◄ Immigrants paint machinery in a Cleveland, Ohio, factory.
In 1890, labor leader Samuel Gompers testified before a government labor commission. Describing the condition of workers, he argued that unions and strikes were the only way workers’ rights could be expanded.
“We recognize that peaceful industry is necessary to successful civilized life, but the right to strike and the preparation to strike is the greatest preventive to strikes. If the workmen were to make up their minds to-morrow that they would under no circumstances strike, the employers would do all the striking for them in the way of lesser wages and longer hours of labor.”
—Report on the (U.S.) Industrial Commission on Capital and Labor, 1890
Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas Record the main ideas about the rise of organized labor.
Why It Matters As industrialization intensified, the booming American economy relied heavily on workers to fuel its success. But struggles between business owners and workers also intensified, as workers rebelled against low pay and unsafe working conditions. To keep the economy thriving, Americans had to find ways to ease the tensions between business owners and workers. Section Focus Question: How did the rise of labor unions shape relations among workers, big business, and government?
The industrial expansion in the United States made the American economy grow by leaps and bounds. Industrial growth produced great wealth for the owners of factories, mines, railroads, and large farms. It also brought general improvements to American society in the form of higher standards of living, wider availability of cheap goods, and access to public institutions like museums and schools. However, the people who actually performed the work in factories and industries struggled to survive. In addition, workers—especially immigrants, women, and minorities—often faced ridicule and discrimination.
In the 1880s and 1890s, factory owners, seeking to maximize profits, employed people who would work for low wages. Immigrants made up a large percentage of the workforce. Far from