How did American workers attempt to improve their conditions during the Gilded Age?

"The social battles which men have fought ... mark eras in social conditions .... Among these social contests may be classed the efforts of humane men to correct so-called factory evils."¹

During the era of industrialization in America, between the Civil War and World War I, dangerous and unhealthy working conditions and frequent serious accidents with resulting economic and social losses prompted calls for government to take action. The initial pressure for government remedies came primarily from labor groups. Investigations by state labor bureaus of dangers to workers' safety and health helped fuel a successful drive by labor for state factory acts in the industrial North, beginning with the Massachusetts Factory Act of 1877. The system of factory inspection that evolved produced significant improvements in the workplace. After 1900, middle- and upper-class Progressives added their support to the movement for government regulation of workers' safety and health. These reformers sought to overcome shortcomings that had developed in factory legislation and enforcement. They also introduced the twin innovations of workers' compensation and administrative rule making by industrial commissions. Complementing these new public initiatives, many corporations established voluntary safety programs. In addition, industrial health received special scientific and public attention in the Progressive period and was the subject of several government and private investigations.

How would you like to work 10-14 hour shifts in horrible conditions for little pay? Sounds appealing, doesn't it? Industrialization marked America's nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but this period also saw incredible disunion between laborers and business owners. Laborers were unable to negotiate as single workers. Therefore, laborers joined to create labor unions that sought to support and protect workers from long days, terrible working conditions, and low wages. Read on below to see how they did it!

Labor Unions Gilded Age Definition

While the Gilded Age (1870-1900) saw great prosperity and wealth, conflict grew between laborers and factory owners. Due to the rapid industrialization of the era, working conditions deteriorated. Often workers attempted to negotiate better working conditions with their bosses and managers only to be largely ignored.

Fig. 1 Cartoon showing the American Federation of Labor with a cannon pointed at a government building (1914).

As a result, workers banded together to create labor unions, creating better leverage against factory owners.

Labor Unions

Groups or associations of workers designed to protect workers' rights. Many unions negotiated better working hours, conditions, and fair wages.

Rise of Labor Unions Gilded Age

Unions had been fleeting and quickly extinguished before the Civil War. However, the Great Railroad strike of 1877 influenced workers to organize after two railroad companies slashed wages for the third time in a year.

Labor unions began to initiate collective bargaining to assist in negotiations between companies and workers (a tool that would not have been successful without a union). Two well-known labor unions were the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Though the Knights of Labor eventually failed in their goals and dissolved the union, the AFL would become one of America's largest and most active unions.

Collective bargaining

Negotiations of working conditions and wages executed by a large group of employees (generally conducted by a union).

Knights of Labor (KOL)

The Knights of Labor became the first organized labor union in 1869. Some of the union's goals consisted of an eight-hour workday and for laborers to own the industries where they worked. The KOL was an oddity for the age as it embraced a complete union, including all workers, regardless of sex, race, or skill (except saloonkeepers, gamblers, and bankers).

Fig. 2 Leaders of the Knights of Labor before 1893.

Though the Knights of Labor made considerable strides in advocating workers' rights, their work abruptly slowed in 1886. Unfortunately, the Knights of Labor's reputation plummeted and would never recover from the 1886 Haymarket Square riot in Chicago. As a result, members rushed to join the newer American Federation of Labor.

On May 4, 1886, a peaceful demonstration in Haymarket Square, Chicago turned into a disaster after a bomb was thrown at the police, who were trying to disperse the protesters. As the violent anarchists were associated with the Knights of Labor, the union began to lose popularity.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

The American Federation of Labor, formed in 1886, became an overarching organization that brought together various unions (printers, carpenters, and stonemasons).

Fig. 3 Label for the American Federation of Labor 1894.

The goals of the AFL were not unlike other labor unions. They sought fair working conditions, a shorter workday, and higher wages. By the start of the twentieth century, membership soared to half a million and would continue to increase. The AFL would become the largest labor union in America.

