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The United Mine Workers Of America (UMW)

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The adopted Constitution in 1787, and later amendments, carried a guarantee of human rights, including the equality for all citizens of the United States. Nonetheless, at the beginning of 20th century, this was only on paper, not in practice: women were not allowed to vote, and black people’s rights were not on equal terms with their white counterparts. However, one of the most complex subjects was economic inequality between the capitalists and workers. Labourers formed first labour unions already at the beginning of the US history, although these had little effect and were dissolved soon. In the 1890s, the coal industry offered a large-scale employment and was controlled by a few major railroad companies. These companies established an absolute monopoly, having made it difficult for miners to fight for their demands. The UMW The United Mine Workers of America (UMW) was formed in 1890 by merging two smaller circles with the main purpose to balance the power between the mine workers and industry owners. From the beginning, the union made attempts to improve the working conditions of miners and …show more content…

In March 1902, John Mitchell, a newly elected President of the union, entered into negotiations with the operators to deliver requests of the miners. They demanded a twenty percent increase in pay, cutting a working day from ten to eight hours, implementing a fairer weighting system, and, most importantly, recognising the union along with giving it authority to influence the industry. After the negotiations broke down, on May 12, 1902, John Mitchell called 147,000 miners out for a strike (Grossman, 1975). With a hope for a speedy settlement, he also warned operators that the engineers, firemen, pump men who were keeping mines dry and preventing the flood will join the strike. The response never followed and on June 2 the work came to a

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You touched on a critical point in your forum, as of why workers went on strike. While poverty played a significant role, in 1877, railroad employees experienced a significant pay cut, which sparked the Great Railway Strike, triggering violence and a shutdown of the railways lasting nearly six weeks. Next, the Pullman strike began with railroad owners becoming increasingly wealthier, while none of the profits trickled down to the employees. The labor walk-outs encompassed the substantial divide between social classes. Hence, rich businessmen were increasing their profits, while poor workers often remained stagnate with low wages and company issued paycuts.

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1052 Words | 5 Pages

When they sat down at the negotiating table, the two sides would bring with them very different preconceptions about how the world should work - it was clear the difference between rich and poor and the rich perception was that they were the owners of the poor so they should make up all rules. The Homestead Steel Strike is one of the most remarkable experiences for the trade unions’ history: after the employees tried to negotiate their wages unsuccessfully, the most powerful trade union of the moment called Amalgamated Association also tried to bargain some benefits but ended up making the hasty decision to confront the richest businessman in the US, Henry Frick, the company leader. In 1892 there was an armed battle between guards Frick hired to take care of the Mill he was shutting down and the workers that were against his decision. Lots of people died and the Mill remained

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1086 Words | 5 Pages

The union had grown powerful with 30,000 members, 85% of PA's anthracite miners joining. But Gowen had also built a combo of his own, bringing mine operators into an association as well as forcing a strike and showdown between the two

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Since the police and city hall were against the general strike, labor union got little attention. (Wignot, Triangel Fire) In this case, Triangle Factory workers had very little power compared to their employers because they were lower-class working people and the bosses were upper-class and wealthy. They could never improve their working conditions as individuals because they would be fired if they complained about their jobs to the bosses. So the labor union was the best way to combine their resources and power together collectively to create benefit for all workers.

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86 Words | 1 Pages

The Homestead Strike, which culminated with a day-long gun battle on July 6 that left 12 dead and dozens wounded, led to a wave of de-unionization. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) began organizing unskilled iron and steel workers into federal unions in 1901. The AFL did not account for the hardening anti-union attitudes of U.S. Steel executives and plant managers, and the federation had no real plan to counterbalance the vast financial resources the company would pour into anti-union espionage, strikebreaking and union avoidance measures.

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1671 Words | 7 Pages

Unlike previous presidents, Roosevelt defended laborers right to organize and strike without military intervention. In 1902, Teddy Roosevelt took a hand in the anthracite coal strike after the threat of cutting off heating fuel for homes, schools, and even hospitals. He openly recruited representatives of the company and the workers to meet in the White House for a negotiation of terms as a means of mediating the issue. Roosevelt used his connections as Chief Executive to have Wall Street threaten to withhold credit from the coal companies and he even mentioned calling in the army to run the mines. His strategy paid off when the companies’ arbitrators consented to a modest pay increase as well as a shortened workday for the laborers.

