The Topic: Labor Movement Easier - Until the early 1900s, people often worked long hours for low wages. The labor movement began as people started to work together to improve their work conditions. Although there are many laws to protect workers, there are still concerns about working conditions, particular the use of immigrants and children.   Harder - In the 1930s, the labor movement gained momentum. With an abundance of labor, employers could easily replace workers. Labor unions were formed to help workers get organized and bargain for their needs and rights. Workers created unions because groups have more bargaining power than individuals. When large groups of employees make joint decisions, employers are forced to listen to their concerns. For example, if all the workers in a factory stopped working at the same time, it would be difficult to keep the company operating.   Early unions in North America faced a difficult battle. Employers refused to accept the unions. The courts often declared the unions illegal. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 and other laws required employers to bargain with unions. Political parties and other groups have also become involved with the labor movement.   Organized labor is not as powerful today as it once was. However, many people such as construction, factory, and industry employees are members of unions. Although they have helped workers earn higher wages and better working conditions, some people think they are too powerful.     Canadian Labour History from Canadian Museum of Civilization http://www.civilization.ca/hist/labour/lab01e.html This web site traces the history of Canadian Labour with the aim of showing how it served its members while forcing broader reforms on our nation. Related Websites: 2) American Labor History by M. Lause http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Quad/6460/AmLabHist/index.html 3) Eclectic List of Events in U.S. Labor History by A. Lutins http://www.lutins.org/labor.html 4) Labor Union Movement in America http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/Eco_Unionization.htm 5) Recent Trends in Labor and Employment http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/Eco_recent_labor_trends.htm 6) Red Robin's Labor History Pages http://members.tripod.com/%7ERedRobin2/index-25.html 7) Women's Trade Union League by J. Johnson Lewis http://womenshistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa010320a.htm?terms=American+Labor+Movement   Labor Arts http://www.laborarts.org/ This online museum gathers, identifies, and displays artistic history of working people and celibrates the contributions of trade unions. Related Website: 2) Labor Heritage Foundation http://www.laborheritage.org/   LaborNet http://www.labornet.org/ This website was developed to publicise struggles and campaigns for workers rights. Other Comprehensive Sites for Current Labor Movement Information: 2) LabourStart http://www.labourstart.org/ 3) UnionEyes http://www.unioneyes.com/newswire.html   Unions: Then and Now http://www.davison.k12.mi.us/newdeal/index.htm Dramatic changes took place in the American labor movement in the 1930s. Most of the significant legislation affecting labor unions now was passed during the New Deal.    After visiting several of the websites on the labor movement, complete one or more of the following websites.   Join the Fight Against Sweatshops. You can find lots of proactive ideas at Stop Sweatshops from UNITE. Decide what should be done at the local level, in your region, and your country. Change starts with us.   Create a Labor Movement Timeline. Trace the important events in the North American labor movement. Compare the movements in the US and Canada with the rest of the world.   Compare Child Labor Issues. Compare the child labor issues of 1900 with the issues in 2000. How are they alike and different?   Build a Protest Poster. Select a particular event related to the labor movement history. Create a poster that shows the issues and concerns of the workers.   Debate the Role of Labor Unions. Take on a particular current or historical role such as employee or factory owner. What impact do or did the union have on your life?   Compare the Role of Unions Yesterday and Today. How have unions evolved over the past century? What role should they play in the future?   Explore a Labor Movement Leader. Individual people played important roles in the labor movement. Pick a labor leader and write a persuasive letter about why that person should be in the "Labor Movement Hall of Fame."   Complete A Labor Movement WebQuest. Follow or adapt the instructions found at the following webQuest site: Labor History WebQuest by P. Hewitt http://www.davison.k12.mi.us/academic/labor2.htm   Websites By Kids For Kids Exploring the United Farm Workers' History by C. Peterson and S. Diaz (1999 ThinkQuest Internet Challenge) http://library.thinkquest.org/26504/ This project presents the history of the UFW through it's online simulation, 'The Grape Boycott.'   Sometimes Violent History of the Labor Movement 1984: The Pullman Strike from Chicago Public Library http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/disasters/pullman_strike.html The Pullman Company cut wages a number of times in the 1880s and '90s, but failed to reduce the rent in the company owned housing. This double squeeze lead to dire economic circumstances for the workers. Workers struck the car works May 11, 1894. Related Website: 2) Gene Debs and the American Railway Union http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/debstory.htm   Agnes Burns Wieck: A Leader of Joan of Arcs -- Part I by M.L. Hawse from Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1601/26755 Part I or a two-part article about Frances Burns Wieck, a feminist, socialist, labor organizer, and writer who was active during the first part of the twentieth century. Related Website: 2) Agnes Burns Wieck: A Leader of Joan of Arcs-Part II by M.L. Hawse from Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/27679   American Federation of Labor http://1912.history.ohio-state.edu/labor/afofl.htm Founded in 1886, the A.F. of L. was the largest labor organization in the United States in 1912.   