Employment / Labor History

Employment/Labor History

PAGE CONTENTS:

Labor Tidbits

Opposition to the American Labor Movement

Labor vs. Management, 19th-Century Style

A Brief History of the Pinkertons

Dilbert-like Quotes from Corporate America

The Panic of 1873

The Memorial Day Massacre

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Labor Tidbits
A poll taken shows that between 74 and 94 percent of workers in the United States and Canada take 5 to 15 minutes daily for a morning coffee break. The coffee break in the workplace did not become common until the early 1940s.

The Japanese business environment requires strict adherence to rules of etiquette. Graduating students prepare for important job interviewsby first learning how to bow properly and show proper manners when entering and seating themselves in the interview room.

Junior-level employees who have access to middle managers tend to be more productive thatn employees supervised by senior-level managers.

An employee of the Alabama Department of Transportation installed spyware on his boss's computer and proved that the boss spent 10% of his time working (20% of time checking stocks and 70% of the time playing solitaire). The employee was fired, the boss kept his job.

The first state minimum wage law in the U.S. went into effect in Massachusetts on July 1, 1913. It would be another 25 years before minimum wage law went into effect nationally.

The average income of a family in the USA in 1915 was $687 per year.

Labor vs. Management, 19th-Century Style

Labor Day is a tradition that got its start in 1882, when the Central Labor Union of New York proposed a "workingman's holiday." Folks in the union voted "yea," and on Tuesday, September 5--a workday--about 10,000 workers paraded triumphantly in New York City. By 1885, various Labor Day events took place across the nation.

Labor laws have changed a lot since 1885. For example, these days, there are rules for conducting strikes and lockouts in an orderly way. Back in the 19th century, Jack Union and Cornelius P. Management grabbed guns.

Take the Great Railway Strike of 1877. Since 1873, America had been in the throes of a terrible depression. Few workingmen could risk their jobs to support union action, so railways squeezed workers hard to maintain profits: slashing wages by 35 percent, imposing 15- to 18-hour workdays, and raising rents in railway-owned quarters.

In July 1877, the Baltimore & Ohio line announced a further 10 percent cut in wages. When the cut went into effect, 40 trainmen struck. They were quickly replaced, so workers seized a depot at Martinsburg, West Virginia, and refused to let freight move until the company restored the old wage rate. Strikes and seizures soon broke out across the country, and the nation's railway traffic ground to a halt.

Federal troops and state militias moved in to restore order. In some cases, militiamen fraternized with the strikers. One New York officer said, "Many of us have reason to know what long hours and low pay mean, and any movement that aims at one or the other will have our sympathy and support." Yet railroad executives, and some newspapers, insisted that soldiers serve "a diet of lead for the hungry strikers."

They got their wish in Baltimore and in Pittsburg, where troops fired on stone-throwing trainmen, killing more than 30. Word of the battle in Pittsburgh, in particular, enraged workers from local mines and mills, and--20,000 strong--they seized arms and besieged the troops. The militia fled the city, and the mob burned and looted its way through some $5 million in railroad property.

Battles occurred across the country, and more than a hundred people died. But by August, authorities had quelled the national wave of strikes. Many firms fired and permanently blacklisted the strikers. Yet most also gave up any thought of more wage cuts. The editors of Iron Age even advised business leaders that "it would be a bold step in the wrong direction to give notice of a decrease in wages" now.

By the 1890s, some unions had won some concessions. In 1889, skilled steelworkers at the Homestead Works outside Pittsburgh signed a 3-year contract that guaranteed relatively good wages and an 8-hour day. Still, steel remained dangerous work. In 1891 alone, some 300 people died in the area's mills, and several thousand more suffered injuries.

So, in 1892, unionized workers at Homestead approached the plant's manager, notoriously anti-union industrialist Henry Clay Frick, and asked for a new contract and a raise. Frick proposed a pay cut instead, built a 12-foot fence around the mill, and locked the workers out. The company would no longer recognize the union or bargain with its men. "I will never recognize the union," Frick said. "Never, never!"

Andrew Carnegie, king of steel, had acquired Homestead in 1883. Publicly, Carnegie supported "the right of the workingman to combine and to form trades-unions," calling it "no less sacred than the right of the manufacturer to enter into associations and conferences with his fellows." Yet efficiency must have preeminence. He told Frick, "As the vast majority of our employees are Non-Union, the Firm has decided that the minority must give place to the majority." The message to Frick was clear: break the union.

