What did labor unions at the turn of the 20th century try to do for workers?
1 Answer
Almost without exception they tried to get pay raises.
Explanation:
In 1900 there were two major unions, the old Knights of Labor founded by Samuel Gompers and the American Federation of Labor (AFL). In 1905 a third major union was formed known as the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The Knights of Labor were fast losing power to the AFL but neither had a strong membership. The AFL tack was to represent, as had been the Knights, only male skilled laborers. They believed in striking just the grieving portion of their union against an individual company. The IWW, however, invited all into what the called "one big tent" whether skilled or unskilled labor. When they struck, they took out all laborers from an entire mill, as was shown particularly well in the Lawrence Textile Strike of 1912.
Until that strike in 1912, unions generally felt the only thing worth striking over were higher wages. The idea of better working conditions, shortening hours, keeping children out of the work place, and many other issues were never brought forth.
In my research I found that fewer than 20% of all strikes prior to 1912 were successful.
