Why Did Early Labor Unions Fail?

Labor unions emerged at the turn of the nineteenth century as industrialization transformed the United States. The factory system replaced the work of artisans and craftsmen who had worked in small shops. Artisans had organized themselves into guilds, but the power of the guilds declined as manufacturing replaced the artisans' work. The new manufacturing workers organized themselves into unions. Early unions failed for a number of reasons, including internal tensions, inability to prevent violence, a societal fear of revolution and failure to win over the public and authorities.

Types of Early Unions

During the early nineteenth century factory workers formed local unions and engaged in small strikes aimed at their employer. In the 1860s, unions to organize all the workers in a particular trade emerged. Skilled garment cutters started the Knights of Labor (KOL) in 1869, and trade unionists from a broad spectrum of industries founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1886. Tensions among skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers existed during this period. The KOL eventually welcomed workers with all ranges of skill as well as women and African-Americans (which was unusual for that period). The International Workers of the World (IWW), which existed from 1905 to 1914, also embraced all workers, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or skill level. In general, when unions became more inclusive in both membership and goals, they tended to fail due to societal resistance; unions that remained narrow in membership and goals tended to succeed, as the public more easily accepted them.

Strategies

The early unions that organized skilled workers in a single craft used the leverage of their workers' skills to force employers to cede to demands for better wages and working conditions. These skilled workers would go on strike, depriving companies of their labor, which was hard to replace. According to economist Gerald Friedman, these sorts of strikes were successful, but when unskilled workers attempted to use the same methods, the results were disastrous. Companies could easily replace unskilled workers and even semi-skilled workers (who often acquired training on the job); when the KOL attempted broad-based strikes in the 1880s, employers fought back.

Employers' Responses

During the late nineteenth century employers used strikebreakers (workers who were willing to cross picket lines and work despite an ongoing strike) to dissuade their workers from going on strike. To protect strikebreakers they hired guards from companies like Pinkerton's National Detective Agency. In 1892, for example, Henry Clay Frick, manager of Andrew Carnegie's steel mill in Homestead, Pennsylvania, hired Pinkerton detectives. The detectives and the striking workers engaged in a gun battle lasting 14 hours. The Pinkertons eventually surrendered in this instance, but often the use of Pinkerton detectives was enough to put an end to a strike.

Government Intervention

In addition to the resistance of employers to unionizing, the government was reluctant to lend support to unions, especially those that, in addition to organizing major strikes, advocated systemic changes to society, such as the adoption of socialism. In 1886, during a KLO-sponsored strike at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company in Chicago, Chicago police killed four striking workers; the next day, someone lobbed a bomb at a group of policemen during a rally in Haymarket Square, resulting in the deaths of seven policemen. A crackdown on unions and a nationwide panic over the supposed anarchist and socialist goals of unions ensued. During the Homestead steel mill strike, the Pennsylvania governor sent in the National Guard to end the strike out of such fears.

Significance

The unions that made the transition from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century toned down their goals; instead of demanding a restructuring of society, they agitated for better working conditions and increased wages for laborers in a particular industry. Labor unions that tried to organize a large number of workers regardless of background and skill and that advocated radical societal changes encountered violent resistance from employers and authorities. These unions had all failed by World War I.

References

• Ohio University: The Homestead Strike of 1892
• Chicago-Kent College of Law: The Founding Convention of the IWW
• "The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People, Volume 2"; Paul S. Boyer, et al.; 2009
• Economic History Services Encyclopedia: Labor Unions in the United States by Gerald Friedman
• "Business"; William M. Pride, Robert J. Hughes, Jack R. Kapoor; 2009

Resources

• Chicago-Kent College of Law: A Curriculum of United States Labor History for Teachers