Bisbee Deportation of 1917 by T.J. Dorich http://digital.library.arizona.edu/bisbee/index.php The article explains the complexities of the involvement of the Western Federation of Miners and the Mexican labor unions, with whom the I.W.W. was often at odds.   Child Labor in America from The History Place http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/ This website Features the original photos and captions by Lewis W. Hine. Other Related Websites: 2) Child Labour 1750-1850 from Encyclopaedia of British History http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRchild.main.htm 3) Child Labor from PBS Kids: Learning Adventures in Citizenship http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/laic/episode4/topic5/e4_t5_s3-lm.html 4) Children of the Coal Fields: Classroom or Breaker? Part I by M.L. Hawse at Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/30363 5) Children of the Coalfields: Classroom or Breaker? Part II by M.L. Hawse at Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1601/30364 6) Fields of Hope: Child Labor in Agriculture http://www.fieldsofhope.org/ 7) Promises Broken: Child Labor http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/crp/promises/labor.html   Dramas of Haymarket from Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University http://www.chicagohistory.org/dramas/ The Haymarket meeting and bombing, the subsequent riot, arrests, trial, and executions, and related events of the period form one of the most remarkable episodes in the history of Chicago, the United States, and of working people everywhere. Related Websites: 2) Haymarket Affair http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/haymarket/Haymarke.htm 3) Haymarket Tragedy http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/haymarket.htm   First Labor Day Parade by T. Watts http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/watts.htm Here is a brief summary article on the first Labor Day Parade. Related Websites: 2) History of Labor Day from U.S. Department of Labor http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm 3) History of Labor Day http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Creek/9369/project7/labor.html 4) May Day and the Labor Movement by M.L. Hawse from Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/20095 5) Origins of Labor Day from PBS Online NewsHour http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/september96/labor_day_9-2.html   Great Flint Sit-Down Strike Against GM 1936-37 http://www.plp.org/pamphlets/flintstrike.html This 'classic' Progressive Labor Party pamphlet was written in 1965 a time when the party was working to put down roots among industrial workers and build a base for revolution. Related Websites: 2) Great Flint Sitdown http://www.reuther.wayne.edu/exhibits/sitdown.html 3) Historic 1936-37 Flint Auto Plant Strikes by V.M. Baulch & P. Zacharias, The Detroit News http://detnews.com/history/flint/flint.htm   In the Midst of Terror She Went out to Her Work -- Part I by M.L. Hawse from Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1601/28851 This article describes the cold-blooded murder of union organizer Fannie Sellins. Related Websites: 2) In the Midst of Terror She Went out to Her Work-Pt. II by M.L. Hawse at Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1601/28852   Joe Hill from PBS http://149.48.192.134/joehill/ Learn the story of Joe Hill, a labor organizer executed by the state of Utah in 1915. Related Websites: 2) Joe Hill by G.M. Smith from Utah History Encyclopedia http://www.utahhistorytogo.org/hilljoe.html 3) Joe Hill Collection (Photographs) http://www.lib.utah.edu/spc/photo/p427/p427.html 4) Joe Hill (Labor Quotes) http://www.igc.org/laborquotes/joehill.html 5) Joe Hill - Murderer or Martyr? http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A676361   Labor-Management Conflict In American History http://www.history.ohio-state.edu/projects/laborconflict/ This website focuses on the 1886 Haymarket Square Riots, the conflict in the Pennsylvania coke regions, the Molly Maguire movement in the Pennsylvania anthracite coal fields, the 1982 Homestead steel strike, strikes in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania, and the 1905 Chicago strike.   Labor-Management Conflict in the Eastern Panhandle: Perfection Garment Company Battles the ILGWU by J. Jenrette http://www.wvculture.org/history/journal_wvh/wvh52-8.html From the early 1930s until 1953, changes in the industry intensified animosity between labor and management. Most of the conflicts in the 1930s mirrored general trends in the national labor movement and reflected the economic pressures of the Great Depression.   Labor Movement http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/labor.html#top This site tells of some of the songs of work and the labor movement. Related Website: 2) Folk Music from eduScapes 42eXplore http://www.eduscapes.com/42explore/folkmusic.htm   Life and Conflict in the New World from Emma Goldman Online Exhibition http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Exhibition/newworld.html Upon arrival in America, Emma Goldman's romantic hopes were soon shattered by the dismal realities of working-class life. Settling first in Rochester, New York, she found factory work harder than in Russia, and joined in the growing militance against the inequality and inhuman working conditions that characterized industrializing America.   