HIST 2057 : STUDY GUIDE HISTORY
Document Summary
In response to big business, working class organized labor unions. Before the civil war, labor unions were short lived, and local. Workers had a spiritual dislocation because of the work place. For instance, assembly line workers are only one in a crowd of other assembly line workers. The workers didn"t identify or care about the product they were making. Organizers for labor unions wanted to bargain more effectively. Immigrant competition brought a big pool of workers for replacements, which would limit union power. Women are entering the workforce in increasing numbers. Women don"t join unions, and neither do most males. Now that homestead act is closed, people feel trapped in the working man"s life. They think that union workers are assaulting private property. Union organizers are seen as the scum of the earth. The three main labor unions: knights of labor, national labor union, and american.
