Labor Movements During The 19th Century

During the late 19th century to the 1930s, workers and managers fought each other for control of the work routine, wages, and hours in the American industry. Trade unions, craft unions, and strikes were many of the main forces at work during this time period when people were fighting for better working conditions. As the government was struggling to stay out of free labor, they also felt the need to impose as the laws in place may not be helping capitalism in America. The government, in response to both worker and employer complaints, did their part to pass laws that helped create a more fair work place, but not always making the decision the worker wanted. Workers constantly organized and formed strikes during this early period of American
capitalism, but the laws they fought for in order to increase worker satisfaction were not always implemented by their employers. During the era of the late 19th century to the 1930s, workers and managers both fought for control of the workplace, including wages and hours, while either siding with the government or going against them, both representing their idea of how capitalism should be managed. Although strikes were common during this entire period, it is possible to see a shift in the reasons they were fighting for once World War I began and the relations the workers had with the government about better working rights.
Organized labor became a significant movement during the the start of the twentieth century with workers fighting for more rights in the workplace. Specifically, trade unions became a strong force, which caused controversy between workers, employers, and the government. Capitalism stemmed from the early Triangle Trade as big industry’s dominated the market. Mercantilism became a dominating force as countries kept colonies within their own markets. Once emancipation developed, this type of labor system was completely disrupted, and no labor system could generate a profit like slave labor did. The period between 1877 and 1919 was known as the Great Strikes period, since strikes were the main form of protest against the employers.
An example of a strike in 1910 was called The Shirtwaist Strikers; it was a group of women who decided to strike although their union was weak. The Ladies Waist Maker Union strike was “the biggest strike of women this country has known.” While arguing for an increase in wages, as well as stopping many abuses they adhered to in the workplace, the weak union received a major victory. This opened the door for a real union to develop in the place where a small, uncommon women workers union had barely existed. They also showed that women are able to strike, and strike successfully, leading women to receive more power in the workplace and gain respect. Many of the strikes right before The Great War consisted of workers who wanted equal rights, this included women, who would also continue to fight for equal pay and equal treatment through the 1930’s.
Frederick Taylor had a big impact on the work force in the 19th century through to the 20th century as he redefined how managers should look at workers. He wanted a more efficient way to get laborers to produce and therefore studied each worker as to why he was not performing at his best every single day. Taylor stopped using the saying “Managers brain under managers hat” to instead using “managers brain under workman’s hat.” Taylor was a manager who wanted to raise production by using the ideas of the workers, and found they had the best insight as to what was happening in the workplace under the manager’s nose. Another important manager that influenced the workplace was the famous Henry Ford. Henry Ford created what is known as the assembly line, to speed up production in the workplace which eventually led to the middle class being able to afford cars. He also implemented the $5 dollar day in 1914 because he believed that high wages would lead to high productivity, and believed this would lead to trust between him and his workers. Many workers of his who made this much money during that time, were later on able to afford a car for themselves, which Henry Ford also wanted to be able to provide. These two men are examples of how managers and workers worked together, rather than fighting apart for better conditions. Both Taylor and Ford saw potential in their workplace for better production, and rather than forcing these ideas on their employees, they found ways to work together with them, creating a better environment without government interaction or production holdups.
Smaller businesses persisted throughout the industrial movement with specialty products.
They aimed their products to consumers in their small towns and areas as they did not have the means to transport it to other places in the country. Small things like retail shops, boutiques, and ethnic stores remained local. Railroads were the biggest industry in America in the late nineteenth century and heavily influenced the stock market. Railroads led to craft unionism among engineers as well as radical unionism among unskilled workers, therefore two kinds of labor organizations emerged. Railroads helped rise the factory system during the 1800s which led to industrial company’s arise over agricultural industry. Transportation greatly expanded markets in America while opening up bigger areas for production and consumption. Vertical integration became less and less with the usage of the railroad as companies were able to move products around more efficiently. Farming was also local until after WWI when overproduction occurred. This shift changed farming from small town production to larger industrial production of shipping products to other places. Not until Franklin Delano Roosevelt implemented the New Deal did farmers start regaining some monetary value back into their land. With the shift from local to mass distribution came shifts in major industry’s which led to shifts in workers. Ideas about what rights workers wanted had to change as they were no longer dealing with managers
controlling their own factory, but rather dealing with a much larger corporation.
When workers could not get what they wanted from their employers, measures as far as taking it up with the government occurred.
By filing with the court, workers were able to fight for what they believed was right, as the government tried to decide which side was correct, and which decision of the case would make capitalism in America remain free. The government struggled with both sides of free labor and organized labor, as well as the boundary lines of capitalism in America. Adkins v. Children’s Hospital in 1923 provided minimum wages for women and minors but placed in jeopardy the minimum wage legislation of thirteen other states. This is an example of how workers fought the government, used the government, and worked with the government to get what they needed for a better work environment. Lochner v. New York fought for not having a maximum time for work per day, but rather, fought to be able to work as many hours as the wanted. Muller vs. Oregon in 1908 was a loss to women as they were ruled as at a disadvantage to work, or rather as inferior to men. These cases as well as many others demonstrate how workers did not agree with many laws in place; several people took up their complaints of the workplace with the government and changed history whether or not the decision they wanted was the one
chosen.
World War I led to many changes occurring in the workplace, the idea of what a workplace should be, as well as which industry’s were dominating American society. During the period of The Great War, the idea for democracy stemmed out of fighting and working together to provide for the war. This war for democracy led workers also wanting democracy in the workplace. This time period led to many strikes of immigrant workers who wanted to be treated equally. Race, riots, ethnic violence migration, and the KKK all had a big impact on both the workforce, public opinions, as well as on society as a whole. Some immigrants struggling for rights, though, found it better to just return to their home country to retire, after they have lived out their so called “American Dream.” Farming was a big industry at the start of the twentieth century and well into World War I, but as the war came to a close, farmers overproduced and drove prices down. Farming had a great collapse and sent many workers into the cities in search of jobs. Stagnant wages with high productivity, led to low consumption while a shift in major industries occurred. World War I did not lead to lessen strikes, but actually strikes grew out of the cause of the war. In “The Cultures of First-Generation Industrial Workers” by Herbert Gutman, he argues that because the United States is a “melting pot” for workers, many of those workers were surrounded by different cultures and don’t understand the hierarchy that exists in a factory regarding work times, which caused many conflict and strikes to arise in the nineteenth century. Immigrant steelworkers sparked the 1919 steel strike because their consciousness changed. As World War I led to many strikes for democracy, it also led many workers, called “strike breakers,” to ruin these strikes as they did not participate. These strike breakers mostly consisted of privileged workers, who felt they had enough in their workplace, as well as native and black Americans, as they were more scared of what would happen to them if they striked against their white employers. Many racial divides still existed in this time period, and many strikes consisted of certain groups, who most likely all worked in the same industry. Disputes between workers and managers still occur today, and will most likely occur throughout time as each side sees differences in the way things should be run. It is possible though, to work together to make a better working place for workers, as well as managers. Major historical events like World War I can demonstrate how attitudes change during these type of time periods regarding the work place. As strikes and unions formed during the period between 1850 and 1930, the groups administering them also had a major shift. With workers gaining more rights as time passed, as well as immigrant groups opening the door for democracy within America, workers and managers used the government on both sides to try and create the image they saw of capitalism in America.