Labor Union strikes Gilded Age

Various labor strikes occurred throughout the Gilded Age, yet labor unions organized only a few. Some labor strikes garnered public support but were generally ended quickly through government or owner intervention.

Homestead Strike 1892

Homestead, Pennsylvania, housed steel magnate Andrew Carnegie's steel plant: Homestead Steelworks. For years the workers, protected by the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel (AA), enjoyed controlling some aspects of their workplace. However, due to an economic downturn and the determination to lower costs, Carnegie slashed workers' wages by almost 25%. Locked out of the factory, AA members rose against the plant.

Fig. 4 Strikers surrendered at the Homestead Strike on July 16, 1892.

Eventually, Pennsylvania's governor brought in militiamen and successfully opened the plant. The union had been defeated, and none of the workers' demands were met. Those laborers who denied the union were eventually allowed back into the plant.

Pullman Strike 1894

Located outside of Chicago, the Pullman sleeping car manufacturing plant had grown into a multimillion-dollar business by the end of the nineteenth century. Workers went on strike because of rising costs of everyday goods, high rent, and low wages.

Fig. 5 Advertisement handed out by the American Railway Union on May 22, 1894.

While the strike initially started within the Pullman company, it grew into a national railroad strike. Believing the strike impeded mail delivery, the federal government resolved the issue by sending troops and issuing an injunction against union leaders. The strike officially ended in July 1894, and the government again ignored the laborer's plight.

Child Labor Unions Gilded Age

Child labor became commonplace in many factories throughout America because factory owners knew they would be easier to manage and would accept lower wages. By 1900, child laborers worked in various industries, such as mines, glass factories, and textiles.

Fig. 6 Breaker boys in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. The photo was taken by Lewis Hine for the U.S. Government in 1911 (Hine was hired by the NCLC).

Due to the lack of child labor laws, children as young as eight (and sometimes younger) were employed throughout America. However, with the formation of labor unions came child labor reform.

The golf links lie so near the mill

That almost every day

The laboring children can look out

And see the men at play.1

- Sarah Cleghorn

The above poem is a jab at how factories operated with child labor. Cleghorn, a poet, writes on how the reversal of roles impacted young child workers throughout the second industrial era. Young children replaced men who should be the ones working.

National Child Labor Committee

Though legislation against child labor began as early as 1836, none of the early laws were regularly enforced. Thus, the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), created in 1904, launched an aggressive child labor law campaign.

Fig. 7 A 14-year-old miner boy.

The leaders of the NCLC included prominent social welfare advocates such as Jane Addams, Florence Kelley, and Graham Taylor. Committed to advancing children's rights and establishing labor laws, the committee conducted investigations throughout various industries.

Did you know?

Many children worked in coal mines, where severe injuries were common. With no such thing as a minimum wage (or children's labor laws), boys working the mines only earned $.50-$.60 a day!

Accomplishments of Gilded Age Labor Unions

Until the Gilded Age, many labor unions had failed to ignite significant reform. Power continued to reside in the hands of business owners without any change for the working class. America's labor unions in the Gilded Age started reform movements, showed support for workers, and created the foundation for America's future working class and today's labor unions. Some of their most profound accomplishments were an eight-hour workday, better working conditions, continual support for laborers, and the initiation of collective bargaining.

Before the Gilded Age, collective bargaining did not have much power due to the size and strength of previous labor unions. However, several unions in the Gilded Age proved to wield enough power to initiate change. While a few labor unions ultimately failed at their goals, like the Knights of Labor, the overall uniting of laborers sparked a labor movement that still has far-reaching implications.

Did you know?

You can thank the labor unions and labor movement in America for giving you minimum wage, a forty-hour work week, and the weekends! Though not completed during the Gilded Age, the labor unions of the era left long-lasting effects on the country.

Did working conditions improve during the Gilded Age?

In what ways did organized labor improve the condition of workers during the Gilded Age?

How did workers respond to the Gilded Age?

What was the labor movement during the Gilded Age?