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Dangerous working conditions long hours and low pay were [Man screaming on a conveyor belt]

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standard for the workers of the 19th century

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America was growing in population and wealth but the workers who toiled in

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factories did not see their piece of the pie increase in some cases their pieces [Man screaming in factory]

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of pie were getting smaller or even by rats well this might have been good for

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sweeping waistline slim but it wasn't so good for being at all satisfied with [Mother takes giant sandwich away from boy]

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life the conflict came from the labor pool being well huge the continual

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stream of new immigrants created a situation where owners had a constant

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source of people who were willing to work for not a lot this made it super

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easy to replace a disgruntled employee technology was also adding to the [Man kicks employee]

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situation by replacing the need for some skilled workers in the end management

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had all the power owners often said stuff like oh you want to work fewer

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hours no problem about zero hours because you're fired [Man discussing working hours with employee]

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yeah didn't Donald Trump say that the federal government mostly stayed out of

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labor disputes until 1930 state and local officials were often left to pass

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regulations like in 1874 when the state of Massachusetts passed a law that [Man standing outside of clock tower]

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limited working hours for women and children to ten hours a day Wow and new

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days kids actually complain about having to do naptime there were two big [Boy complaining in bedroom]

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philosophies dominating Americans thought at this time there were social

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Darwinism which basically said that society should be like the jungle where [Tribesman appears in jungle]

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only the strong survive the government doesn't interfere with Lions eating

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zebras right why should they interfere with workers and then there was live a

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fair capitalism let's say fair translates to roughly you know let it be

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like the Beatles thing and the idea was that the government shouldn't mess with [Beatles group members appear]

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the free market or else fire would fall from the sky many believes that if there

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were a problem all powerful capitalist market would take care of it well this

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cocktail social Darwinism and let a fair capitalism did fuel a manufacturing [Man holding social darwinism laissez-faire cocktail]

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booms but it also made sure that laborers worked in awful conditions

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latest 1900 more people died on the job in the United States and in any other [Woman looking at gravestones]

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industrialized country in the world and workers were risking their lives for

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peanuts even though they work 1012 hours a day they were struggling to survive so

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since the government was busy letting the Lions do their thing while the [Lion sitting on a desk]

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Zebras decided to unite yeah unions are the Zebras in this

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metaphor people were not metaphor masters so what was dry anyway

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the Knights of Labor formed in 1869 and became the first organization to bring

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workers across the nation under their banner the Knights invited laborers [Man dressed as knight holding knights of labor board]

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regardless of skill gender and race into their group it was kind of like when

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Robb Stark calls in the banners in Game of Thrones and well just as ill-fated [Woman watching Game of Thrones]

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the Knights wanted to improve working conditions through political action and

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many thought of them as socialist reformers they had a good run empowering

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workers to win a few strikes and even touted 500,000 members at one point but

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unfortunately for them during a Knights of Labor rally at Haymarket Square in [Mass meeting headline on newspaper]

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Chicago a bomb detonated no one knew who threw the bomb but the death of 9 and

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injury of 60 made everybody think the Knights basically sucked then a new

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labor organization was formed by guy named Samuel Gompers some suspected that

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with a name like mr. Gompers Sam must have been moonlighting as a birthday [Clown appears at birthday party]

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clown but what Sam really did was establish the American Federation of

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Labor by uniting several smaller skilled labor unions they had three major goals

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to increase wages to reduce working hours and to improve working conditions

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well in that day and age these things were easier said than done all over

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workers begin to unite trying to stop the abuse and tragically many strikes [construction workers appear]

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got downright violence in 1892 workers went on strike at Andrew Carnegie steel

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factories things got crazy when the workers would not budge from the [Man pointing to striking workers]

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property and they refused to get back to work well 300 Pinkerton detectives were

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hired to break up the strike and protect the scab labor the company brought in to

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replace the striking workers jobs were fired people died and the Pinkertons

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were sent packing but the workers victory was short-lived in the end the

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National Guard was brought in and after even more violent resistance for the [Soldiers marching]

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workers that Union eventually gave up going back to

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work for slashed wages and twelve hour workdays not even mr. Gompers balloon

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animals could cheer them up [Mr Gompers holding balloon animals]

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