Knights Of Labor Essay

The Knights of Labors descent would eventually lead to the rise and development of the American Federation of Labor. Where the American Federation of Labor differed from the Knights of Labor was in their goals and recruitment. The American Federation of Labor was much tolerate of capitalism as a whole, even going so far as to not oppose monopolies. The main purpose of the American Federation of Labor and unionizing in general, according to one of the organization's founders Samuel Gompers, was “Through its whole history the trade union movement has been a movement whose only purpose was to satisfy the hungers and the needs of those who toil. It is today no different than it has been. Its character and its aims are as always. The needs which

it seeks to satisfy may differ in nature, but they are still the needs of the human family.” The American Federation of Labor may have had different outlooks on capitalism compared to the Knights of Labor, however they did agree that their current society was ignoring the struggles of the lower class citizens. In order to increase their power, the American Federation of Labor was much more selective in their recruitment strategies.

To avoid the ability of potential of strike being circumvented by corporations, the American Federation of Labor employed only skilled laborers, whom were harder to replace and therefore had more negotiating power when it came to strikes. The American Federation Labor and their selective recruitment would also lead to some controversial decisions. The union supported the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers under the pretense that immigration was a way for corporations to undermine unionization. The union also was slow to include women and people of color within their ranks. While they were much more exclusive compared to their predecessor, the American Federation of labor would go on to achieve many of the goals of the Knights of

Labor.

The Knights of Labors descent would eventually lead to the rise and development of the American Federation of Labor. Where the American Federation of Labor differed from the Knights of Labor was in their goals and recruitment. The American Federation of Labor was much tolerate of capitalism as a whole, even going so far as to not oppose monopolies. The main purpose of the American Federation of Labor and unionizing in general, according to one of the organization's founders Samuel Gompers, was “Through its whole history the trade union movement has been a movement whose only purpose was to satisfy the hungers and the needs of those who toil. It is today no different than it has been. Its character and its aims are as always. The needs which it seeks to satisfy may differ in nature, but they are still the needs of the human family.” The American Federation of Labor may have had different outlooks on capitalism compared to the Knights of Labor, however both organizations did agree that their current society was ignoring the struggles of the lower class citizens. In order to increase their power, the American Federation of Labor was much more selective in their recruitment strategies. To avoid the ability of potential of strike being circumvented by corporations, the American Federation of Labor employed only skilled laborers, whom were harder to replace and therefore had more negotiating power when it came to strikes. The American Federation Labor and their selective recruitment would also lead to some controversial decisions. The union supported the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers in the United States. Samuel Gompers would justify this decision under the pretense that immigration was a way for corporations to undermine unionization. The union also was slow to include women and people of color within their ranks. While they were much more exclusive compared to their predecessor, the American Federation of labor would go on to achieve many of the goals the Knights of Labor had hoped to achieve.

The rise of labor unions would be met fierce opposition from the government under the pretense that Unions were forcing employers to hire less workers therefore hurting American economy. While industrial laborers in post civil war America organized to protest their treatment, many prominent leaders and politicians denounced theses actors. Famed Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, William A. Quayle famously held an open letter conversation with Samuel Gompers in which he discussed the morality of unionizing in America during the year 1920. According to him “The very existence of our republican form of government in this country is seriously threatened because of the attempt of organized labor to dominate the halls of Congress” these sympathies were not unique to him. An example of the government's opposition to unionizing was the Sherman antitrust act of 1890. The act was intended to prevent monopolies from developing under the pretense that anything that disrupted free trade was illegal. However, since the many monopolies could bribe their way out of fines and punishment, the act was then used as a means to prevent unionizing, thus inadvertently helping monopolies. For example, in the supreme court case between workers at the Loewe & Company, a fur hat manufacturer, attempting to unionize and hold a boycott, and their employers, the court ruled in favor of the employers right to produce stating “A boycott of his goods and prevent their sale in States other than his own until such time as the resulting damage forces him to comply with their demands is, under the conditions of this case, a combination in restraint of interstate trade or commerce within the meaning of the Anti-Trust Act of July 2, 1890, and the manufacturer may maintain an action for threefold damages under 7 of that act.” The treatment of laborers as a threat to American trade displayed the priority of profit over quality of life of the United States Government at the time.

One of the biggest achievements to come out out of the unionization of workers and legislation that has contributed the improvement of working conditions within the United States was the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

The law would set standards for the minimum wage, work week, and health regulations in all aspect of labor. However, the law only came to be through a conjoined effort from unions such as the American Federation of Labor. Prior to the law passing, the United States government had been actively ruling in favor of limiting the rights of laborers. In the 1905 case of Lochner v. New York, the supreme court ruled that laws limiting the work week of laborers to 60 hours a week was unconstitutional violating the nation's economic liberty. Rulings like that of Lochner v. New York made the idea of the Fair Labor Standards Act seem nearly impossible to pass. It took the Great Depression of the 1930s to really bolster the American federation of Labor efforts to pass regulations on employer power. With an increase in demand for jobs and the populace working for long hours with little pay, The American federation Labor had gained a substantial backing that the government was in no shape to ignore. The signing of the Fair Labor Standards Act was not universally supported, with many critics drawing the common opposition that the law was a step towards communism, such as the National Association of Manufacturers stating the law “constitutes a step in the direction of

communism, bolshevism, fascism, and Nazism” Nevertheless, through the efforts of the American federation of Labor and industrial workers across the country, federal legislation had finally been installed that truly began to address the problems of working in post civil war America.

The Labor Movement of Post Civil war America saw the rise of unions playing a larger role in American society. Organizations such as the Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor took advantage of the increasing weariness of laborers being oppressed by a capitalist system to form nationwide unions that fought against overreaching corporations. The legacy their work leaves behind continues to inspire laborers of all trades to protest against the exploitation of their work. In today’s current society, workers still struggle to fully be fairly compensated for their services. Oklahoma teachers, tired of having the second lowest pay rate of their profession in America, have taken to strikes. Behind these strikes are unions, and just like the Labor Movement of the late 19th century, the unions aim to increase the value in which the state places on labor. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 may not have solved all the issues of working in America, but the efforts of the American Federation of Labor and the Knights of Labor enlightened the American public at to how fight a capitalist oppression and succeed.