Trade Unions
Aim: To not be exploited and be able to access the “American dream”.
19th Century
Westward expansion, mass industrialisation, urbanisation and immigration.
There is a lot of inequality in America after industrialisation because of the labour pf the
people in factories who are not paid well, working in poor/ dangerous conditions, they are
not getting any of the profits of the factories. This is completely opposite to being on a
family farm where you have more freedom. At this time, America also has very little social
welfare like unemployment benefits or state pensions. The work often made people ill as
well like coal miners. Lots of people moved into cities and often ended up living in slums
because they would not afford housing. Disease was common and life expectancy was lower
than in the countryside. 700,000 injuries in 1913 alone from work.
There was no socialist movement in the US during industrialisation like there was in other
countries. Factory owners often tried to get all kinds of different people to work for them to
make it harder for them to unionise. There were also divisions between races, skilled or
unskilled workers etc.
America is all about individualism so many see trade unions as “unamerican”. Over time,
may strikes became violent, so they got a bad reputation and people associated trade unions
with mobbing and violence.
Employers had absolute power and could use any tactics to stop workers from organising.
The laissez-faire capitalism and pro-business government policy led to increased power for
employers. After 1865, many huge corporations were formed, often monopolies, and
unrestricted by government legislation. Workers had no rights of redress and no mechanism
for expressing their dissatisfaction so employers were able to resist any kind of union
organisation in their factories.
Techniques used:
Locked their doors against rebellious workers (“lockout”) and starved them into submission.
Forced workers to sign “ironclad oaths” or “yellow-dog contracts” – both were agreements
not to join a labour union.
Used labour spies, strike-breakers and employed thugs to beat up union organizers.
Got federal courts, presided over by well-fed and conservative judges, to issue injunctions
ordering the strikers back to work.
Called on the armed forces if necessary (often the National Guard).
Troublemakers were often dismissed and could not get other work (blacklisted).
When people went out on strike, companies often just hired other people who were
desperate- often African Americans- so they became even more unpopular for this. These
were called “scabs”. Many American businesses set up company towns which were towns
where the owners would build houses, schools, hospitals etc. all dependent on this
company. This meant that strikes, bad behaviour etc. were detrimental. The companies
, would have absolute control over their workers. Immigration in the US was also very high
which put downward pressure on wages.
The first trade unions were set up by skilled workers as they saw their position was
precarious and they excluded unskilled workers, AAs, Hispanics, Asians, women and anyone
else who companies could pay less.
In 1866 the National Labor Union (NLU) was set up. It was one of the first national trade
unions and its goal was the bring together all workers from America. They still excluded
black, Asian, women workers. This failed because the members were too separate. They
were more like a pressure group for congress rather than being focused on strikes. They
were successful with pressuring Congress to repeal the 1864 contract Labor law which
allowed immigrants to be paid less (so that they wouldn’t take their jobs). This was quite an
insignificant trade union, mainly focussed on ideology than practical changes.
1869, the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor was formed. The 1st leader was
Uriah S. Stephens (Philadelphia tailor), then Terence V. Powderley (Pa.) It was like a medieval
guild like the masons and had the aura of medieval guilds. Initially used secrecy/passwords
to protect its members against reprisals; to create a sense of solidarity.
Its ideology was vague, diffuse Utopianism, largely incoherent. They believed in the
“American Dream” and they didn’t like what they saw in rich owners dictating what the
workers should do. They wanted to return to the old way of doing things where they would
all work together in a co-operative, owning their own business. Its aim was to unite all
‘toilers’ into one large organisation, regardless of occupation (both skilled and unskilled
workers), race, creed, nationality or sex (an ‘inclusive’ union) – very radical for the time.
They also didn’t let people who they felt exploited people – lawyers, doctors, bankers, liquor
sellers etc. They wanted equality of wages, end of child labour, 8-hour days, health and
safety regulations, as well as political demands like income tax (for richer people), paper
money. They rejected the idea of workers going on strike. However, many individuals within
the union banded together to strike and did achieve good results, showing the positives and
necessity for strikes. One example was on the railways where Jay Gould had to go back on
pay cuts after strikes halted the railways. The inclusive unions were not as successful
because their aims were too spread.
Haymarket Affair, Chicago, 1886
In Chicago, there were many people who were anarchists, who didn’t believe in nay
authority, especially the state.
About 100 anarchists lived in Chicago, many were foreign-born. They advocated a violent
overthrow of U.S. government. Chicago was also home to 80,000 Knights. On May 3, at the
McCormick Harvesting Machine Plant, 1 person was killed and several injured in a violent
clash between policemen and strikers (some were Knights). This union action was part of a
national campaign to secure the 8-hour day. The police intervened to protect strike-breakers
and to intimidate the strikers.
May 4, in response, a protest demonstration was held (organised by anarchist labour
leaders) at Haymarket Square against alleged police violence and brutality. After Harrison
and most of the demonstrators departed, a contingent of police arrived and demanded that
the crowd disperse. At that point a bomb was thrown by an individual never positively
