Organized Labor Movement
Organized labor has played a critical role in shaping our society for both good and bad.
During those times it has reflected tremendous levels of racism and sexism of the larger society.
Ever since 1877, Chicago was the center of strife between labor and capital. Women were getting paid half the pay of white men and blacks receiving half of that. Not to mention that children were part of the workforce starting at the age of 10. The number of children were approximately 2 million. Before the 1900s laborers worked at least 10 hours a day, six days and week. Making an approximately 20 cents a hour if you were skilled and half of that if you were unskilled. There were also few holidays and little to no vacation. Laborers worked in very …show more content…
Immigrants during this period replenished the supply of unskilled workers, making it hard for a person to have any leverage with making negotiations with their employers.
Workers had soon embraced the idea of collective action. One worker might was powerless against the boss but when all workers coming together with solidarity against the boss. The labor movement had a name and it was called Union. Organizing had became the the key union activity, and it meant workers who banded together in order to exert their power against their bosses. Managers tended to view solidarity as little more than a mob rule but the owner of the business had the right to make all decisions about how it was run. Unions had rose to nationwide prominence in American and employees joined together to have a collective voice in dealing with their employers. At first, the government tended to side with the businessmen, frequently using court order or troops to end labor strikes. Eventually unions won important legal rights and growing very noticeably but by the 1920s, organized labor fell into decline as the nation basked in widespread prosperity and unions no longer seemed
During those times it has reflected tremendous levels of racism and sexism of the larger society.
Ever since 1877, Chicago was the center of strife between labor and capital. Women were getting paid half the pay of white men and blacks receiving half of that. Not to mention that children were part of the workforce starting at the age of 10. The number of children were approximately 2 million. Before the 1900s laborers worked at least 10 hours a day, six days and week. Making an approximately 20 cents a hour if you were skilled and half of that if you were unskilled. There were also few holidays and little to no vacation. Laborers worked in very …show more content…
Immigrants during this period replenished the supply of unskilled workers, making it hard for a person to have any leverage with making negotiations with their employers.
Workers had soon embraced the idea of collective action. One worker might was powerless against the boss but when all workers coming together with solidarity against the boss. The labor movement had a name and it was called Union. Organizing had became the the key union activity, and it meant workers who banded together in order to exert their power against their bosses. Managers tended to view solidarity as little more than a mob rule but the owner of the business had the right to make all decisions about how it was run. Unions had rose to nationwide prominence in American and employees joined together to have a collective voice in dealing with their employers. At first, the government tended to side with the businessmen, frequently using court order or troops to end labor strikes. Eventually unions won important legal rights and growing very noticeably but by the 1920s, organized labor fell into decline as the nation basked in widespread prosperity and unions no longer seemed