1. Compare and Contrast labor leaders during the
late 19th century/early 20th century: Gompers, Powderly, Debs, and their
tactics.
There were three main leaders during this time period, Gompers, Powderly,
and Debs. Gompers was a moderate leader of the AFL who wouldnít allow immigrants
to join and preferred negotiation to the use of the strike. Powderly lead
the Knights of Labor, allowed all types of members and opposed using the
strike. Debs founded the Socialist party, was very radical, and struck
at every possible moment. Although all of these leaders had different personalities
and reacted contrarily, they all worked to achieve the same result.
2. Discuss the controversy over labor during WWI.
The War Labor Board and the factory management during WWI had every different
opinions on how to run the factories throughout the nation. The War Labor
Board demanded reasonable wages and shorter hours for workers. The board
also tried to stop the exploitation of women and children who were working
under government contracts. The factories didnít agree with this so they
sometimes refused to raise wages and shorten days. This forced the War
Labor Board to take over some factories during this time period.
3. Were Unions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries successful?
Yes, labor unions united workers toward a common goal. In many industries
labor unions were successful in achieving their goals by improving working
conditions. Workers acquired confidence through labor unions. No, the AFL
and the IWW were extremely selective and in many cases didnít allow membership
to those that needed aid the most, for example, immigrants. Due to the
encouragement of labor leaders, many people were killed and wounded at
strikes and protests such as the Haymarket affair. The unions had many
expectations, for example, shorter working hours and better conditions,
but actually accomplished very little in this time period.
4. How did socialism affect the unions?
The best example to the socialist affect is in the IWW and similar groups.
They wanted better working conditions for less time and more pay. Socialism
also brought on the increased use of strikes by unions because they wanted
their rights immediately. Movements by the IWW also brought on better relations
between the worker and boss by ending disputes hopefully also ending the
hatred.
5. How did organized labor improve the rights of women and children in the workplace?
In previous times they had been treated poorly in the workplace by horrible
working conditions without safety precautions and poor pay as visible in
the Triangle Shirt Waist Co. fire. Unions and other groups ended these
problems by uniting the workers just as they did for all other rights.
On this topic Unions also went through political routes to have protective
laws passed for child labor, safety minimums in factories, and end inequality
in the workplace.
Copyright RMHS, 4/24/1997