Labor has had a bloody and storied past. The history of labor in America began when African slaves were brought into the new land to work in cotton farms In the 1600’s. However, the first real strike that was recorded in history occurred in 1677, in New York.
Two centuries after, the Lowell Female Labor Association organized for women and by women pushed for the 10 hour workday. Textile mills in New England at that time employed young women who worked in conditions they described as hellish-hot, cramped and filled by the noise of bobbins and pins. Prompted by wage cuts, the women asserted the 10 hour workday. They were successful in pressuring congress to legislate such law in New England. However, the law was unenforceable.
In 1842, the landmark decision in Commonwealth v Hunt legalized labor unions, provided they were organized for legal purposes and employed legal means to achieve their objectives. Prior that Supreme Court decision, peaceful assemblies seeking wage increases and betterment of labor conditions were deemed illegal
Following the legalization of labor unions,, the National Labor Union was founded in 1866. It was not almost two decades after however that the first labor day parade was held. The suggestion of labor leader Peter Mc Guire in 1882 to hold a day for labor was successful in that thousands of workers gathered from the city hall to the town hall in September 5.
Labor strikes, or stoppages of work to petition conditions favorable to workers used to be violent and the Hayward Market incident was evidence of that.. Workers at the McCormick Harvesting Company struck in 1886. They sought an 8 hour workday. However, a common reaction at that time was to employ strike breakers and lock out the workers. The workers in return lobbied outside the plant resulting to one person being killed. Days after, the workers agreed to meet in the Haymarket Square. Anarchists in the crowd however turned violent and apparently, a bomb was thrown. The authorities in turn fired indiscriminately resulting to deaths from both sides. The scuffle prompted an uproar in American society and that labor unions were branded as violent and unreasonable, especially the Knights of Labor, the union which participated at that time. The latter never recovered its reputation, giving way to the creation of the the American Federation of Labor in that same year.
In 1892, the Homestead Massacre made history. The Carnegie steel company after subsequent wage cuts blatantly refused negotiations with its workers. Frick, the industrial partner of Andrew Carnegie replaced the mostly European immigrant workers with non union members.Further, Pinkerton Detectives were employed to break the strike and penetrate the ranks. Since African Americans were banned from labor unions, they were the ones largely employed by Carnegie Steel as replacement workers who for them, provided better prospects as compared to their previous station in the South. Despite the 12 hour work days and wage cuts, the African Americans clung to their jobs, forcing the labor union members to become violent. The violence that ensued however resulted to deaths, eroding public sympathy for labor unions.
The bloodshed was followed by the Pullman strike in 1894. The upheaval was catalyzed by succeeding wage cuts which catapulted the workers on the brink of starvation. Despite wage reductions rent in the company’s housing enclave was not adjusted correspondingly. Moreover, the company president refused to meet with the workers. Workers thus went on strike, resulting to the stoppage of work in the railroads. The strikers became violent, burning a locomotive that serviced the US mail, a vital government unit. This forced President Grover Cleveland to issue an injunction among labor workers. A unanimous Supreme Court decision was delivered supporting the use of injunctions in regulating strikes
As an act of conciliation with the laborers, President Cleveland meanwhile through Congress rallied for the enactment and recognition of the Labor Day. Although the first Labor Parade was held in September 5 1882, the statute recognized every first Monday of September as a day for workers.
REFERENCES
First Union of Working Women." AFL-CIO. Accessed February 18, 2016. http://www.aflcio.org/About/Our-History/Key-Events-in-Labor-History/First-Union-of-Working-Women.
Adamcyzk, Joseph. "Homestead Strike | United States History." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. September 11, 2014. Accessed February 18, 2016. http://www.britannica.com/event/Homestead-Strike.
Urofsky, Melvin. "Pullman Strike | United States History." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. November 18, 2014. Accessed February 18, 2016. http://www.britannica.com/event/Pullman-Strike.
