radical labor

Radical Labor Back to the theme that mass production was bad for workers (see also iron and steel )

unions of skilled workers already existed, but machines were replacing skilled workers
public opinion was quite negative about unions
workers were increasingly desperate
this led to organizations proposing radical solutions, such as the IWW

Bad conditions

wages were being cut, sometimes 20% at once, in many factories in the 1890s
immigration meant a surplus of workers and immigrant workers often were afraid to press for better conditions
work days were still often 12 hours
child labor was widely used ( photos )

in addition to big factories workers in the cities were increasingly concentrated in sweatshops--small factories dependent not on big machines but on bringing to one place workers doing jobs like sewing clothing that had previously been done in homes. Sweatshops often had extremely bad conditions and abuse of workers, as shown by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911

the new big companies resulted in a new class of extremely rich families (eg. Rockefeller, Carnegie, J. P. Morgan, Vanderbilt), sometimes called Robber Barons. The workers felt that all the benefits from the new technology were going to the rich, while the poor were getting poorer

Earlier efforts

craft unions began to form in the US in the late 1700s. In the early 1800s they pressed for a 10 hour instead of 12 hour day. By 1860 the average work day was 11 hours. As industry and cities grew in the mid to late 1800s more local unions formed.
in 1878 the Knights of Labor was briefly successful as one big union for all kinds of workers, but it didn't last long
the craft unions banded together to form the AFL in 1886, trying to create a practical organization instead of vague calls for reform
in 1884 the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions called for an 8 hour day and a general strike to achieve it. This led to violence, most notably at a McCormick reaper factory in Chicago then at Haymarket Square . A bomb was thrown at the police when they moved in at the end of a peaceful meeting; 4 anarchists were eventually tried and executed for the bombing.
as well as the Homestead strike in 1892 there was a big strike in Pullman in 1894--federal troops broke that strike

The IWW , often known as the Wobblies, was founded in 1905

the goal was to organize all workers into one big union, not divided by skill or industry or class or race
"Trade lines have been swallowed up in a common servitude of all workers to the machines they tend."
wanted control of the factory by the worker but they were anarchists (no government) more than Marxists. They did want to do away with capitalism and abolish the wage system. They did not advocate violence but workers fought back when attacked.
message to workers: why should the fat cats get rich off you? Wanted workers to share in profits .
leaders-- Emma Goldman , Big Bill Haywood , Elizabeth Gurley Flynn , Joe Hill --traveled around helping organize and giving speeches to encourage strikers. (music)
This often turned into a fight over the right of free speech (cartoon , source ). In several places (eg. mining camps in Montana and lumber towns in Washington state) laws were passed prohibiting union meetings or street meetings and people who gave pro-union speeches were arrested. The IWW would send in more and more speakers until the jail couldn't hold any more.
Some leaders advocated sabotage .

they mostly meant soldiering--work slowdowns
creative techniques like the open mouth strike--follow every rule to the letter and work slows down

in 1912 the IWW supported a successful strike of textile workers in Lawrence, Mass.

World War I put an end to the movement

IWW opposed the war as only for the benefit of the rich
low unemployment (1.4%) meant that workers got what they wanted without radical fights--by 1919 almost 50% of workers had 8 hour day
IWW leaders were accused of treason and executed or deported (most were immigrants who did not have American citizenship)