Labor Unions In The Gilded Age

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Disputes of labor in the United States had been present since prior to the Revolutionary War. However, it was not until the Gilded Age when the United States would see the rise of Labor Unions. These labor unions set out with one goal, gaining control of the labor market by using strikes and other means to accomplish this goal. The effect of the three major Labor Unions of the Gilded Age varied, but they shared the same goal. The National Labor Union, American Federation of Labor or AFL, and the Knights of Labor would be the three primary Labor Unions that the United States would see during the Gilded Age. Each was unique and shared goals, but would find different results in gaining control of the labor market. This would lead one …show more content…
This new organization was developed from a call by unions asked to leave the K of L and forming themselves into a new alliance of national and international trade unions. “Forty-two delegates representing 13 national unions and various other local labor organizations responded to the call, agreeing to form themselves into an American Federation of Labor”. They would gain their revenue to fund this new organization from a per capita tax that would derive from its members on a monthly basis. The governance of the organization would be annual conventions with one delegate per 4,000 members affiliated with each union. The beginning was very slow paced and although the K of L were declining the AFL was not experiencing as much success as they expected in their early years. They were primary made up of skilled workers but, the slow growth combined with a conservative approach left them focusing mainly on matters in relation to working conditions and rates of pay. Many throughout the AFL felt that the betterment to labor resided with the expansion of the capitalist system, a comparison that would make it possible for the AFL to present itself as "the conservative alternative to working class radicalism”. The AFL would be critical in many labor issues in the United States during the 20th …show more content…
They played no role in the attempts of women to unionize, but his would not harm them the way that similar situations harmed the labor organizations that preceded the AFL. Many labor unions would be founded to compete with the AFL, but few of them saw success. Two of note were the Western Federation of Miners and the American Railway Union. The Western Federation of Miners would experience success in the wake of the Colorado Labor Wars and would eventually be absorbed into the United Steelworkers of America. The American Railroad Union did not experience the same success, after attempting to aid the workers of the Pullman Palace Car Company during the Pullman Strike, the ARU would be disbanded after the involvement of the federal government and troops. The AFL was able to outlast all of its competitors by using their conservative approach to labor issues. The AFL would play an integral part of organization and coordination of local labor unions and would take political action throughout history, in regards to labor issues. The AFL would outlast many of the other labor unions and organizations of this time and would address labor issues throughout the United States during both World War I and World War II. The AFL would live on until the organization merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955, which marked the end of experimentation and
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