American History, Thursday, Period 2, Lesson 8
The teachers were back from their vacation, and, if they looked slightly less well-rested than the students, that was to be expected.
The students, after all, had not spent any part of the cruise being attacked by Nazi bees.
"Labor unions," Tyler said briskly, once everyone who was coming seemed to be in a seat and relatively quiet, "are our subject of the day as we get to the turn of the 20th century. This is the time when unions arguably had their greatest influence over American life. We have a handout for you because it is a lot to go through in an hour, but we'll try to talk through some of the high points."
"To start with a definition of terms," he added, "a labor union is an organization run by and for workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages, hours, and working conditions. They'd been around since the guilds of the middle ages, but the major labor unions in the United States formed in the late 18th century, and women began organizing in the 1820s. And the movement only came into its own after the Civil War, when the National Labor Union became the first federation of American unions."
Algren stepped forward now to speak, arms crossed in front of his chest.
"The year 1869 saw the formation of the first effective labor organization that spread beyond a single region, the Knights of Labor. Their goal was to protect the interests of all producing groups, and to enlist laborers and producers of all types into their ranks. It was a bold move, which led to a surge of memberships in the 1880s and beyond. A gentleman by the name of Terence Powderly led them to champion causes through an assortment of means, politically or through cooperative ventures. It was his hope that politics and education would prevail over more underhanded economic tactics."
"The Knights of Labor and similar groups," Tyler added, "got workers to lead large-scale strikes against management. You have to understand, working conditions back then got pretty horrific; 12-hour days and six-day weeks were standard, there were almost no laws about child labor, and the safety was ... well, losing a limb or an organ to the mine or the factory was not an unusual event. Anyhow, so the labor movement was just getting started in 1886, when the big strikes collapsed due to an event called the Haymarkey Riots. Or the Haymarket Tragedy. Or the Haymarket Affair." He paused. "You can kind of tell what side someone is on by what term they use. Anyhow, so on May 4, 1886, at the Haymarket Square in Chicago, someone in a crowd threw a bomb into a crowd of police men. The city and police department used the incident as an excuse to repress the labor movement and arrest eight influential anarchist labor leaders."
"The bomb blast and ensuing gunfire resulted in the deaths of eight police officers and an unknown number of civilians. Eight anarchists were tried for murder. The police and city admitted that there was no evidence connecting the anarchist labor leaders to the bombing, but Judge Joseph Gary allowed them to be convicted on the theory that their speeches had encouraged the unknown bomber to commit the act. Four were put to death, and one committed suicide in prison. Most working people and union members thought Pinkerton agents -- employees of the Pinkerton private detective and security guard firm -- threw the bomb. To this day, the trial has been characterized as one of the most serious miscarriages of justice in United States history."
"In 1892," Algren said, starting his usual bout of pacing in front of the room, "The town of Homestead, Pennsylvania saw a lockout at the Carnegie Steel Works against the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers. Carnegie, the owner of the company, directed his manager, Frick, not to renew the union contract. The mills wound up with locked doors, and the Pinkertons, a private security guard and detective agency, were brought in to protect the scabs and lock out the unionized laborers. The strikers fought the Pinkertons in a conflict that left nine of the strikers dead, and seven of the Pinkertons in an equal state of living-impairedness."
Also, 'Pinkerton' was kind of fun to say.
"In New Orleans," he added, "an integrated general strike of 42 unions was broken when the government sent the State Militia in to deal with the situation."
"Strikes continued through the 1890s," Tyler said. "Finally, right at the turn of the century, they started to see some government progress. In 1898, Congress passed the Erdman Act, which made it illegal to fire workers for their union membership. And, five years later in 1903, Congress created the Department of Labor and Commerce, with its Secretary sitting as a member of the President's Cabinet. The president at this point, by the way, is Theodore Roosevelt, who helped unions by breaking up monopolies of big companies. And that trust-busting lead into the last major governmental step I need to cover. In 1913, the Clayton Anti-trust Act, limited the use of injunctions in labor disputes and established that picketing and other union activities are not illegal conspiracies. This has been called labor's Magna Carta."
Activity
Algren, noting that the lecture was finished, broke out into a grin. It was never a good thing when Algren started to grin. Especially not when he was hauling out a box filled with bee-shaped hats as he was.
"Your assignment for today, like it or not, will be to put on one of these... Uniforms. Over there," he pointed to a table on one side of the room with large pans sitting on top of it, "is a bunch of honey. Over there," he nodded to some ladles and jars, "are some jars, and in here," he nodded down to the box, which he was emptying onto his desk, "is where the honey goes once you've got it into the containers. Form an assembly line, put on the hat, and get to it. We'll even pay you. You get to keep the hats."
"And if you want better working conditions," Tyler added, "form a union and negotiate with us. We're fair guys. "
He glanced to the TA, tossing something soft in her direction. "Ino, you are the union spokesperson unless they elect someone else. And you get this fabulous shirt. Put it on after your presentation."
