journalists who exposed the underside of American life, the nation began to understand the "evils" of industrialization (599). More and more did Americans escalate their concern for reforms. The reformists promoting the ideals of Progressivism were moralists and championed the ideals of human rights. Progressivism embraced a widespread, many-sided effort after 1900 to build a better soc...
Although the future of labor unions looked grim in the early 1930s, their fortunes would soon change. The tremendous gains labor unions experienced in the late 1930s was in part from the result of the Roosevelt administration’s pro-union stance and from legislation enacted
Yet early unions were faced with three obstacles that pervaded American culture in the 19th century. Laissez-faire capitalism, rugged individualism, and social Darwinism were three modes...
With many craftsmen out of jobs and more hungry laborers coming from Europe, the society was changing and growing and innovations had to keep up with that. “Pressure for change came from several directions. Immigrants from Europe, especially the Middle Atlantic region, increased the supply of urban labor” (332). Men came from Europe in the hopes that they could create big industries, especially because they knew that there was enough space and people to make it happen successfully. One of the biggest industries to arise during the industrial revolution was the addition of textile mills. These textile mills could quadruple the amount of work one woman could do at home. These factories provided many people with employment but many of the employees complained that they were working long hours without enough money earned to compensate for it. “But increasing competition in the textile industry cut profits, and by the 1830s, operatives found wages cut, boardinghouse rents raised, or workloads increased. Twice, in 1834 and again in 1836, women took strike action to resist these changes” (351). Most women that could not find jobs before the industrial revolution gained them after but they felt the injustice that was being put on them. Consequently, it was very popular for the employees to build labor unions to fight against what republicanism was turning out to
Domhoff discusses the prevalence of labor unions in the New Deal era. In fact, by 1945, with the help of the liberal-labor alliances, union membership had increased five-fold to fifteen million in that past decade (pg. 172). However, after 1945, the liberal-labor alliances never saw a victory against corporate conservatives. Because of the corporate world’s domination of policy implementation, politicians rules time and again against labor unions because it works in corporate America’s favor. Labor unions serve as many working class Americans’ avenue into the political sphere; denying them a right to unionize is not only a fundamental violation of free speech but also morally and ethically wrong. Overall, Domhoff’s critique of wealthy politicians (primarily Republicans) is merited considering he argues empirically with statistics supporting extremely skewed voting trends against unions. Additionally, Domhoff’s argument exudes sympathy toward those less fortunate; I share Domhoff’s sentiment that is imperative we promote equality amongst classes, one way in which we should do so is through advocacy of labor