Why did the workers want to start a union ? Put your answers under A, # 1-9.
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Transcript of Why did the workers want to start a union ? Put your answers under A, # 1-9.
Why did the workers want to start a union?
Put your answers under A, # 1-9
NO MONEY FOR INJURIES ON THE JOB
You’re sick and can’t work?Lose Your Job!
• CHILD LABOR
• SPEEDING UP PRODUCTION
• NO SAFETY GEAR• NO SAFETY GEAR•NO SAFETY GEAR
•Long hours
• Low pay
(Read for Low pay)WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
• In 1864 a group of New York City workers each earned $16.00 a week. Each week, a family of six needed $16.10 to buy food and to pay the rent.
Where does the money go? Weekly Expenses• 1 bag of flour $1.40• Potatoes @ 13 cents a day .91• ¼ lb. of tea .32• 1 lb. of coffee .35• 3 ½ lbs. of sugar .80• Meat 3.00• 2 bushels of coal 1.20• 4 lbs. of butter 1.60• 2 lbs. of lard (fat of pigs) .38• Oil for lamps .20• Soap, salt, pepper .75• Vegetables .50• Apples .25• Rent 4.44
Factory Workers Wanted•12 hour day
•6 days a week
•No skilled needed
PAY: $10.00 a week – men
$ 5.00 a week – women
$ 3.00 a week - children
• Unsafe workplace
• Sexual harassment
REASONS FOR STARTING A UNION
CHILD LABORDEMAND FOR FASTER PRODUCTIONNO SAFETY GEAR FOR WORKERSLONG HOURSLOW PAYUNSAFE WORKPLACESSEXUAL HARASSMENTNO MONEY FOR JOB INJURIESYOU’RE SICK? LOSE YOUR JOB!
Just readKNIGHTS OF LABOR
(Put in box Part B)
WHO COULD
JOIN K of L???
SKILLED WORKERS ONLY
LATER WOMEN
IMMIGRANTS
AF- AMERICANS
UNSKILLED
K of L GOALSK of L GOALS
MAKE A BETTER WORKING PLACEMAKE A BETTER WORKING PLACE
SHORTER WORK DAYSHORTER WORK DAY
END CHILD LABOREND CHILD LABOR
EQUAL PAY FOR BOTH SEXESEQUAL PAY FOR BOTH SEXES
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR (PUT IN WHO CAN JOIN)
• skilled workers only
• A “union of unions” (WRITE WHAT
THIS IS – CHECK NEXT SLIDE)
Who Could Join?
• skilled workers join a trade union first Ex. Plumber joins the plumber’s union
• Then the plumber’s union joins the AFL
• Has the best workers in the country’s workforce
• Nonwhites not allowed to join until later when they get skills to join a trade union.
AFL GOALS – THEY WANTED
• SHORTER HOURS
• BETTER PAY
• BETTER WORKING CONDITIONS
• COLLECTIVE BARGAINING (THEY SEND 4 – 5 UNION REPRESENTATIVES TO MEET WITH OWNERS TO WORK OUT A FAIR WORKING CONTRACT)
AFL – A UNION OF UNIONS!
UNIONS
Knights of Labor1869
American Federationof Labor
1886
1st – skilledlater – unskilled
trade unions can joinNonwhites can join
today
•Not always for strikes• would rather use rallies, meetings to win to win
public support
•Make world a better place for workers•
•more practical•Believed in strikes
•Wanted collective bargaining
WEAPONS OF THE WORKERS
Scene: Charles, a union leader, and Howard, a worker, are having
a cup of coffee in the cafeteria of a large factory.
Charles: I talked with the boss for the tenth time yesterday. The
company will not give us what we want.
Howard: What did you ask for?
Charles: Higher wages, shorter hours, and better working
conditions.
Howard: Well, what happens now?
Charles: There are many things we can do to get what we want. I
am thinking of a strike or a walkout. Get everybody to just
stop working and go home! The factory will lose money.
Maybe than they will listen to us.
Howard: What happens if they still don’t listen?
Charles: The workers will picket the factory. They will walk up
and down with signs telling everyone that we are on
strike. Once people know we are on strike, we hope they
will not buy the factory’s foods. Then, that would be a
boycott.
Howard: If we use all three weapons, the bosses are sure to
give us what we want.
THINK:
Which union weapon do you think is the most powerful and why is it?
• strike
• picketing
• boycott
WEAPONS OF THE EMPLOYERS
Scene: Rachel and Edith, the owners of the factory, are
having a meeting.
Rachel: Charles came in to see me yesterday and asked for
higher wages, shorter hours, and better conditions for
all workers.
Edith: What did you say to him?
Rachel: I told him we could not do it.
Edith: I overheard Charles and Howard. They are thinking of
a strike, picketing, even a boycott,
Rachel: We can use a lockout. We will close the factory and put locks
on the doors. Then we’ll sit and wait. The workers will not
get paid. They will come back to work when they need
money.
Edith: What will we do if that does not work?
Rachel: We can fire all the workers and hire others. The fired
workers will be put on a blacklist. We can give the list to
other factories. The blacklisted workers will never get
another job.
Edith: Suppose the new workers join a union?
Rachel: We won’t let them. If they want jobs, they’ll have to sign
yellow - dog contracts. By the contract, a worker will
agree not to join a union.
Edith: Let’s use all three weapons.
THINK:
Which weapon of the
employer do you think
is the most powerful?
Why?
Do you think workers or employers have more powerful weapons? Explain.
Workers and employers were almost at war with each other during these early years of the labor movement.
Most of these conflicts took the form of strikes and many resulted in violence and death.