The students, after all, had not spent any part of the cruise being attacked by Nazi bees.
"Labor unions," Tyler said briskly, once everyone who was coming seemed to be in a seat and relatively quiet, "are our subject of the day as we get to the turn of the 20th century. This is the time when unions arguably had their greatest influence over American life. We have a handout for you because it is a lot to go through in an hour, but we'll try to talk through some of the high points."
"To start with a definition of terms," he added, "a labor union is an organization run by and for workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages, hours, and working conditions. They'd been around since the guilds of the middle ages, but the major labor unions in the United States formed in the late 18th century, and women began organizing in the 1820s. And the movement only came into its own after the Civil War, when the National Labor Union became the first federation of American unions."
Algren stepped forward now to speak, arms crossed in front of his chest.
"The year 1869 saw the formation of the first effective labor organization that spread beyond a single region, the Knights of Labor. Their goal was to protect the interests of all producing groups, and to enlist laborers and producers of all types into their ranks. It was a bold move, which led to a surge of memberships in the 1880s and beyond. A gentleman by the name of Terence Powderly led them to champion causes through an assortment of means, politically or through cooperative ventures. It was his hope that politics and education would prevail over more underhanded economic tactics."
"The Knights of Labor and similar groups," Tyler added, "got workers to lead large-scale strikes against management. You have to understand, working conditions back then got pretty horrific; 12-hour days and six-day weeks were standard, there were almost no laws about child labor, and the safety was ... well, losing a limb or an organ to the mine or the factory was not an unusual event. Anyhow, so the labor movement was just getting started in 1886, when the big strikes collapsed due to an event called the Haymarkey Riots. Or the Haymarket Tragedy. Or the Haymarket Affair." He paused. "You can kind of tell what side someone is on by what term they use. Anyhow, so on May 4, 1886, at the Haymarket Square in Chicago, someone in a crowd threw a bomb into a crowd of police men. The city and police department used the incident as an excuse to repress the labor movement and arrest eight influential anarchist labor leaders."
"The bomb blast and ensuing gunfire resulted in the deaths of eight police officers and an unknown number of civilians. Eight anarchists were tried for murder. The police and city admitted that there was no evidence connecting the anarchist labor leaders to the bombing, but Judge Joseph Gary allowed them to be convicted on the theory that their speeches had encouraged the unknown bomber to commit the act. Four were put to death, and one committed suicide in prison. Most working people and union members thought Pinkerton agents -- employees of the Pinkerton private detective and security guard firm -- threw the bomb. To this day, the trial has been characterized as one of the most serious miscarriages of justice in United States history."
"In 1892," Algren said, starting his usual bout of pacing in front of the room, "The town of Homestead, Pennsylvania saw a lockout at the Carnegie Steel Works against the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers. Carnegie, the owner of the company, directed his manager, Frick, not to renew the union contract. The mills wound up with locked doors, and the Pinkertons, a private security guard and detective agency, were brought in to protect the scabs and lock out the unionized laborers. The strikers fought the Pinkertons in a conflict that left nine of the strikers dead, and seven of the Pinkertons in an equal state of living-impairedness."
Also, 'Pinkerton' was kind of fun to say.
"In New Orleans," he added, "an integrated general strike of 42 unions was broken when the government sent the State Militia in to deal with the situation."
"Strikes continued through the 1890s," Tyler said. "Finally, right at the turn of the century, they started to see some government progress. In 1898, Congress passed the Erdman Act, which made it illegal to fire workers for their union membership. And, five years later in 1903, Congress created the Department of Labor and Commerce, with its Secretary sitting as a member of the President's Cabinet. The president at this point, by the way, is Theodore Roosevelt, who helped unions by breaking up monopolies of big companies. And that trust-busting lead into the last major governmental step I need to cover. In 1913, the Clayton Anti-trust Act, limited the use of injunctions in labor disputes and established that picketing and other union activities are not illegal conspiracies. This has been called labor's Magna Carta."
Activity
Algren, noting that the lecture was finished, broke out into a grin. It was never a good thing when Algren started to grin. Especially not when he was hauling out a box filled with bee-shaped hats as he was.
"Your assignment for today, like it or not, will be to put on one of these... Uniforms. Over there," he pointed to a table on one side of the room with large pans sitting on top of it, "is a bunch of honey. Over there," he nodded to some ladles and jars, "are some jars, and in here," he nodded down to the box, which he was emptying onto his desk, "is where the honey goes once you've got it into the containers. Form an assembly line, put on the hat, and get to it. We'll even pay you. You get to keep the hats."
"And if you want better working conditions," Tyler added, "form a union and negotiate with us. We're fair guys. "
He glanced to the TA, tossing something soft in her direction. "Ino, you are the union spokesperson unless they elect someone else. And you get this fabulous shirt. Put it on after your presentation."