Mary Harris (Mother) Jones: c. 1837-1930 http://165.123.34.35/women/jones/MotherJo'es.html This brief article explains who 'Mother Jones was and her importance as a union organizer. Related Website: 2) Autobiography of Mother Jones http://207.207.192.8/~basket42/mojones.htm 3) Mother Jones: The Miners' Angel by M.L. Hawse http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/majones.htm 4) Mother Jones: The 'Miners' Angel' - Part I by M.L. Hawse from Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/16849 5) Mother Jones: The 'Miners' Angel' - Part II by M.L. Hawse from Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/17240   Massacre at Ludlow: Prelude by M.L. Hawse from Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/18791 This article describes conditions and events in the southern Colorado coal fields during the early twentieth century. What occured then led to the brutal massacre at Ludlow where men, women, and children alike were systematically butchered and burned by law enforcement officers and militiiamen. Part Two: 2) Massacre at Ludlow: Murder and Arson by M.L. Hawse from Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/19494   Massacre at Republic Steel by W. Bork http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/republic.htm Ten demonstrators were killed by police bullets during the 'Little Steel Strike' of 1937.   Report of the National Trades' Union Convention of 1834 http://www.oberlin.edu/~gkornbl/Hist258/NationalTrades.html Lean about the first attempt at a national labor federation.   Samuel Gompers Papers http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Colleges/ARHU/Depts/History/Gompers/web1.html This is the website of a documentary editing project that collects, annotates, and makes available to as wide an audience as possible, primary sources of American labor history. Site includes a biography, photos, and more. Related Website: 2) Samuel Gompers 1850-1924 http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/gompers.htm   Seattle General Strike Project http://faculty.washington.edu/gregoryj/strike/strikehome.htm The Seattle General Strike of February 1919 was the first city-wide strike anywhere in the United States to be proclaimed a "general strike." It led off a tumultuous post-World War I era of labor conflict that saw massive strikes shut down the nation's steel, coal, and meat packing industries and threaten civil unrest in a dozen cities.   Story of Triangle Fire http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/ The fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York City, which claimed the lives of 146 young immigrant workers, is one of the worst disasters since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This incidence has a great significance to this day because it highlighted the miserable working conditions to which unskilled industrial workers can be subjected. Related Websites: 2) Triangle Shirtwaist Fire -- Part I by M.L. Hawse from Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/24709 3) Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Part II by M.L. Hawse from Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/25386 4) Triangle Tragedy from PBS Kids: Learning Adventures in Citizenship http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/laic/episode4/topic5/e4_t5_s5-tt.html   UMWA: Its Presidents in Historical Perspective - Part I by M.L. Hawse in Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/22091 This article, one of four parts, presents brief biographical sketches of the first four presidents of the United Mine Workers of America. Other Three Parts: 2) UMWA: Its Presidents in Historical Perspective -- Part II by M.L. Hawse in Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/22515 3) UMWA: Its Presidents in Historical Perspective -- Part III by M.L. Hawse in Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/22516 4) UMWA: Its Presidents in Historical Perspective -- Part IV by M.L. Hawse in Suite 101 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/labor_history/24191   More Websites on the Labor Movement Business & Human Rights by C.L. Avery http://www.business-humanrights.org/ The aim of this 'online library' is to provide access to a wide range of materials and to promote informed discussion of important policy issues including human rights, development, labour and environmental organizations.   Federal Labor Laws http://eserver.org/history/us-labor-law.txt This website provides a summary of federal labor laws. Related Website: 2) Major Union Legislation http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/Eco_Union_Legislation.htm   Labor Quotes http://www.igc.apc.org/laborquotes/index.html Here is a compendium of quotes on labor subjects.   National Labor Committee (NLC) http://www.nlcnet.org/ This is a human rights advocacy group, dedicated to promoting and defending the rights of workers. Related Website: 2) Human Rights for Workers http://www.senser.com/   Sweatshop Watch http://www.sweatshopwatch.org/ This coalition of labor, community, civil rights, immigrant rights, women's, religious & student organizations, and individuals is committed to eliminating sweatshop conditions in the global garment industry. Related Websites: 2) Behind the Label http://www.behindthelabel.org/ 3) National Mobilization Against SweatShops http://www.nmass.org/nmass/index.html 4) Stop Sweatshops from UNITE http://www.uniteunion.org/sweatshops/sweatshop.html 5) Sweatshops http://www.geocities.com/Jjbaby321/sweatshops.html 6) United Students Against Sweatshops http://www.usasnet.org/   Labor and Working People's Organizations AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations) http://www.aflcio.org/home.htm This is the website of union organization representing more than 13 million working women and men nationwide. Related Websites: 2) AFL-CIO and the Struggles of Labor http://members.tripod.com/Norrit1/afl-cio/ciolabor.html 3) Labor Day Festival from AFL-CIO http://laborday.aflcio.org/town.swf   AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) http://www.afscme.org/default.htm AFSCME with its over 1.3 million public service and health care workers is an active and powerful union.   