Homestead's 3,000 unskilled, non-unionized workers voted to stand with the 800 union men. In response, Frick ordered 300 Pinkerton guards to cross the pickets and take over the plant. The Pinkertons came under cover of darkness. Yet by the time they arrived at dawn, a welcoming committee of nearly 10,000 had turned out to meet them. Gunfire began--and went on for 13 hours. Three Pinkertons and seven workers fell dead. When the Pinkertons finally surrendered, the workers' wives beat them as they marched off.

A few days later, 8,500 militiamen took over the town, and Frick brought in replacement workers until the mill ran at full capacity. He blacklisted most of the union men, preventing them from ever working in steel again. Wages at the mill plummeted, and workers put in 12-hour days, six days a week. Carnegie cabled Frick, "Life worth living again. Congratulate all around." In 1899, he wired a friend, "Ashamed to tell you profits these days. Prodigious!"

--Michael Himick

Opposition to the American Labor Movement

By Denis Mueller

By all accounts the story of the American Labor Movement raises some very important questions as to why labor was met by so much opposition and why that opposition was so violent. This is question that I will examine in a series of articles about the history of the American Labor Movement.

One of the major reasons was the existence of private police forces that were not constrainedb by the law. The detective agencies like, although not limited to the Pinkertons, served as the muscle for the industrialists. They were thugs, criminals who were recruited from the dregs of society, whose violent tendencies were now under the cover of the law. The companies not only used them to break strikes but to actively commit violence against those who were trying to organize. No other western democracy had a private army that was quasi sanctioned by the government. The polices of the detective agencies included murder, setting people up for crimes they did not commit, lies and deception, all of which was done at the behest of the robber barons.

Another reason was that our court system was clearly on the side of the industrialists. We tend to think of the court as an arbitrator whose point of view is neutral but nothing could be further from the truth. As an example let us look at the struggle to establish an eight-hour day and how that manifested itself regarding the western miners, and their allies, who tried to establish an eight hour day.

For years the Western Miner Federation (WMF) argued for the establishment of an eight-hour day. The WMF felt, and all the medical evidence agreed and has been proven to be true, that the long hours that miners worked underground was unhealthy and the poisonous gases that the mines generated was dangerous to the miners health. This is now an obvious fact but at the time, the industrials fought the creation of laws, such as the eight-hour day, which were needed as protection from the dangerous conditions. Other factors were the claims by the industrials that these claims were without proof.

The refusal to enact the eight-hour legislation was a major factor in the Colorado Coal Wars that plagued the state for the next twenty years. The governor of Colorado maintained that he was acting in the interests of the people saying he was "preserving the commercial and industrial enterprises of Colorado from assault and annihilation."

These kinds of scare tactics were used as justification for the assault that occurred on the workers of America during the next forty years. It was obviously not true because American industry was never hurt by the eight-hour day. It was never hurt by workers who demanded a fair share. The simple fact is after these laws were passed, the companies still recorded huge profits. So when you hear dire predictions and consequences about what might happen, we should remember that these predictions are often just bullshit.

A Brief History of the Pinkertons

(The Man Behind it All)

Allan Pinkerton never intended to be a spy. He just fell into it by chance and became the founder of one of the most respected detective agencies in America.

Born in Scotland, August 25, 1819, Allan Pinkerton was a cooper, or barrel-maker, in his native land. He immigrated to the United States in 1842 and settled near Chicago, Illinios. He was an industrious man and quickly realized that working for himself would be a much better proposition for himself and family. After some searching, he moved to a town called Dundee that was in need of a cooper and quickly gained control of the market because of his superior quality barrels and low prices. His desire to continually improve his business actually led him down the path to being a detective.

Allan Pinkerton realized that good quality raw materials for his barrels were easily obtained on a small deserted island close to town. He decided that instead of paying others to provide him with the materials, he would travel to the island and get it himself. However, once he got to the island, he saw signs of habitation. Knowing that there were some counterfeiters in the area, he surmised this could be the hideout that had long eluded officials. He teamed up with the local sheriff to stake out the camp. His detective work led to the arrest of the band. The local townspeople then turned to him for help in arresting the ringleader of the band. His natural abilities eventually allowed him to track down the culprit and bring the counterfeiters to justice.

