After the Civil War, the United States entered a new phase of industrialization. Railroad magnates began to consolidate and expand railroad lines around the country. Factories needed raw material to power their increasingly mechanized production lines. Andrew Carnegie adopted ideas about vertical integration -- owning each stage of the steelmaking process so that he might control the quality and profit from start to finish. Both U.S.-born and immigrants from all over the world took dangerous jobs for low pay. Show As the pace of industrialization quickened, and profits accumulated in the hands of a few, some workers began to organize and advocate for unionization. The workers wanted more safety regulations, better wages, fewer hours, and freedom of speech and assembly. But most companies vigorously opposed the union, arguing for the right to control their private property, and to conduct business without intervention. Industrialists hired guards to maintain surveillance over the workers, and they blacklisted known unionists. Learn more about events from the West Virginia Mine Wars within a national context during a period that was punctuated by violent struggle between labor and management. Martinsburg, WV, July 16, 1877, PDDecember 4, 1874 July 14, 1877 May 4, 1886 January 25, 1890 July 6, 1892 July 4, 1894 September 10, 1897 October 12, 1898 May 9, 1900 May 12, 1902 June 1902 January 1, 1912 April 18, 1912 April 20, 1914 January 1, 1917 April 6, 1917 November 7, 1917 February 1919 September 9, 1919 October 6, 1919 May 19, 1920 July 4, 1920 May 19, 1921 August 26, 1921 August 30, 1921 September 2, 1921 April 25, 1922 June 16, 1924 March
23, 1932 The Norris-LaGuardia Act sets the stage for further labor reform legislation, such as the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, or Wagner Act, which will outline the fundamental rights and powers held by unions and establish penalties for violating those rights. June 16, 1933 January 31, 1936 May 30, 1937 January 22, 1941 On April 4, the Washington Post editorial board states, "this strike has degenerated into virtual war against the government, and should be regarded as such." President Roosevelt intervenes and the strike is resolved by the newly created National Defense Mediation Board. President Harry Truman, Courtesy: National ArchivesApril 8, 1952 October 16, 1953 November 4,
1970 August 24, 1974 April 18, 1989 Why did workers go on strike during the Industrial Revolution?The main goal was control of working conditions, setting uniform wage scales, or to protest the firing of a member. Most strikes were of very short duration. During poor economic times, strikes were violent and less successful.
What caused the major labor strikes of the late 1800s?Strikes figured prominently in the rise of the organized labor movement that began in earnest in the mid-to-late 1800s. Over the years, they played a part in many of the labor movement's hard-fought gains—from better wages to the eight-hour-work day and other improvements in working conditions.
Why did workers in the late 1800s and early 1900s go on strike?Although wage disputes have been the single most common cause of strikes, workers have walked off their jobs for many reasons, including efforts to win union recognition, shorten the workday, gain or defend control over the work process, improve working conditions, and protest the disciplining of unionists.
What are reasons that workers went on strike?Most often, strikes concern financial and labor disagreements. Including wages, hours, time off, raises, promotions, health benefits, and retirement benefits. Strikes can also arise from allegations of unsafe working conditions or unfair labor practices that violate state or federal labor laws.
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