HIST 2112- What was it like to work in a factory?o Dangerouso Noisyo Sometimes fatalo Long hours- 35.000 a year will die on the jobo Approximately the same number of people killed in car accidents today- No such thing as an 8 hour day or 40 hour weeko 6 day weeko 10-16 hours a dayo Carnegie’s factories Average day shift – 10 hours Average night shift – 13 hours- Factory work was new to everyoneo Had to be at the job at a specific timeo Not this way on a farmo Very repetitive- Carnegie had people watch the factory workers and figure out the best way for them to do their jobo Had specific ways for you to move your body to maximize efficiency- Deskilling (unskilling) of laboro Artisan – someone whose life is dedicated to their skill or art (carpentry, wood work, etc.) They are losing their jobs to machines Much cheaper so people buy it Became victims of historyo Rise of machinery meant anyone could do it with a machine- The Great Railroad Strike of 1887o Non unionized but still have a strikeo Brought in blacks to do their jobso Not successful, have to swallow a 20% pay cuto Origin of Knights of Labor, one of the first major unions Terrance V. Powder, leader Very successful very quickly Over a million members in the 1880s 15,000 local chapters Very open to laborers, even unskilled laborers, women, blacks (but had to be segregated), Irish- Only excluded people were the Chinese and unproductive members of societyo No real honest work Wanted 8 hour days- 8 hour labor- 8 hour recreation- 8 hour resto Haymarket – 1886 Someone threw a bomb at police Police open fired- Killed 1- Injured many more Ended the Knights of Labor- Lost popularity American Federation of Labor replaced them- Samuel Gompers- Much more moderate and much less radical- Prided themselves on being negotiatorso Mining was the most dangerous job in the IR Was one of the main reasons for unions As an employee, you were required to live in a house ownedby your boss Also had to buy groceries and clothes from a store owned by your boss- Paid in coupons (not money) that were only redeemable at your boss’s stores- Even Carnegie had his issueso Had a union in his steel millso Couldn’t deal with it, left Henry Frick in charge and went to Europe Told him to do what he had to do Hired pinkertons (security) to lock out the workers Strikers were camping across the river Guards cross the river in the night and attack the workers Pretty big gun fight Some guards were killed and forced to
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