In 1850, Allan Pinkerton founded his detective agency based on his own incorruptible principles. His values became the cornerstone of a respected agency that still exists today. His reputation preceded him during the Civil War. He headed the organization responsible for spying on the confederacy. At war’s end, he went back to running the Pinkerton Detective Agency until his death on July 1, 1884. At his death, the agency continued to operate and would soon become a major force against the young labor movement developing in the United States of America. In fact, this effort against labor tarnished the image of the Pinkertons for years. They always maintained the high moral standards established by their founder, but many people began to view them as an arm of big business. They were involved in numerous activites against labor during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

· Pullman Strike (1894)

· The Wild Bunch Gang (1896)

· Ludlow Massacre (1914)

Many labor sympathizers accused the Pinkertons of inciting riots as a means of keeping employment, or for other nefarious purposes. Their reputation was harmed by their protection of scabs and business property of the major industrialists including Andrew Carnegie. However, they managed to last through all of the controversy, and still thrive today as “Pinkerton and Burns”. Their mission statement is: "To offer the best security solutions, adapted to specific customer needs, precise in delivery and cost efficient."

Ideas that would make Allan Pinkerton proud.

Dilbert-like Quotes from Corporate America

A magazine recently ran a "Dilbert Quotes" contest. They were looking for people to submit quotes from their real-life Dilbert-type managers. These were voted the top ten quotes in corporate America:

"As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday, and employees will receive their cards in two weeks."
(This was the winning quote from Fred Dales, Microsoft Corp. in Redmond WA)

"What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter."
(Lykes Lines Shipping)

"E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business."
(Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)

"This project is so important we can't let things that are more important interfere with it."
(Advertising/Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)

"Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule."
(Plant Manager, Delco Corporation)

"No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've been working on it for months. Now go act busy for a few weeks and I'll let you know when it's time to tell them."
(R&D supervisor, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing/3M Corp.)

Quote from the Boss: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say."
(Marketing executive, Citrix Corporation)

My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for Monday. When I told my Boss, he said she died on purpose so that I would have to miss work on the busiest day of the year. He then asked if we could change her burial to Friday. He said, "That would be better for me."
(Shipping executive, FTD Florists)

"We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees."
(Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)

The Panic of 1873

by Denis Mueller

Jay Cooke was a banker. He had made over three million dollars in commissions for selling U.S. government bonds during the civil war, and was a friend of President Grant. The closing of his banking houses in 1873, which took place while Grant slept at his house, set off a wave of panic throughout the country. People could not pay their loans or mortgages and 5,000 businesses closed their doors leaving workers out on the streets. The depression lasted through the 1870's. In 1874, 90,000 people had to sleep in police stations in New York. They were limited to two days a month in any one police station so they had to move around. In Chicago, twenty thousand people marched in the streets demanding clothing and bread. Police attacked workers in New York when they attempted to march to city hall in New York. Strikes were called throughout the country. Employers reacted by bringing in new immigrants to break the strikes.

In the summer of 1877, with the country in the depths of the depression, the New York Times wrote: "Already the cry of dying children begins to be heard." Soon, to judge from the past, there will be a thousand deaths of infants per week in the city." In Baltimore, with sewage in the streets, 139 babies died. 1877 also saw a labor war begin in the United States that would be more violent than anywhere in the world. It would last until the late 1930's and thousands would lay dead in its wake. It began with cuts in wages to railroad workers. They received only $1.75 per day while working twelve hours a day and the work was dangerous. Men were crushed between trains and often lost limbs.

In West Virginia, workers stopped the rails from moving and the Governor asked President Hayes for help. Hayes had just become president and the nation had no money allocated to send federal troops but J.P. Morgan offered to foot the bill and the strike was broken. People became aware that the army was being used against them. In Baltimore, they surrounded the National Guard armory. The guard had been called out to protect B&O Railroad and the soldiers came out firing. Ten men were killed. Half of the troops quit and an enraged crowd attacked the other half. The rebellion spread across the country. In Pittsburgh troops were called in and a pitched battle resulted in ten dead. Now the whole city rose up in anger and another battle began; this time 29 people were killed, including four soldiers. Police attacked crowds in Chicago firing into them and killing four people. The next day an armed crowd fought the police resulting in three more dead.

Karl Marx felt that while the strikes will "Naturally be suppressed, but can very well form the origin of an earnest workers party." When the strikes of 1877 were finally over, a hundred people had died. The railroads made some concessions but a pattern had been established. The labor struggle in America would be a long and bloody conflict.

The major political parties had reached an agreement in 1877. They would not protect blacks or workers. Whether the Democrats or Republicans were in control made no difference, national policy would be the same. During this time, the fortunes of Rockefeller, Carnegie and Morgan increased while the country suffered. The fight by American workers for dignity is a struggle filled with bravery and drama and one of histories forgotten stories.