American Federation of Teachers (AFT) http://www.aft.org/ This is the home website for union teachers.   HomeNet: International Network for Homebased Workers http://www.homenetww.org.uk/ Millions of workers, most of them women, carry out different forms of paid employment in their homes. But because they work behind closed doors, their work is invisible and rarely recognised.   ICFTU (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions) http://www.icftu.org/ This confederation of national trade union centres links together the trade unions of a particular country, and membership is open to bone fide trade union organisations that are independent of outside influence and have a democratic structure. Set up in 1949, ICFTU has 225 affiliated organizations in 148 countries and territories on all five continents with a membership of 157 million.   Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) http://www.iww.org/ This is a union dedicated to organizing on the job, in our industries and in our communities both to win better conditions today and to build a world without bosses, a world in which production and distribution are organized by workers themselves to meet the needs of the entire population. Related Website: 2) Preamble to the IWW Constitution http://www.davison.k12.mi.us/academic/IWW.htm   International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation http://www.itglwf.org/ This international organization brings together 217 affiliated groups in 110 countries, with a combined membership of over 10 million workers.   Maquila Solidarity Network http://www.maquilasolidarity.org/ This is a Canadian network promoting solidarity with groups in Mexico, Central America, and Asia organizing in maquiladora factories and export processing zones to improve conditions and win a living wage.   Women Working Worldwide http://www.poptel.org.uk/women-ww/ This is a UK based organisation which supports the struggles of women workers in the global economy.   UAW http://www.uaw.org/index.html This union represents skilled trades and production workers in automotive and heavy trucks, aerospace and defense, farm and heavy equipment, and other manufacturing industries.   United Farm Workers of America http://www.ufw.org/ufw/index.html Here you can find information about the Farm Workers and César Chávez..   UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) http://www.uniteunion.org/ In 1995 a new union was formed by the merger of two of the nation's oldest unions, the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) and the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU).   U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project (US/LEAP) http://www.usleap.org/ This organization focuses especially on the struggles of workers in Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico who are employed directly or indirectly by U.S. companies.    Websites For Teachers Brief Study of the U.S. Labor Movement from Colonial Times to the Present http://www.mariemontschools.org/uceconweb/past/may98/Labor%20Study.html There are three major parts to this lesson. Part one requires several group activities. Parts two and three will be done as individual reports/presentations. In part one you will be assigned a period on labor history as found in the Illinois Labor History Society web page.   Curriculum of United States Labor History for Teachers by J.D. Brown, Jr. sponsored by Illinois Labor History Society http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/curricul.htm#contents The U.S. has the bloodiest history of labor of any industrialized nation on Earth. It is a story rich in human drama and tragedy -- a story of progress and hope. This is a resource that teachers can use to incorporate our rich social and labor history into their courses.   Labor Unions (Grades 6-8) by K. Kraf from AskERIC http://www.askeric.org/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/Civics/CIV0015.html This lesson is designed to provide students with a broad introduction to labor unions.   Lesson Plans for 'Unions: Then and Now' by P. Hewitt http://www.davison.k12.mi.us/newdeal/unions.htm Here is a collection of five lessons on the labor movement during the Great Depression.   Special Issue on Labor History (Volume 11, No. 2, Winter 1997) from Organization of American Historians Magazine of History http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/labor/ This special issue is devoted to teaching labor history.   Untold Stories http://www.workdayminnesota.org/untold_stories/intro.php Here is a series of ten lesson plans based on the St. Paul (MN) Labor History Map.   union worker management Great Depression sweatshop trade union worker rights red scare union organizer riot folk music strike lockout Marxism 'witch hunt' mining solidarity anarchist protest union card 'Wobblie' craft union migrant farmworker discrimination inequity working people employment working conditions automation robotics living wage work environment free trade zone exploitation child labor maquiladora factory industrial revolution company owned housing. company store labor & wages health care unemployment protection union official minimum wage collective bargaining Labor Day 40-hour work week union member        Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 6/02.