How successful were unions?

Answer 1

From the period of 1875 to 1900, factory work was harsh with low pay and also included an inhumane environment. The economy was growing by 4% due to such things as increase of Natural Resources like coal, iron, ore, copper, lead, timber and oil. Entrepreneurs began to develop, gaining more money then the Nation Government Also due to the growth in population from immigrants who were unskilled and traveling to the United States from Southern and Eastern Europe. These immigrants were taking factory jobs, and made it unable to seek other sources of work because they were now deskilled. New patents of labor saving technologies were being developed causing a decrease in the number of workers needed. With industrialization increasing, the economic class divided even more drastically between the rich to the poor. With the conditions of the factories, organized labor was created to deal with the problems of low pay, long hours and deskilling. Organized labor was not very successful in improving working conditions due to the fact that they suffered losses in strikes, as the management gained tools, one being the National Government, in breaking strikes.

With the influx of immigrants, unskilled laborers willing to work for cheap were occupying factory jobs and were easily replaced. These immigrants were becoming part of an assembly line, and becoming deskilled, making it hard for these immigrants to look for employment other then in factories. Artisans and farmers were now rarely seen as factory work continued to deskill workers. Deskilled laborers had trouble joining Unions and fighting for humane working conditions due to the fact that they wanted to prevent themselves from being blacklisted. Then they would eventually never be able to find a source of work because all of the factories were warned and told not to hire that specific person.

Once the Railroad Company at Baltimore and Ohio began to hurt due to the depression, wages were cut by 10% causing the Railroad Strike of 1877 to occur, preventing the flow of trains. This was the beginning of the formation of Labor Unions, and showed the power of employers. It also increased the public awareness of the grievances of railroad workers. This was the first strike that needed government intervention, which was sent by President Hayes to end it. As a result, the company passes Employees' Relief Association, which covered such things as sickness, injury from accident, and a death benefit. The company also became the first to offer a pension plan in 1884.

This may have been little success towards the Labor Unions, but such things as Homestead strike of 1892 proved there was little success. This strike started when Henry Clay Frick cut wages by 22% at the Carnegie Steel Plant. This then lead to a five-month lockout on June 30, 1892 in attempt of management defeating steelworkers. Scabs were used by the Carnegie Steel Company in order to keep the plant running, and ruin the chance of the Labor Unions gaining a victory. This strike may have been very violent, but it was well organized. Overall, this strike was unsuccessful for the Labor Unions because the workers were taken out of the steel plants. For the ones who went back to work, they were forced to sign a Yellow Dog Contract. Workers agreeing to not join Labor Unions used this contract to prevent the formation of Unions. If they got caught, they would be blacklisted and their names would be given to employers, enabling it hard for those workers to seek employment again. This prevented workers from joining Labor Unions.

As wages were being cut in other companies such as the Pullman Company, workers were beginning to become perturbed. Employees worked with Eugene Debs in the American Railroad Union, and launched a boycott, which resulted in a lockout. They also directed railroad workers to not handle any trains with Pullman cars. Railroad owners supported Pullman, and linked mail trains to Pullman cars. Federal Court then stepped in created the court case known as In re Debs. This case gave the government the right to regulate interstate commerce, and ensue actions of the Postal Service. It also gave the Federal Government power to break strikes. The government then got involved, and ended the strike giving employers a very powerful weapon to break unions.

Due to the Federal Government being involved, management always won against striking Labor Unions. Strikes were failing, as lower wages continuously were cut, causing an even more agitated work force. Eventually leading to the more fighting, and the dieing down the Labor Unions.