US Strikes and Labor Unions
Mark Gronemus
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was the leader in the steel business. Carnegie would take iron ore from mines and old metal. They would melt it done and pour it into molds of the product they want to product. At that time a lot of railroads tracks were produced because of the growing railroad demand. He was vertical integrated which means he owned everything he needed to produce his product. Carnegie owned steel ores, railroads and steel factories. Carnegie made an impact on the world because he had such a great supply of steel and he was the greatest man known at that time to produce the steel. He was able to save a lot of money from being vertically integrated and was able to control the steel industry.
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor were a union group that wanted to promote many things and was one of the largest labor unions in the history of the US. They want to promote the eight hour work week. Next they want to end Child Labor. Also the people that went on strike were very focused on getting equal pay for equal work. They thought that they weren't getting paid enough for the amount of work they were doing. Lastly they worked on many political forms. One major reform was graduated income tax. This group was one of the most important groups that change the working conditions for many generations to come.
Pullman Illinois
Pullman Illinois is located in Illinois and is part of Chicago. The town was created by George Pullman. He build man homes in which there was indoor plumbing, gas and even a sewer. Many people that worked in Chicago for Pullman lived in and rent these homes from Pullman. To live in these homes people had to pass a behavior test and pay the rent. This town was very good town until the depression. Since the demand for railroad cars wasn't as high many workers were laid off and others were paid less, but the rent on these beautiful homes weren't getting any cheaper. Many workers didn't like this, so many went on strike and later the town was sold off.
Homestead Steel Works Strike of 1892
The Homestead Steel Works Strike of 1892 was the second largest battle between a union and it's owner. The union went on strike due to poor working conditions and lack of pay. Also the company locked out the workers and equipped the building with lots of security. The worker decided to strike upon the factory, but were quickly shot down with all of the security put in. The union had a huge fail and set them back towards their goals of more pay and better working conditions.
Current Labor Unions
Now a days there are two major unions. They are the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win Federation. These groups include the NHL associations and the NFL players associations. These groups had some problems in past years such as lockouts in both the NFL and the NHL. The NBA also had a lockout. Next the was also some union cuts in Wisconsin that caused some conflicts. The collective bargaining was an issue in Wisconsin lately, and there was lots of protesting. This is how the labor unions of today are doing.
Bibliography
"Historic Pullman Foundation." Historic Pullman Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
"RICHARD ELY ON PULLMAN, ILL., IN 1885." RICHARD ELY ON PULLMAN, ILL., IN 1885. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.