Copyright

The Memorial Day Massacre

By Denis Mueller

The 1930's were a turbulent time. In 1934, the administration of Franklin Roosevelt recognized workers rights to bargain collectively. The Supreme Court stuck down Roosevelt's programs, but in 1935, the Wagner Act was passed. The act established the machinery to protect workers from management and the right to organize. So unions began to organize, and from 1933 to 1937 there were over 10,000 strikes involving some five million workers.

One of the first targets of the movement was the steel industry. Workers had tried to organize the industry before, but the craft unionism of the AFL led to defeat after defeat. The workers received a stimulus from the newly formed CIO, which sought to organize the plants on a mass scale. They defeated the steel giant US Steel and the stage was now set to organize the whole industry. But the smaller companies were determined to resist unionization.

Republic Steel was one of the companies to begin preparation by hiring strikebreakers for the showdowns. In Chicago, the Chicago Police Department, were housed and fed by the company. They were not neutral.

On that warm day, the police under the leadership of Captain Mooney prepared to meet the strikers. The strikers met at Sam's Club, a bar in Chicago's south side, not far from the plant. They decided they would march down to the plant to picket the mill. They had the right to do so and were not breaking any law when the police came to meet them. Insults were said, and a few rocks were thrown, but nothing serious happened before the police decided to attack the crowd.

The Chicago Police waded into the crowd swinging their clubs, many of which were oversized clubs provided by the steel company, and began to attack the crowd. They beat everyone they could get their hands on when suddenly shots were fired into the crowd. Four people were dead. Later on it was determined that the shots hit the dead workers in the back. One woman, Molly West, felt a gun to her head and then threatened with death if she did not move.

When it was all over, the press, led by the Chicago Tribune, blamed the whole thing on the strikers. But dogs of the press were lying again. A commission set-up by Senator Lafollette put the blame squarely on the police. It cast them as a vehicle that was bought and paid for by Republic Steel.

The "Massacre in Chicago" was only a part of a larger struggle that saw sixteen strikers lose their lives in the nation-wide steel strike. The strike was defeated, but the struggle continued, and on August of 1941, the companies agreed to bargain with the workers and a contract was signed. They had won. The union organizing of 1930's was the accumulation of over fifty years of death and struggle. The victory of the CIO represents one the high marks of American history and their struggle should never be forgotten.

Source: Illinois Institute of Labor Interview with Molly West

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

by Dennis Mueller

At the turn of the century working conditions in the United States were appalling. In 1904, over 25,000 people were killed on the job and no place else were these conditions more deplorable than in New York's garment industry. Here young women toiled from dawn to dusk. One New York women described "dangerously broken stairways, windows few and dirty" and people being forced to work seventy or eighty hours a week. The women at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company had seen enough and in the winter of 1909, they decided to go out on strike.

The Union felt that if they could get three thousand workers to go out on strike. They would be successful. The union succeeded beyond the wildest expectations of their leaders when 20,000 women joined the strike. Black women and white women worked together against scabs, the police and the threats of imprisonment to defeat the companies. They read poetry to each other to improve their morale:

"Rise like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number!
Shake your chains to earth, like dew.
Which in sleep had fallen on you.
Ye are many..they are few."

But despite their efforts, the conditions did not change that much and on March 25, 1911, a fire swept through the Triangle Shirtwaist factory. The fire raged on through the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors. While half of the city's workforce spent their working days above the 7th floor. The fire departments ladders only went up to the 7th floor. Trapped women died at their workstations, or were crushed in the panic. Some jumped out the window to their deaths. The New York World described the scene:

"Screaming men and women and boys and girls crowded out on the many window ledges and threw themselves into the streets far below. They jumped with their clothes ablaze. The hair of some women steamed up aflame as they leaped. Thud after thud sounded on the pavements. It is a ghastly fact that on both Greene Street and Washington Place sides of the building there grew mounds of the dead and dying."

By the end of the day, 146 workers were dead. The city lay in shock and a memorial parade down Broadway drew over 100,000 marchers. There was widespread revulsion over the tragedy. But the owners, politicians and many newspapers condemned any intervention by government. The courts consistently ruled in favor of the owners and many in government felt they were powerless to do anything. The owners of the factory were charged with manslaughter and while they were later acquitted. A judge in 1914 ordered them to pay $75 to the families of the deceased.

The city gathered information about the fire for the Factory Investigating Commission and gave the mayor of New York, Robert F. Wagner, additional powers to improve factory safety. The event stands as one of the most vivid symbols of the American labor movement to this day. The Triangle Fire serves as a reminder that worker safety laws are necessary to ensure a safe working place for all Americans. We should never roll back worker safety laws; the blood of American workers has already paid the price for these laws.

Sources: Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States Yale University Press,
The Encyclopedia of New York City

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