HIST - Read Samuel Gompers testimony before Congress regarding the AFL and the original PDF

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Read Samuel Gompers testimony before Congress regarding the AFL and the original platform of the Knights of Labor from the links below. What issues did labor unions attempt to resolve in the early 1900s? How successful were they at resolving these issues? Why was there such a struggle between busine...

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HIST-144 Topic 4 DQ 2

Read Samuel Gompers testimony before Congress regarding the AFL and the original platform of the Knights of Labor from the links below. What issues did labor unions attempt to resolve in the early 1900s? How successful were they at resolving these issues? Why was there such a struggle between business and labor, why was it so difficult for them to come together. Why were strikes so violent? (Not being recognized, the issues they were trying to resolve, etc.) How did labor unions improve the working conditions for American workers?

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/teachers/historyonline/gompers_amfedlabor.cfm

https://go-galegroup-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?p=UHIC&u=canyonuniv&id=GALE| CX3408900155&v=2.1&it=r&sid=UHIC&asid=46903844

AnswerLabor unions were formed to improve working conditions and fight the wage system. The Knights of Labor were solely focused on these two issues, instead of fighting for lasting improvements (Frisch, 2004). The Knights of Labor were interested in gaining a large following, which resulted in allowing practically anyone to join, aside from the white-collar working class. African Americans and women were even allowed into the union. Unlike the Knights of Labor, the AFL, formed by Samuel Gompers, targeted the middle class, looking for skilled laborers (Schultz, 2016). It is said in Gompers testimony that, “organization alone will not do much unless the organization provides itself with a good fund” (1883). Mistakenly, the Knights of Labor not only lacked the funds, but lacked good organization. People from many regions and many backgrounds proved to be chaotic when trying to form strikes, a large function of the union organization. The lack of order and the Haymarket Riot were fatal to the Knights of Labor union (Schultz, 2016). The AFL was much more successful than the Knights of Labor were. Gompers worked hard to keep the fundamentals of society similar with still trying to improve working conditions and fight for reform (1883). There was such a disconnect between business and labor because men and now women, were being treated unfairly with no change to be seen in the future. The hours were long, and the work was gruesome and to top it all off the pay was insignificant. This built up anger, when organized as a union, sparked many strikes to protest the wrong the laborers were facing. Often times the strikes became violent because the military would be sent in to break up the strikes, erupting in fights where people lost their lives. Through all of the hardships endured, their efforts did find some resolution. An eight-hour work day was established along with a 40-hour week, decreasing the number of hours required to work greatly (Schultz, 2016). People died fighting for the right to fair working conditions on top of better pay. Coincidently, people are still fighting today for better pay by raising the minimum wage. I have to wonder what the people who worked for 20 cents an hour would have to say about $8.75/hour not being good enough.

Frisch, P. A. (2004). Knights of Labor. In N. Schlager (Ed.), St. James Encyclopedia of Labor History Worldwide (Vol. 1, pp. 516-521). Detroit, MI: St. James Press. Retrieved from https://link-galegroupcom.lopes.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/CX3408900155/UHIC?u=canyonuniv&sid=UHIC&xid=46903844 From U.S. Senate, Testimony of Samuel Gompers, August 1883, Report of the Committee of the Senate upon the Relations between Labor and Capital(Washington, D.C., 1885), 1:365-70. Shultz, K. M. (2016). The industrial revolution. Hist 4 (4th ed.). Available from http://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/cengage/2015/hist-4_ebook_4e.php...