CHAPTER 14 SECTION 3Labor in the American Economy

The Growth of Wage Labor Industrialization Creates Change (1800s)

- new machinery- new methods of manufacturing- exchanged labor for payments (wages)

Poor Working Conditions- low wages- dangerous working environment- business owners took advantage

The Rise of Labor Unions Labor Unions- organizations of workers

that seek to improve wages and working conditions and to protect members’ rights

1790s- first American unions were formed- trade unions- made up of workers in one particular trade (carpentry)

The Rise of Labor Unions The Noble Order of the Knights of Labor (1886)

- unite the working class- skilled and unskilled workers

American Federation of Labor (AFL)- united smaller trade unions- only skilled workers- collective bargaining- the process by which representatives of the unions and business try to reach agreement about wages and working conditions

The Rise of Labor Unionspage 390

The Weapons of Labor- Unions used methods to try and force employers to meet their demands.

- slow-down- sit-down- boycott- strike

The Rise of Labor Unions The Weapons of Business

- Business owners responded to strikes in various ways

- strikebreakers “scabs”- lockouts- yellow-dog contracts- blacklists

The Rise of Labor Unionspage 392

Gains and Losses- What gains and/or losses did unions and businesses have using their methods?

- What were some important victories won by labor unions by 1920?

Labor Unions Since 1930 National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act)

1935- required employers to bargain with unions- outlawed several methods that business owners had to weaken unions- could not set up ‘company unions’

Limits put on unions- Taft-Harley Act of 1947- Landrum Griffin Act of 1959

Labor Unions Since 1930 AFL-CIO (1955)

- The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations united- Today, most powerful voice of organized labor in the United States- more than 13 million members

Labor Unions Since 1930 Labor’s Accomplishments

Common Interest