Unions The hopes to improve wages Why Unions Help to improve wages, hours, and working conditions Tasks were dull and repetitive in bad conditions Lint, dust, and toxic fumes Lack of Safety devices caused a lot of injuries 1900, $0.22/hour for 59 hours a week $12.98/week Deflation Rise of the value of the dollar Caused the prices of products to fall Led to the idea of unions Two types of workers Craft workers-Special Skills and training Machinist Iron molders Stone cutters Shoe makers Printers Higher Wages Controlled how they used their time. Common laborers- Few skills and low wages Types of unions Trade Unions Unions composed of similar skilled workers Industrial Unions United all workers in a particular industry Troubles for unions Companies required workers to sign oaths against joining unions Blacklist Workers that were considered trouble makers were fired and put on a list not to hire Lockouts Companies locked the door and refused to pay workers Hired people to work in place of the current workers Great Railroad Strike 1877, Baltimore and Ohio cut wages for the third time West Virginia, workers walked off the job and blocked the tracks 80,000 workers on strike 100 dead Over $10 million in damages Smashed equipment Tore up tracks Blocked Rail Service Knights of Labor 1869, opposed strikes, used boycotts Supported arbitration: 3 rd party helps workers and employers to reach an agreement 8 hour work day Equal pay for women Abolition of child labor Worker owned factories Welcomed Women and African Americans Knights of Labor-Decline Early Successes Convinced one of Jay Goulds railroads to reverse wage cuts Grew from 100,000 to 700,000 members Haymarket Riots Strike on May 1, 1886 May 3 rd -Four people were killed at a protest May 4 th -3,000 people came to hear speeches about the killings Bombs went off 100 people injured Homestead Strike 1892 Steel Mill owned by Andrew Carnegie Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and tin workers Union contract about the expire Cut wages by 20% Pinkerton Workers came to replace workers 14 hour battle left people dead Militia came in to take control Pullman Strike Laid off workers Slashed wages Refused to handle Pullman Cars Attached mail cars to Pullman cars Violation of Federal Law to not deliver mail