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From 1875-1900, America was beginning to rise up from the increase in industrialization. However, dubbed “the gilded age” by Mark Twain, the thriving promise of a better , wealthier life in America was not as it seemed. When labor unions rose to change the harsh working conditions placed on workers, it seemed to be that they found little to no success. This was brought on by the little change that they made, the suffering and hardships they brought on themselves and others, and the little support they received from those around them. Although labor unions were able to change some conditions, most of those changes were minimal.

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1153 Words | 5 Pages

In 1935, the United States passed the Wagner Act which enables more workers rights and gave the right to join/form unions and participate in collective bargaining. But this was not to be passed before many workers began to form unions and were refused that ability. Many riots and strikes were put into place to try and protect their rights. Some strikes became violent resulting in deaths, while others just created trouble for the workers. These efforts without initial government backing caused many problems but many changes.

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Labor and the US Government from 1890-1945 A key aspect of this nation’s history lies in the ever-shifting relationship between its government and its common man, most specifically its labor workers. This relationship plays a crucial role in the understanding of the changes that took place in America between 1890 and 1945. The changing relationship between government and labor workers in the United States between 1890 and 1945 demonstrates a period of unrest and a transitional period in which the focus shifted towards the working class as a result of the greed and corruption of 19th century business elite , as can be seen in the labor strikes requiring government intervention of the late 19th century, the progressives of the early 20th century

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The organized labor of 1875-1900 was unsuccessful in proving the position of workers because of the future strikes, and the intrinsical feeling of preponderation of employers over employees and the lack of regime support. In 1877, railroad work across the country took part in a cyclopean strike that resulted in mass violence and very few reforms. An editorial, from the Incipient York Time verbalized: "the strike is ostensibly hopeless, and must be regarded as nothing more than a rash and splenetic demonstration of resentment by men too incognizant or too temerarious to understand their own interest" (Document B). In 1892, workers at the Homestead steel plant near Pittsburg ambulated out on strike and mass chaos the lives of at least two Pinkerton detectives and one civilian, among many other laborers death (Document G).

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(Document A) These rich businessmen also hated the idea of unions, and even insulted them because they wanted to extend hours with less pay, the opposite of what the unions wanted. An example of one of these businessmen insulting the unions was Henry Clay Frick, president of Carnegie Steel in 1892 who said “...I will never recognize the union, never, never” (Document D) These problems still aren’t fully solved today, there are still wealthy business owners that blame the poor for being poor, and dislike labor

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“In the United States history of unions, early workers and trade unions played an important part in the role for independence” (Union Plus). In 1866, the National Labor Union (NLU) ambitiously tried to achieve equal rights for women, African Americans, and mandate eight-hour work days. They managed to convince Congress to adopt the eight-hour work day, but only for federal employees. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) with approximately 1.4 million members was successful in wage negotiation, and enhanced work conditions for its members. “A combination of factors contributed to the debilitating Panic of 1873, which triggered what the public referred to at the time as the “Great Depression” of the 1870s” (OpenStax College, 2014).

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1385 Words | 6 Pages

The rapid industrialization and urbanization of the late 19th century brought prosperity and wealth to America and improved the living standards of almost all citizens. Refined machinery, fresh innovations, and the management revolution accelerated the production and quality of products while minimizing costs. Despite the developments and improvements that occurred during this era, they came at a price. Along with industrialization came the issues of overcrowded housing, unsanitary conditions, and corruption in large corporations, to name a few. Business leaders of such corporations often exploited workers and repressed competition in a suffocating and monopolistic manner.

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1139 Words | 5 Pages

During the 1902 Coal Strike, when Americans feared that they would freeze to death over the winter, Roosevelt brought both the miners and the mine owners together. Most strikes, unsurprisingly, failed to get the workers what they wanted, no matter how stubborn they were. However, when Roosevelt met with both parties, he did something shocking: he made both the miners and the owners agree to a compromise. This was unprecedented, because even though the mine owners got the better end of the deal, the laborers got something, a 10% wage increase and a 9 hour work day, which was more than precedent. Roosevelt’s main motive for this decision, though, was to keep the other Americans from freezing to death.

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1038 Words | 5 Pages

Profits for the farmers were getting smaller and smaller due to the increase in prices for the goods to be sold. These farmers believed in many different things- they believed in rules and regulations for the road (which included the fact that the government should control the railroad), lower tariffs, and that money should be based off of silver standard. For the industrial workers, their working conditions were not ideal. Each worker did not get paid nearly enough to support them and their families, even though they worked ten plus hour days, six days a week. Workers were not paid for sick days or injury.

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