1 / 17

Reforming the Industrial Order

Reforming the Industrial Order. Chap 9 Sec 2 Notes. Reforming the workplace. 1900 the Avg. laborer worked 10hrs/day 6 days/week for $1.50/day women and children were paid less. Female and Child Labor. 1900--½ of women in jobs as factory workers, store clerks etc. earned $6 or less per week

aira
Télécharger la présentation

Reforming the Industrial Order

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Reforming the Industrial Order Chap 9 Sec 2 Notes

  2. Reforming the workplace • 1900 the Avg. laborer worked 10hrs/day 6 days/week for $1.50/day women and children were paid less

  3. Female and Child Labor • 1900--½ of women in jobs as factory workers, store clerks etc. earned $6 or less per week • Barely enough to survive • Significant barriers when try to increase wages • Piece workers penalized for working too fast • “Outrage for a girl too earn $25 a week” • would be fired if you protest

  4. John Spargo“The Bitter Cry of Children “ in 1906 charged textile industry with enslavement of children • Few children had attended school or could read • Child worked or family starved

  5. Labor Laws • Prohibit or limit child labor and improve conditions for female workers • Florence Kelley persuade Illinois legislature to prohibit child labor and limit number of hours women could work • More than 2 million children worked in factories in 1910 • Girls working 16 hours in canning factories

  6. Prohibit or limit child labor and improve conditions for female workers • Florence Kelley persuade Illinois legislature to prohibit child labor and limit number of hours women could work • More than 2 million children worked in factories in 1910 • Girls working 16 hours in canning factories

  7. George Creel Children in Bondage 1913 describes problem of child labor • Also campaigned for laws to force factories to limit hours employers demanded • 1903 Florence Kelley helped pass a law in Oregon limiting laundry workers to 10 hour days • Utah already had laws limiting workdays to 8 hours in certain jobs

  8. Fought for higher wage • 30 million men 7.5 million women employed in 1910 1/3 lived in poverty • Catholic monsignor John Ryan called for establishment of minimum wage in 1910 level to approximate normal standard of living • Massachusetts passes first minimum wage law in 1912-set wages for women and children • 1938 Federal government passes minimum wage law

  9. Triangle Shirtwaist Fire • March 25,1911 Saturday • 500 employees mostly Jewish and Italian immigrant women • Finishing shift- fire starts in rag bin • 8th floor of 10 story building a blaze • Escape impossible • 2 stairways- fire doors locked owners afraid girls would steal fabric • Elevator shaft jams • 60 workers jump to deaths to escape fire • 143 die in fire • Popular outrage forces lawmakers to pass laws to help workers • NY City enacted strictest fire safety code in U.S.

  10. Progressivism and Supreme Court • Business fought back through courts • 14th amendment prohibits states from depriving “any person of life, liberty or property w/o due process of law” • Owners claimed regulatory laws deprived them of property • Supreme Court sided w/business owners and declared early laws unconstitutional • Court also ruled some legislation violated freedom of contract

  11. 1905 Lochner vs. New York—overturned law limiting bakers to 10 hour work days • Workers should be free to negotiate and accept any conditions of employment • Muller vs. Oregon (1908) • Supreme Court upheld law limiting hours in laundries • Louis Brandeis argued for keeping law- “Brandeis Brief”-format for defense of social legislation

  12. Labor Unions • Fought for closed shops- must belong to a union • Most favored “working within system” • Wanted changes but w/o replacing capitalism • Some favored socialism- government ownership of factories, utilities, transportation and communication

  13. AFL • American Federation of Labor • Samuel Gompers leader • AFL grew 4 fold from 1900 to 1914 • Excluded unskilled workers • Mostly eastern European and African American workers excluded • Belief that skilled workers had greatest potential to cause change • By 1902 only 3% of African Americans were union members

  14. ILGWU • International Ladies Garment Workers Union • Established in 1900 in N.Y. City • Unionize workers in sewing shops • 1909 workers in 3 shops walked off job wanted ILGWU to call General strike • Nov 1909 “Uprising of 20,000” • Workers walked off job and demanded recognition of ILGWU as union • Strike lasted throughout winter • Got assistance from Women’s Trade Union League • Owners brought in African Americans to replace workers- some joined strike

  15. Results mixed • Got wage increase • Got reduced working hours • However owners refused to recognize union • Membership grew from 400 to 65,000

  16. IWW • Industrial Workers of the World • “Wobblies” opposed capitalism • Led by “Big Bill” Haywood • Denounced AFL cooperation w/business owners and failure to include unskilled workers • Enlisted African -Americans, Asians and Hispanics

  17. Successes • Philadelphia raised wages from $1.25/day to $4/day • Pursued goals through boycotts, general strikes and sabotage • 1912 led strike of 10,000 textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts • Failures – several strikes failed • Many Americans grew weary of IWW tactics • Government cracked down on union

More Related