Knights Of Labor: The Knights Of Labor Union

The Knight of Labor came into existence around the 1880s and consisted of numerous local assemblies. Membership was opened to any and everyone, including employers, African Americans and women. To achieve efficiency, its goal was to replace capitalism by offering the employees, also known as producers, the opportunity to control and own businesses. The system was known as producer cooperative. Producer cooperative incorporates capital and workers to work as one and cut down on conflict, which made for a harmonious environment. The benefits of bringing these two forces together, saw workers gaining a sense of autonomy and fulfilled their psychological and physical needs and serving God. The primary goal of the Knights of Labor was in achieving the moral worth opposed to the material wealth of a person, which was a form of uplifting unionism. They believed that by working long hours, while earning small pay, went against their idea of what God had intended for man. However, to achieve member voice, the goal was for members to secure producer cooperation through individual

It wasn’t a union, but a federation, whose goals were to bargain with employees’, resolve grievances and organize strikes. Unlike The Knight of Labor, in order to achieve efficiency, it believed in the capitalist system and the importance of employers’ making a profit, but also seeks to win labor’s fair share of the profits through collective bargaining. Equity was achieved by way of making sure that employees received their fair share of the profits though collective bargaining. Therefore, to ensure that workers received their fair share of the profits, the union had no problem using the threat of strikes. Collective bargaining was a form of employee voice, and was carried out by way of an employee representative on behalf of the workers to address their