1. THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR
• Under Terence V. Powderly's leadership, the Knights grew rapidly, peaking at 730,000 members in 1886.
• The Knights grew rapidly because of a combination of their open- membership policy, the continuing industrialization of the American economy, and the growth of urban population.
• The Knights welcomed unskilled and semiskilled workers, including women, immigrants, and African Americans.
• The Knights were idealists who believed they could eliminate conflict between labor and management. Their goal was to create a cooperative society in which laborers, not capitalists, owned the industries in which they worked.
• The Haymarket Square riot was unfairly blamed on the Knights. As a result, the public associated them with anarchists.
2. THE INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD (IWW)
• The IWW was led by "Mother" Jones, Elizabeth Flynn, Big Bill Haywood, and Eugene Debs.
• Like the Knights of Labor, the IWW strove to unite all laborers, including unskilled workers and African Americans, who were excluded from craft unions.
• The IWW's motto was "An injury to one is an injury to all, and its goal was to create "One Big Union."
• Unlike the Knights, the IWW (or Wobblies) embraced the rhetoric of class conflict and endorsed violent tactics.
• IWW membership probably never exceeded 150,000 workers. The organization collapsed during World War I.
TEST TIP
Eugene Debs was one of the founders of the IWW. He was also one of the best-known socialist leaders in America. In a socialist system, the government owns the nation's basic industries and natural resources.
3. THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR (AFL)
• The AFL was led by Samuel Gompers, the leader of the Cigar Makers Union.
• The AFL was an alliance of skilled workers in craft unions.
• Under Gompers's leadership, the AFL concentrated on bread-and- butter issues such as higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions.
4. THE GREAT RAILROAD STRIKE, 1877
• Provoked by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's decision to cut wages for the second time in a year
• Remembered as the first general strike in American history
• Paralyzed the nation's commerce for 45 days
• Forced governors in ten states to mobilize 60,000 militia to reopen rail traffic
5. SHERMAN ANTITRUST ACT, 1890
• The act forbade only unreasonable combinations or contracts in restraint of trade.
• It had little immediate impact on the regulation of large corporations.
• During the last decade of the nineteenth century, the primary use of the act was to curb labor unions.
• The act declared illegal "every contract, combination in the form of trust, or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade among the several states."
6. HOMESTEAD STRIKE, 1892
• The strike began as a dispute between the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (the AA) and the Garnegie Steel Gompany.
• The AA refused to accept pay cuts and went on strike in Homestead, Pennsylvania.
• The strike ultimately culminated in a battle between strikers and private security guards hired by the company.
7. THE PULLMAN STRIKE, 1894
• During the late nineteenth century the American labor movement experienced a number of violent strikes. The two best-known strikes were the Homestead Strike (1892) and the Pullman Strike (1894).
• When the national economy fell into a depression, the Pullman Palace Car Company cut wages while maintaining rents and prices in a company town where 12,000 workers lived. This action precipitated the Pullman Strike.
• The Pullman Strike halted a substantial portion of American railroad commerce.
• The strike ended when President Grover Cleveland ordered federal troops to Chicago, ostensibly to protect rail-carried mail but, in reality to crush the strike.
8. THE ANTHRACITE COAL STRIKE OF 1902
• This was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania.
• It was arbitrated with the active involvement of President Theodore Roosevelt; this marked the first time the federal government intervened in a labor dispute as a neutral arbitrator.
9. THE WAGNER ACT OF 1935
• The act is also known as the National Labor Relations Act.
• It is often called the Magna Carta of labor because it ensured workers' right to organize and bargain collectively.
• Passage of the act led to a dramatic increase in labor union membership.
1 0. THE CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL WORKERS (CIO)
• The CIO was led by John L. Lewis.
• The CIO organized unskilled and semiskilled factory workers in basic manufacturing industries such as steel and automobiles.
• Here is how John L. Lewis explained the goals and strategy of the CIO: "The productive methods and facilities of modern industry have been completely transformed. ... Skilled artisans make up only a small proportion of the workers. Obviously the bargaining strength of employees under these conditions no longer rests in organizations of skilled craftsmen. It is dependent upon a national union representing all employees—whether skilled or unskilled, or whether working by brain or brawn—in each basic industry."
11. THE SPLIT BETWEEN THE AFL AND THE CIO
• The American Federation of Labor (AFL) split apart at its national convention in 1935.
• A majority of AFL leaders refused to grant charters to new unions organized on an industry-wide basis.
• The AFL favored the organization of workers according to their skills and trades.
• The CIO favored the organization of all workers in a particular industry.
12. TAFT-HARTLEY ACT, 1947
• The primary purpose was to curb the power of labor unions.
• Supporters of the Taft-Hartley Act believed the following:
(a) Unions were abusing their power.
(b) Widespread strikes would endanger the nation's vital defense industries.
(c) Some labor unions had been infiltrated by Communists.
(d) Employers were being coerced into hiring union workers.
• Organized labor opposed the Taft-Hartley Act.
TEST TIP
APUSH test writers frequently ask questions about the Wagner Act and the Taft-Hartley Act. The former helped organized labor by guaranteeing labor the right to organize and form unions. The latter was intended to curb the power of labor unions.
1 3. UNITED FARM WORKERS
• The workers were organized and led by César Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Philip Vera Cruz, and Larry Itliong.
• This was a union of farm workers.
• César Chavez is recognized as a significant civil rights leader.